The Natural Step and Business

The Natural Step and Business - Course at UPEI Fall 2005

The Natural Step – Reconciling the Economy and the Planet

“The most promising faith for the future might be based on the realization that the entire universe is a system related by common laws and that it makes no sense to impose our dreams and desires on nature without taking them into account”
“Flow”, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Introduction – Seeing our problems through a different lens

This course is about hope. It is about how each of us can take steps to shift the mindset that supports our view of the human economy so that business can become an agent of environmental regeneration and renewal.

You will learn about a set of principles called “The Natural Step”. Originally developed in Sweden, The Natural Step is now a global movement. Its value is that The Natural Step is inclusive. It does not preach nor does it tell you what to do. It asks you to look more deeply at how you interact with the planet leaving you to decide how to take your own steps to make your own life and the life systems of the planet better.

While simple, the Natural Step requires you to use a different lens or perspective which may be hard at first. It is like seeing the two women in this picture for the first time. You may struggle for a while to see the other woman, but once you see her you always will.

Why is having a new perspective important?

Few of us deny that we are in the midst of a growing environmental crisis. The 1990’s have been the warmest decade in recorded history. The wild fishery is under threat. Western agriculture is in economic and environmental turmoil. Supplies of fresh water are reaching their limits. Ice caps are melting. But just as our situation is becoming so obvious, we cannot agree on a solution.

The apparent success of our mindset about resources and business, has reinforced our assumptions that humanity has “Progressed” beyond the confines of the laws and processes of nature. Our “Progress” model has triumphantly overwhelmed cultures that maintained a connection to nature and has proved them “Wrong”. So when we sit down at Kyoto to discuss the environment, the debate is framed as a choice is between jobs or the planet. The protagonists each see the other as the “enemy”. The result is that we are trapped in conflict. Each side blames the other  and we muddle on, hoping that somehow “technology” will come up with the answer.

The Natural Step offers you a new lens to see yourself and the planet. By shifting your perspective, it will take your focus from the leaves of the trees, where disagreement is inevitable, to the roots where we can all find a common cause. Not only will it help you find this new common ground but The Natural Step provides you with a related set of diagnostic tools to help you make better decisions.

Our course will expose you not only to the theory but also to a number of case studies that will show how it has been applied.

Course work requirements and how I mark

The course will be offered online at Robs Courses - my teaching blogging site.

The course will last for 12 weeks and will have 3 interim assignments and a final assignment at the end.

The key to the course is a “Learning Conversation” which takes place on the main part of the site. 40% of the marks will be for regular participation in the bulletin board. It is mandatory that you participate regularly. This conversation is the heart of the class and represents 40% of the total mark. On what basis will I give marks here?

I am looking for Quality and Quantity.

• Quality is defined by introducing novel insights and by building well on the ideas of other.
• Quantity is defined by participating 3-6 times a week
• If you participate less than 3 times a week without just cause, you will fail the course immediately

There will be 4 assignments that will make up a total of 60% of your mark. How do I mark?

• Papers that simply deal with the question and repeat the class thinking will be marked in the 60-75% range
• Papers that show original thought as well as having the covered the material will be marked in the 75-85% range
• Exceptional Papers that should be published will be marked in the 85-95% range

The Work Block 1 Sept 8 -23

Context: What is going on and what is the meaning of The Natural Step? Please look at chapters 1-3 of the set book. This will provide you with the overarching context and main ideas behind the Natural Step. You will find the Natural Step link at http://www.naturalstep.org/

The Natural Step have an amazing learning site. It is nearly 8 megs to download but I recommend if you have your own computer that you do try it. It will provide you with all the context you need to do well in this course.

The Whistler site has excellent resources as well – check out the tool kits which will help in later assignments. Look at the “Funnel” etc http://www.whistleritsournature.ca/

Some Questions:
i. What do you think about the main hypothesis of the Natural Step?
ii. Where in the “funnel” are we today?
iii. Why is thinking about systems difficult for many people?
iv. What in your own life could you apply the Natural Step that would make an immediate difference?
v. Comment on the meaning of The Ecology of Commerce and PEI – waste, energy consumption in your home
vi. Comment on the ideas of linear versus natural systems – what are some key linear systems in your home and your workplace?
vii. Comment on our tax system and how it drives our behaviour as consumers

Work: By the end of this block you must have read The Ecology of Commerce and the first three chapters of The Natural Step.

Assignment 1 due Sept 23 (1,000 words) Describe your own home in the context of the Natural Step. What are the key “Flows”? Tell us about how its setting affect its energy flows. Tell how you would make your home more “Natural;” and how this would reduce your costs. Show me that you understand the principles and the main arguments in both books.

Here is how I think about this question

Work Block 2 Sept 24 - Oct 7

Context: Ikea – How did Ikea, a consumer products company, overcome its initial negative response to the ideas of the Natural Step? What is the mindset of business today and why is there so much resistance to change?

Please look at Chapter 4 of the book, “Ikea: Nothing is Impossible” and the

section on my old website that deals with organizational design -

Here is pdf case study as well

Questions:
i. What are the market trends that will support “Good” business?
ii. What are the main barriers in corporate life to becoming a “Good” business?
iii. What happens to the culture when a company starts to think of itself as a “Good” company?
iv. What is the power of having a common language to talk about these issues?

Work: Assignment 2 due October 7 We are going to look at your own environment and test out this different way of thinking. We are going to see the hidden costs of our current system - the waste issue. What are the real costs of going to work?

Prepare a short two-page report. What are your real costs of going to work, commuting time, child care, two cars etc? When you add up all your hours and costs what do you really make on an hourly basis? What are the real costs for your employer of having you come to work? Think about the use of space and energy? What are the societal costs of you going to work? Prepare a true cost for both sides and society. Now think about how costs are discussed in your organization? if you do not work conventionally think of a friend who does.

Here is a model that I took from the real life of a friend of mine - Ron.

Work Block 3 Oct 8 - Oct 22

Context: Collins Pine – How can The Natural Step be applied in a natural resource company? What was Collins Pine doing differently before and why was the Natural Step a useful addition to an already successful model?

Please look at chapter 7 of the book. My old site will provide you with a useful summary of the underpinnings of resource based systems, waste and the commodity system in particular. Go here for a lot of helpful information.

Questions:
i. Why are the ideas about Standards and Quality so important and why are they so different from the commodity system?
ii. What are the differences between Collins Pine’s approach to resources and the traditional commodity system?
iii. How did Collins Pine take the theory of the Natural Step and make it real for its workforce?
iv. What was the cultural problem that Collins Pine had to overcome and how well have they done?

Work: Assignment 3 due Oct 22. (1,000 words) What are the barriers to change? Why can’t we easily see the obvious and what pulls us back?
Start with the Ikea chapter but then look at your own life. What about diet? Giving up smoking etc. Why do we find giving up things that are bad for us so difficult?. What are the preconditions for change? What type of message can be heard and what cannot be heard? What type of messenger is accepted and what is not? This is vital part of this course which gets at why change is so hard.

Have a look http://www.renew.com/old/chaos_&_change.htm on my old site for background on societal change. Also look here at Change or Die for a brilliant article on why it is so hard to change

Work Block 4 - Oct 23 - Nov 4

Context: Interface – How does a business that is centred on fossil fuel become an environmental revolutionary?

Please refer to chapter 6 of the book and go to Interface’s website that is a goldmine of information and to the Ishmael site one of two key books that inspired the Chairman of Interface, Ray Anderson, to begin the journey

Questions:
i. What is the role of personal leadership?
ii. What is the power of participation?
iii. What is the linkage between sustainability and financial results?
iv. This process had begun before the adoption of the Natural Step, what was the additional value of bringing it into Interface?

Work: Role playing. It is one thing to criticize others from the point of view of the outsider – it is another to get under the skin of someone who is not like you. In this period we will find out what each main player in our food system really feels like by spending a whole week in role.

Here are the roles that we will all be using. I will assign roles to each of you and we will take each other on in role.

Our topic – What is going on in agriculture on PEI?

Work Block 5 Nov 5 - Nov 18

Context: Scandic Hotels – How does a services company transform its competitive position and its bottom line by becoming a Natural Step company? Please refer to chapter 5 of the book.

This pdf link will provide you with a short backgrounder from the Natural Step newsletter. My old site will help you see how we measure and the framework for accounting and tax affects our actions.

Questions:
i. How do values affect a business?
ii. What are the key trends in customer values that create a good business proposition to be a good business?
iii. What is the power of a new type of measurement?
iv. What is the impact on suppliers of a core business that shifts?

Work: Final Assignment. You are the Minister of Agriculture on PEI. You are preparing a report to Cabinet on what is really going on in Agriculture and what you propose to do. Due Nov 18. We will discuss how this will work in public on the discussion group

Work Block 6 Nov 18- Dec2

Context: The metaphor of the evolutionary corporation is grounded in the belief that real transformation at both the individual level is possible. What have we learned? What can we do ourselves? What do you want to do?

Please read the last 2 chapters of the book which summarize the learnings. “Going Home” on my site is a good summary of where we could all be going – if we shifted our mindset.

Questions:
i. What has this meant for you personally?
ii. What might you want to do at home?
iii. What might you want to do at work?
iv. What is your positive vision of the future?

Work: Discuss what you have learned and more importantly what you intend to do with this knowledge