Canadian Pollution Prevention Roundtable

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• Canadian Pollution Prevention Roundtable
• Principles, Strategies Process
• Making the Most of ISO 14001with The Natural Step
• Jamie MacDonald
• Dalhousie University
• jmacdonald_at_naturalstep.ca

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Outline

• Problem
• ISO 14001
• Research Objectives
• The Natural Step
• Sustainability Hierarchy
• Strategies
• Case Study
• Management System
• Barriers
• Future Research

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Question

• If every corporation implemented an ISO
  14001-based EMS, would it be enough?

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Problem

• ? Complex natural systems are in a state of
  global decline.
• ? Linear industrial model of take-make-waste.
• ? Not moving quickly enough to fix things.
• ? Great amount of confusion about what to do
  too many approaches, tools, organizations,
  philosophies (and consultants!).
• Focus primarily on treating symptoms and not
  upstream problems.

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ISO 14001 EMS

• ? ISO 14001-based EMS has emerged as a key tool.
• ? However, not sufficient as only a process
  without a guiding set of principles.
• ? Largely focused on downstream environmental
  aspects and compliance.
• ? Not seen as a strategic tool still in the
  Environment Department.
• Missing are a set of guiding principles that go
  beyond less worse and focus on minimum
  requirements for a sustainable society.

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Research Objectives

• How can we sort this management mess out?
• Where does ISO 14001 fit?
• Can a set of substantive principles and
  objectives be used to guide EMS development and
  implementation?
• Where has a corporation used them before?
• What are the barriers to adopting this approach?

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• The Natural Step as a minimum set of conditions
  required for a sustainable society

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Purpose of the Natural Step
To develop and share a common framework which
centers on easily understood, scientifically
based principles that can serve as a compass to
guide society toward a sustainable future.
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Basic Science

• Matter and energy do not disappear
• Matter and energy tend to disperse
• The order, concentration, and structure of matter
  determines material quality
• Photosynthesis is the principal process by which
  net order is produced

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Four System Conditions
In a sustainable society, nature is not subject
to systematically increasing concentrations
of substances extracted from the Earths
crust concentrations of substances produced
by society degradation by physical
means and in that society, human needs are
met worldwide.
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In other words
Nature is a sun-driven recycling system. We
destroy the system by

• flooding it with materials from the earths
  crust
• flooding it with foreign toxic and accumulative
  substances that have no place
• destroying the infrastructure of the recycling
  system itself.

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Sustainable Society
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Applying the Framework
In the long run, does your organization
systematically decrease its economic dependence
on fossil fuels and mining, particularly of
scarce substances? compounds produced by
society that are non-biodegradable or
toxic? activities that encroach on natural
areas or that take resources faster than nature
can regenerate? using a large amount of
resources in relation to the basic human needs
that are satisfied?
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Interface Inc.

• Using the Natural Step framework as its compass,
  Interface has made the commitment to become the
  prototypical restorative company of the 21st
  century.

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Natural Material
Compostable Products
Natural Cycle
Solar Energy


Suppliers
Raw Material
Products
Service
Wages
Employment
Technical Cycle
Laws
Dividend
Sensitivity
Investment
Taxes
Investment
Service
Earth
Lithosphere
Community
Sustainability Link
8. Prototypical Company of the 21st Century
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TNS Process
Awareness
Strategies
Vision
Baseline
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EMS Integration System
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Internal Barriers

• Lack of understanding of role in larger system
• Lack of appetite for big questions
• Focus on process sustainability in many cases
  (not product)
• Too many complex and time consuming tools
• Cost-cutting measures in effect
• Poor organizational learning capacity
• Technical barriers
• Human Resources

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External Barriers

• Lack of political will to move forward
• Economic distortions, subsidies, incentives,
  taxes etc. that continue to create the illusion
  of a triple bottom line and work against the
  business case
• Complex system (smart individuals, dumb group)

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Future Research

• Creating an integrated set of tools that fit into
  the hierarchy
• Dissecting fundamental barriers
• Establishing the role of government in
  eliminating barriers
• How to create an economy of prototypical
  companies for the 21st century

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Contact Information
Contact Information Jamie MacDonald jmacdonald_at_nat
uralstep.ca www.naturalstep.ca