Executive Director's Message

Regina Hauser

Leadership, acting Globally and Locally

TNS Staff from around the globe meet with his Majesty Carl XVI Gustaf, King of Sweden, at the Leadership Summit in Stockholm. 

In January, we took a short but wonderful trip to Stockholm. With the patronage of his Majesty Carl XVI Gustaf, King of Sweden, The Natural Step organized a Leadership Summit on Sustainability to convene leaders and engage in a cross-sectoral dialogue. (For more detail see article) The Summit included impressive examples of sustainability projects including the efforts of Whistler, Canada to become the first sustainable resort community, the expansion of bio-fuels in Sweden, and sustainable forestry in Columbia. I was saddened that some of the sustainability leaders from the United States were unable to come and share as well. Hopefully next year, stories from the U.S. and in particular, Oregon may be shared.

In the afternoon I had the pleasure of facilitating a group of community leaders from around the world, including Sweden, Canada (from Nova Scotia to British Columbia) and the U.S. Lisa McKinnon and Bryant Moroder, both from Madison, Wisconsin, have formed the North American Eco-Municipality Network. The community leaders in our group identified many challenges to sustainability in the community setting. Election cycles, lack of accountability and lack of trust were challenges for communities around the world. The group agreed that sharing inspirational stories among communities is very valuable, and that the members of the group would work with TNS to set up communications media for sharing inspiration and information. Our first example of this is Madison’s excellent sustainability toolkit which they shared with us this month. 

(download) Sustainability Toolkit for Local Governments

The meeting inspired me to think about our own anniversary event in October, and issue a similar challenge to identify specific actions that we as a community of businesses and leaders will take immediately to advance sustainability.

The following days were packed from morning to evening with presentations, discussions, and bonding, as over 65 of The Natural Step family and friends from around the world gathered. Needless to say, a lot of information and ideas were exchanged. The first day we were treated to an in-depth presentation on The Natural Step Framework and underlying science by Dr. Karl Henrik Robèrt, TNS founder. After spending an afternoon on chemistry and physics basics, I wondered how different my high school science experiences might have been if I had learned these principles in such a relevant context. The following morning, David Cook, Chief Executive of TNS, shared his presentation on social justice and System Condition 4. The primary learning for me was that this aspect of sustainability, while often treated in a summary fashion, is the key to our sustainability efforts succeeding. If people cannot take care of each other, how can they take care of the world around them?

The rest of our sessions included sharing from around the world. Our British colleagues shared their progress on product life cycle analyses, and TNS-Canada revealed a new one-hour e-learning module. Colleagues from France and Italy were very intrigued by the work of our own Construction Peer learning group, and Kaj Török, Senior Advisor from Sweden, gave an interesting presentation about Trust. It was a busy week, and with the time difference, the jam packed schedules and a group that likes to dance, we didn’t get much sleep. What I’ll probably remember the most was the camaraderie, shared stories and laughter that come from a gathering of good people doing good work.

We continue to support good work locally as well. Leadership was a theme in Sweden, which resonated with our work here. Check out the Network and Member News section for member updates. We’re also continuing our partnership with LionHeart Consulting. In the past three years, over 40 people have participated in our year-long leadership courses. This year, we’re offering a new two-day course in May entitled “The Leader’s Toolbox.” In this issue two of our leadership course graduates share their stories. We look forward to sharing more of your stories as our members provide continued innovation and leadership in sustainability.