Sustainability leadership is more than a slogan

In the last two or three years, we’ve seen a proliferation of courses that include the words “Leadership for sustainability.” Universities, nonprofits and my organization, The Natural Step, offer courses with some variation of this title. Is leadership just a term chosen for marketing purposes? (Imagine a course entitled Sustainability for Followers.) How is leadership for sustainability any different than other leadership?

See the rest of Regina's latest post in Sustainable Business Oregon

Do you like local food?

If any question is a no-brainer in Portland, and across Oregon, this one is. We're incredibly fortunate to have the combination of a long growing season, multiple agricultural regions, and a passionate community of producers and consumers. Maybe a bit too passionate - here's where I make passing reference to Portlandia, and on a more seious bent, this excellent column from Peter Meehan at the New York Times. But overall, I'm really proud of the food we produce in Oregon, and I feel fortunate to be able to participate in such a vibrant food culture.

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Community planning and The Natural Step Framework: New Focus, New Solutions and Now APA CM Credits!

The Natural Step Network USA is now a Certification Maintenance Provider for the American                        Planners Association. In an effort to provide planning professionals with access to the powerful TNS Framework for incorporating sustainability into their work, we will be offering courses aimed at planners, municipal staff and planning commission members. In 2011, these courses will be offered in Oregon, Wisconsin, and on the web.

Check out the upcoming workshop in Portland, Creating a Sustainable Community Using The Natural Step: A workshop for City and County Planners (CM I 7) on February 17 in Oregon City, Oregon

Hot Lips Pizza Continues to Innovate, Inspire

By Duke Castle David Yudkin, owner of Hot Lips Pizza, first heard about sustainability and the Natural Step about 10 years ago. Since then Hot Lips has become one of the better Natural Step stories with features appearing in the New York Times, Wall St. Journal and on National Public Radio (NPR). So it was interesting to recently visit David and see what Hot Lips is currently up to.

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Life was easier when I didn't know anything

I am minutes away from closing down my computer for a holiday vacation in Southern California, and more time in my car than I've spent in the last six months. And I have to confess, I can't wait. I'll go even further - I love driving. Let me explain. My family moved to Thousand Oaks, California from Indiana when I was 12, and I vividly remember living in Sterns Motel in downtown LA for a week while my father started work and my mother looked for a house. My nine-year-old brother and I snuck our dog Muffin out for walks, and we had grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch at the coffee shop next door. It was the most exciting week I'd ever known - there was no local color back in Kokomo that I was aware of, and here we were, surrounded by nothing but. To add to the drama, it was January, and we could go outside in t-shirts and shorts!

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Late to the party, but welcome never-the-less

For those of us who live in present-day Portland, Ore., where The Natural Step Network USA is headquartered, and it’s not a stretch for sustainability to be a child’s first six-syllable word, it’s sometimes difficult to deal with those who have yet to fully embrace the concept of sustainability. In fact, sometimes we barely can contain our disappointment. But I remember not so long ago, when that wasn’t always the case.

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Lessons Learned from the In-Laws

We likely all have our in-law issues. But I truly admire my husband’s folks for how they live on their 50-acre hobby farm in Pedee, Ore. now that they’ve retired. That is to say, they live simply and for the most part, sustainably.

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Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, Who’s the Greenest of Them All?

Many companies claim to be green, but many appear not to have reflected on what green and sustainable really are. If you’re an Oregon company you’re probably familiar with Oregon Business magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work For in Oregon” survey. Last year they expanded and added questions to determine how green a company is. I would argue that if you combine these ratings we might be looking at a more holistic “sustainability” ranking, but that issue is for another day.

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