The Natural Step for Business

part of Mark Stosberg's personal website

The 50 cent summary

Regardless of being the "right thing to do", the book explains that aligning ourselves with natural cycles is our only choice for a sustainable future. As explained, this not only a social responsibility of a good corporate citizen, it often provides a competitive edge, by increasing public perception, increasing employee morale, and reducing costs by becoming more efficient.

The basis of the Natural Step framework is the Four Systems Conditions. Several of the case studies cited in the book are available online.

My response

• How effective is the system? I would describe the strengths and weaknesses of this approach as follows:

  Strengths

  • Science Based -- The system is based on widely agreed upon scientific principles
  • Provides a fundemental foundation -- The scope of the framework is general enough that is readily applied to many situations and expanded upon to meet the needs of individual organizations.

  Weaknesses

  • Lack of examples -- It's strength of being a general framework is also a weakness of sorts. It doesn't hold your hand and tell you just want to do-- you may be left asking "what next" when trying to apply it. The Natural Step Organization, which supports the framework, is aware of this limitation. As they work with more and more organizations that have used the framework, I expect that will amass further documentation on how to apply the framework in specific situations. The book does provide four thorough case-studies, but none of them were of a small business or organization, which is what most directly interested me.
• How can I apply it? -- One idea I got of the book was the development and use of environmental policies. I can ask the organizations I deal with for their environmental policies, and make decisions about our relationship based on them. I imagine now that many organizations don't have them. But if enough people ask for one, and possibly quit doing business with them because they don't have one-- These organizations will produce one. Likewise, I can work with the organizations tha I can am directly involved with to develop and use an environmental policy.

Summary

The case studies revealed another hidden benefit of the program as well. Interface Corporation (and others) reported that being an environmentally focused company was the best employee motivation program they'd ever had. Employees felt more purposeful in their work, reducing turnover, fostering innovation, increasing productivity and increasing profit.

I recommend this book to anyone interested in organizational change. One of organizations in the book got started on it's evolutionary path after the CEO was given a related book by an employee, who was given the book by her young daughter who read the book. You never know how reading a book might change the world!

Many of ideas and case studies for this book are available through the links above. You can also read more about this book at Amazon.com.

Thanks to The Center for a New American Dream for sending me in the direction of this book.