April 5, 2005
A Framework for Environmental Understanding
Brian Yeoman, HARC, and program leader for Cultivate Green welcomed the attendees and introduced the Natural Step to the audience. Environmental issues have periodically gained public prominence over the last few decades, there is still no consensus on the seriousness of the threats , or on how to move toward resolution. This lack of consensus is due to the fact that as a society, we have not been using a common language with which to collaboratively define and thereby solve problems. The need for such common ground is urgent, given continued warnings from scientists across the globe that all natural systems are in decline. TNS offers such a common language based on fundamental scientific principles, on which there is essentially no disagreement.
The Natural Step (TNS) seeks to foster the use of a compelling framework within the corporate, academic, governmental and community sectors to support two key societal shifts: 1) widespread understanding of the root source of our environmental challenges and, 2) use of innovative and profitable strategies that foster economic and environmental sustainability in commerce and human society at large.
TNS principles are based on the premise that the roots and magnitude of the environmental challenges we face today are grounded in a fundamental design flaw in modern society. The flaw is that virtually all human activities use natural resources in a linear, "once through" fashion which is antithetical to the cyclical nature of biological systems wherein waste equals food.
Cyclical systems are sustainable. Linear systems, by definition, are not. The power and originality of TNS lies in its approach to this systemic flaw, adherence to scientifically based principles, and the capacity to make complex principles easily understood and operational.
TNS was founded in Sweden in 1989 by Swedish cancer physician Dr. Karl Henrik Robert. In the course of his review of literature pertaining to health related impacts of environmental contamination, he became aware that effective action on environmental problems was being held back by endless disagreement over details. His goal became to foster consensus among the scientific community in Sweden on parallel nonnegotiable principles for a sustainable relationship between human society and the rest of nature. Toward that end, fifty of Sweden's leading scientists and the American Academy of Scientists have endorsed the essential scientific principles that define the basic requisites for life on this planet.
Dr. Carl S. Hacker, Associate Professor at the University Of Texas School Of Public Health presented the science of the Natural Step. First, the First Law of Thermodynamics tells us that matter and energy cannot be created or destroyed. In other words, nothing disappears. Second, the Second Law of Thermodynamics tells us that matter and energy tend to disperse. This means that eventually all matter introduced into society, either from the earth's crust or human made will be released into natural systems. In other words, everything spreads. Third, material quality is characterized by the concentration and structure of matter. In other words, there is value in order. Finally, there is only one large-scale source of net increase in ordered matter and energy on Earth and that is the photosynthesis cycle. Green plant cells, with light from the sun, essentially provide the one mechanism to reconstitute disorder (created by human and animal consumption) back into net order. In other words, ordered matter and energy essential for survival comes from plants and sunlight.
Dr. Robert postulated four system conditions necessary to achieve a sustainable society that can be derived from these fundamental scientific first order macro principles, and together provide a "compass" that can be used to guide our organizations toward sustainability.
The first system condition is stated, as substances from the Earth's crust must not systematically increase in nature. If fossil fuels, metals and other minerals are extracted at a faster pace than their slow redeposit into the Earth's crust, the mined materials will increase in the ecosphere and eventually reach limits beyond which irreversible changes occur. Therefore, we need to systematically decrease our dependence on mined metals, fossil fuels and other minerals, and replace them with renewable sources.
The second system condition is stated, as substances produced by society must not systematically increase in nature. If human-made substances are produced faster than they can be integrated and returned into natural cycles, their concentrations will increase in the ecosphere and eventually reach limits beyond which irreversible changes occur because natural systems do not know what too do with the unrecognizable. Therefore, we need to decrease production of unnatural persistent substances that can and do bioaccumulate.
The third system condition is stated, as the physical basis for the productivity of nature must not be systematically deteriorated. If we manipulate ecosystems in such a way that their productive capacity and diversity are diminished, the decreased capacity of nature to restructure wastes into resources will threaten our survival. Therefore, changes are needed in our use of land, oceans and other ecosystems.
The fourth system condition is stated, as the use of resources must be efficient with respect to meeting basic human needs. Basic human needs must be met with the most resource efficient methods possible, including a just resource distribution. In order to live sustainably, humanity must prosper with a resource metabolism meeting the first three system conditions. Therefore, a dramatic increase in efficiency is required, as in a more equitable distribution of resources to meet basic human needs. This is necessary to ensure the social stability and cooperation necessary for making the changes in due time.
Linda Paisley led a discussion on the understanding and application of the systems conditions for those present.
Brian Yeoman led a discussion on the business application of the Natural Step. Some of today's most successful and entrepreneurial business and community leaders from around the world are incorporating environmental stewardship into their core strategy. They are convinced that embracing sustainability provides them with competitive advantages in the marketplace. The Natural Step's easily understood "compass" has helped many of these leaders reorient their companies toward sustainable production practices while improving market advantage.
The TNS framework is now being used to make strategic investment decisions by corporations and municipalities around the world and by major companies in the U.S., such as Interface Carpet Company, Mitsubishi Electric America, Starbucks, Nike, Norm Thompson, and Collins Pine.
Rives Taylor, research scientist at HARC and the Kirksey Chair holder in sustainable design at the University of Houston College of Architecture presented the Natural Step in application by examples from The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston who had made extensive use of the Natural Step for nearly ten years. Unfortunately that situation no longer exists. Many projects and many materials from the previous era were shown and explained.
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