The Natural Step (1,2,3,4; Cast Back (Way Back); Repeat)

If Portland, OR steps to different beat, Sweden steps to a different drum. For example, McDonald’s in Sweden serves organic milk and beef, recycles 97 percent of all restaurant waste, and powers over half of its 160 stores, as well as the national headquarters, with renewable energy. This puts the largest burger giant’s green wrecking ball squarely through the window of most American burger chains, even Portland, Oregon’s local environmental burger chain, Burgerville.

Given the fertile grounds for environmental change, it’s no wonder that Sweden gave rise to what I see as the latest and greatest environmental advancement: recognizing that the environment does not exist in a void (“oh yes, there are societies and economies!”) and using that knowledge to create metrics regarding true sustainability. Not sustainability as you find it described in a car commercial; rather, sustainability you can capture, put in a vial, and show to your freshman science class.

The bus tour crew was back in Science 101 on Tuesday, July 24th, when we received a 2-hour presentation from Duke Castle, one of the founders of the Oregon Natural Step Network, the largest chapter of the Natural Step in the United States. After showing us how all of the environmental, social, and economic problems humans face are interrelated, he hopped into the Natural Step, which I will attempt to re-describe below.

Developed in 1989 by Swedish oncologist Karl-Henrik Robert, the Natural Step is a framework that can help guide our actions. Robert, through a peer-reviewed process, determined four guiding principles, officially known as “system conditions,” that define sustainability in scientific terms:

In a sustainable global society, the ecosphere is not subject to systematically increasing…

1. Concentrations of substances extracted from the earth’s crust
Examples: Fossil fuels, metals, and minerals
2. Concentrations of substances produced by society (synthetics)
Examples: Persistent substances (DDT, PCB’s…), plastics, Freon
3. Degradation by physical means
Examples: Over-harvesting (forests, oceans...), eliminating biodiversity
and in that society,
4. People are not subject to conditions that systematically undermine their capacity to meet their basic needs
Examples: Overpopulation, unlivable wages, environmental and social inequity

We can define a system as sustainable if it does not violate any of the above conditions. Notice that the Natural Step defines sustainability in a negative way – by only describing what should not be done, rather than prescribing a specific solution, the Natural Step allows for innovative solutions. Innovative solutions for, let’s say, pressing environmental and Native American issues (Udall? Anyone?). As long as you do not violate the system conditions, anything is fair game. The Natural Step helps do for sustainability what the green movement has not: create a standard definition for environmental, social, and economic responsibility.

Of course, the Natural Step is not enough on its own. How can an organization, community, or individual using the Natural Step actually start to take action? Mr. Castle then explained the process of backcasting, a common technique, as applied to the Natural Step. This is also a four part process we can call ABCD.

A (Awareness): What do you know about sustainability and why it matters?
B (Baseline Mapping): What does your organization look like today?
C (Clear and Compelling Vision): What does your organization look like in a sustainable society?
D (Down to Action): How will you manage and prioritize steps to sustainability?

By following the backcasting process, an organization will be able to understand sustainability, assess their current level of economic, environmental, and social responsibility, define organizational sustainability, and determine the best course to reach sustainability. It’s important to note that organization’s sustainable does not need to be immediately feasible; it needs to be truly sustainable. As author Jeff Goodell said:

“During the slavery debate there was all this stuff: ‘Oh, you can't abolish slavery, the farms will collapse. What are you going to replace this labor with? We don't have people -- who's going to pick our cotton? Everything's going to fall apart.’ The great thing Lincoln said is, that's not the issue. The issue is, is it right or is it wrong? You make that decision first and then you decide how to do it.”
Just as the American economy survived and thrived after abolition, once sustainability is defined for an organization, that organization can innovate to reach its goals. Most businesses that are implementing the Natural Step are doing so at either negative, zero, or close to zero net cost. Sustainability saves money and in the long run, will save a business or community entirely.

As President Lincoln and Mr. Goodell did, the Natural Step Network believes in the creativity and ingenuity of humanity. There are many ways to build a sustainable society. Having a concrete way of defining what is not a sustainable society is the first step toward achieving sustainability. I am currently working for a sustainability consulting organization in Portland, OR called the Zero Waste Alliance, which uses the Natural Step as part of its framework. If you would like to learn more about the Natural Step and the organizations using it, visit www.ortns.org

By Bob Filbin