GLUMAC - Engineers for a sustainable future

Sonya Salanti, Portland Marketing Coordinator

How can businesses take achievable steps towards creating a sustainable workplace? At first blush, the idea of remaking our organizations into ecologically sound, socially responsible businesses may seem daunting. However, many Oregon businesses and municipalities have implemented successful sustainability programs by keeping pace with The Oregon Natural Step. Rooted in the fundamental laws of science and nature, The Oregon Natural Step is founded on a core understanding of the systems that allow the planet to replenish itself and flourish without negatively impacting its inhabitants and ecosystems. By following the Natural Step Framework, businesses use the Four System Conditions (see list below) as a basis to create a customized sustainability plan that integrates the principles of sustainability with the necessity of profitability and a secure client base.

The Four Systems Conditions

System Condition No. 1
"In a sustainable society, nature is not subject to systematically increasing concentrations of substances extracted from the earth's crust."
In practical terms, this condition requires society to use less, implement comprehensive metal and mineral recycling programs and find sustainable alternatives to the use of fossil fuels and other non-replenishable resources and decrease economic dependence on these resources.

System Condition No. 2
"In a sustainable society, nature is not subject to systematically increasing concentrations of substances produced by society."
In practical terms, this condition requires society to reduce economic dependence on persistent (non-biodegradable) human-made substances (e.g. plastics, CFCs, HCFCs, chemical fertilizers, pesticides, etc.)

System Condition No. 3
"In a sustainable society, nature is not subject to systematically increasing degradation by physical means."
In practical terms, this condition requires society to avoid taking more from the biosphere than can be replaced.

System Condition No. 4
"And in that society human needs are met worldwide."
In practical terms, this condition implies society must address population growth, wealth/resource distribution and social justice issues.

To participate in The Natural Step program, organizations typically designate a core sustainability team. After participating in a training program, the team uses The Natural Step processes and tools to identify and analyze their organization€™s inputs and outputs (both material and intellectual) and then evaluates and quantifies how these inputs and outputs violate the Four System Conditions. The team then defines and implements practices that minimize the violations and contribute to a positive, sustainable future. The modifications businesses make to their internal practices are customized, based on the product or service the organization provides.

A manufacturing firm might find that its violations are concentrated in energy usage, extraction of natural resources, and the production of waste products. To remedy these violations, the company might decide to purchase and install energy efficient equipment, recycle water used for manufacturing through implementing a closed loop system and implement a comprehensive recycling strategy for waste products.

A company that is primarily service-oriented, such as architecture or engineering firms, might discover that its violations are concentrated in transportation (client meetings and site visits), technology (computers, software, printers and plotters), and paper and ink usage. To shift to a sustainability framework, a service firm could implement company polices that minimize carbon-based transportation (automobiles and airplanes), institute the use of 100% recycled paper and environmentally friendly office products, furniture and office equipment, and rely on and/or influence vendors to adopt sustainability practices and carry products that minimally violate the Four System Conditions.

Another effective and transformational method employed by The Natural Step is backcasting. This is an exercise of clearly describing and documenting what the company will look like in the future as a fully sustainable organization. Relying on that vision, the organization asks: "What can be done today to reach that result?" Companies then examine their current situation and implement business practices that contribute to realizing the vision of the future.

Several leading Oregon companies have followed The Oregon Natural Step framework and are well on their way to becoming fully sustainable organizations. Some organizations of note include: Ashforth Pacific, Inc., BOORA Architects, Gerding/Edlen Development Company, Nike Inc., and Yost Grube Hall Architects. Last fall, a four-session Natural Step Training program prepared additional organizations to realize their vision of sustainability. Participants included the City of Lake Oswego, Glumac, Otak, SRG Partnership, Inc., and TVA Architects. Case studies for many of these firms are available on the Oregon Natural Step website at www.ortns.org.