The Natural Step
A Framework for Sustainable Development
Scott Briggs
WSGC Staff

In May I was privileged to attend a workshop called “Bringing Sustainability to Your Community: Learning from Sweden’s Example.” This workshop was sponsored by Sustain Dane, a local organization trying to do just that here in our own backyard. There were attendees from local business, local and state government agencies, and community organizations; and together we learned about a framework for sustainable development called the Natural Step. The Natural Step has shown incredible results in Sweden and shows great promise for implementation here in the U.S

What is "the Natural Step"?
Essentially the Natural Step is a framework for looking at something and assessing its sustainability. It has four guiding principles, or system conditions, for a sustainable system. They state that in a sustainable society, nature is not subject to systematically increasing concentrations of substances extracted from the Earth’s crust, concentrations of substances produced by society, or degradation by physical means, and that in that society human needs are met fairly and efficiently.

All of which really means that we need to realize that there are finite concentrations of a lot of things we humans depend on, and that those things cannot be expected to meet increasing demand indefinitely. We’re not just supposed to look at systems and evaluate them, though. The key to meeting all those human needs fairly and efficiently lies in evaluating not just how sustainable a system is, but how sustainable it can become. To that end, we learned about the method used to improve any system’s ability to operate with an eye toward future generations, called the Compass.

The Compass
The Compass is a four-step system for developing an action plan to become more sustainable. The first step is to develop a common definition of what sustainability is, which can be accomplished with the four system conditions above. The second step is to create an inventory of what you are doing right and what you want to change. This gives you strengths to build on and opportunities to grow. The third is to develop a vision for the future—a set of concrete goals that you as a city, business, or group truly want to achieve. The fourth is to determine what needs to be done to achieve this vision. Once you determine what needs to be done, all that’s left is to get started doing it.

There are many keys to the success of this method. One is a bottom-up, participatory approach that engages all of the people who will be carrying out the work that needs to be done. This makes education of all the participants critical, not just about what they need to do to change, but why. Another is a system-wide application of the principles, to ensure that growth in one area isn’t undermined by practices in another. Yet another is an attitude that meaningful change is possible and that all of the small things that we do individually can add up to amazing results for a city or business and in the end the whole world. And the last is the willingness to fail and try again. Not all of the changes that need to be made will be easy, but the end result is too important to ever stop striving for.

Bringing the Natural Step Home
As I said, this approach has shown amazing results in Sweden, but there has been support from the Sweden’s national government along the way. Can it work here in the U.S., where such support is unlikely? I would say yes, and so did the folks running this workshop. Why? It already is. There are people here in Madison and all over the country working to change things for the better. Not all of them are using this precise model, but some of them are. The Natural Step is also a non-profit based in San Francisco working to bring these ideas into practice in the States.

The day before the workshop some of us took a tour of Madison that showcased people and businesses working to make our city and world a better place. There are businesses like the Madison Environmental Group, a for-profit firm whose operations include managing waste recycling from the Overture Center and who work with Community Car. The Midwest Environmental Advocates are the only non-profit environmental law center in Wisconsin. Friends of Troy Gardens fought for years (successfully) to preserve Troy Gardens for public use instead of being sold to a developer. Phil Lewis, a visionary urban and regional planner who has done work for Dane County and the state government and taught at several prestigious universities, runs the Marshall Erdman Academy of Sustainable Design. Then there’s our own Willy Street Co-op, which, in addition to providing great food for members and non-members alike, donates money to local organizations and supports local agriculture, among other accomplishments. There are also the folks who put the workshop together—Sustain Dane—who are dedicated to preserving and strengthening our local community through education, networking and outreach. There are many more—too many to list here—and they’re all working toward a common goal: a future where our descendants can enjoy the freedom, beauty, and bounty that we do now.

For More Information
To get involved or learn more about the organizations mentioned here, and some that weren’t, check out:

Marshall Erdman Academy of Sustainable Design www.erdman.com/academy

The Natural Step www.naturalstep.org

Sustainable Sweden www.sustainablesweden.org

Sustain Dane www.sustaindane.org

Enact: Environmental Action Teams www.enactwi.org

EcoPlanIt www.urpl.wisc.edu/ecoplan