Spring 1997 - Issue Number 39
The Natural Step:
A Compass For Sustainable Development
BACKGROUND
Although environmental concerns have gained public prominence over the last few decades, there is still no consensus on the seriousness or timing of the threats posed. This lack of consensus is due to the fact that there is as yet no common language with which people of differing backgrounds can collaboratively define and thereby solve problems. In addition, most environmental initiatives address downstream effects of pollution, resulting in thousands of regulations and a corresponding backlash against such strictures on the part of the regulated community. The backlash, of course, makes our environmental problems no less real, signaled by continued warnings from scientists across the globe that all natural systems in the world today are in decline, resulting in profound implications for the health and survival of humans and other species.
The Natural Step (TNS) sustain-ability principles are based on the premise that the roots and magnitude of the environmental problems we face today are grounded in a fundamental design flaw in modern society. The flaw: virtually all human activities use natural resources in a linear, "once through" fashion which is antithetical to the cyclical nature of biological systems. In all natural systems, "waste" from one process is used as fuel or "food" for the next process. Conversely, human commerce and society is currently organized on linear principles--inputs in the form of natural resources are systematically turned into products and waste, much of which is so harmful and toxic that it must be sequestered as far from all life forms as possible. Cyclical systems are sustainable. Linear systems, by definition, are not.
The Natural Step (TNS) fosters the use of a scientifically based framework to support two key societal shifts: 1) widespread understanding of the root source of our environmental problems; and, 2) implementation of methods and techniques that seek to redesign the relationship between human society and natural systems, based on that understanding. At its essence, the mission of The Natural Step is to catalyze the transition from our present unsustainable human societies, organized as they are on linear principles, to societies that are attractive, sustainable, and organized on the same cyclical principles upon which natural systems are organized. This shift requires a fundamental change in awareness, values and behavior on the part of a critical mass of the population.
Given the urgent need for solutions to the environmental problems we face, The Natural Step is committed to the principle that at this point in our history it is at least as important to offer basic knowledge on how the world works to the general public as it is to further expand that knowledge among a few scientists. The power and originality of the scientifically-based TNS sustainability framework is that it makes complex principles easy for most audiences and age groups to understand, and it provides clear guidance on how to put these principles into practice.
HISTORY, SCIENCE AND PROGRESS OF THE NATURAL STEP
The Natural Step 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. This insight convinced him that what was needed was a way to address environmental issues so that the ongoing deterioration of the environment could be perceived and defined as an entire system rather than as a series of disparate symptoms. As a cellular biologist, Robert knew that there were certain non-negotiable requirements that must be met if a cell is to survive; similarly, he hoped that the scientific community in Sweden could be able to reach consensus on the non-negotiable conditions for a sustainable relationship between human society and the rest of nature. Toward that end, Robert facilitated a consensus process that resulted in fifty of Sweden's leading scientists endorsing the essential scientific principles that define the basic requisites for life on this planet and together form a unique and easily understood scientific framework for sustainability. Those scientific principles are:
- Matter and energy cannot be created nor destroyed. (According to the First Law of Thermodynamics and the Principle of Matter Conservation)
- Matter and energy tend to disperse. (According to the Second Law of Thermodynamics) This means that eventually, all matter introduced into society (either from the earth's crust, or human made) will be released into natural systems.
- Material quality is characterized by the concentration and structure of matter. We cannot consume energy or matter--but we can and do consume material quality (the degree of order within energy and matter).
- There is only one large scale source of net increase in material quality on Earth, and that is photosynthesis. Green plant cells, with light from the sun, provide the one mechanism to reconstitute disorder (created by human and animal consumption) back into net order.
These basic science principles, and the fact that human and other life cannot tolerate continual degradation of the environment leads to the cyclic principle. "Waste must not systematically accumulate in nature, and there must be at least as much reconstitution of material quality as dissipation of material quality." (Robert, Hawken, Daly, Holmberg; A Compass for Sustainable Development).
While these scientific laws, grounded as they are in the laws of thermodynamics, are not new, the framework that they form together is a remarkable breakthrough in making complex scientific principles easily understood. Perhaps the most remarkable outcome of this work is its demonstration that the implications of what we agree on are more far-reaching than what we disagree on. Four "system conditions" that describe the necessary and sufficient prerequisites for a sustainable society derive directly from this core scientific framework:
- Substances from the Earth's crust must not systematically increase in nature. This means fossil fuels, metals and other minerals must not be extracted at a faster pace than their slow redeposit and reintegration into the Earth's crust. This means we must systematically decrease our dependence on underground metals, fuels and other minerals, and replace them with renewable sources.
- Substances produced by society must not systematically increase in nature. This means that substances must not be produced at a faster pace than they can be broken down and integrated into the cycles of nature, or deposited into the earth's crust.
- The physical basis for the productivity of nature must not be systematically deteriorated. This means we cannot harvest or manipulate ecosystems in such a way that their productive capacity and diversity are diminished.
- The use of resources must be efficient and just with respect to meeting human needs. Basic human needs must be met with the most resource efficient methods possible, including a just resource distribution. This is necessary to ensure the social stability and cooperation for making the changes in due time.
Taken together, these four System Conditions form the foundation for the educational activities of TNS. Initiatives undertaken as a result of The Natural Step's work in Sweden include:
- A color booklet and audio cassette describing the scientific consensus developed by TNS was mailed to every home and school (4.3 million) in Sweden. . The commercial Swedish Farming Federation joined with the organic farming organizations to draft a consensus policy calling for Swedish agriculture to be the "cleanest in the world." . Electrolux redesigned all its refrigerators and changed its coolant technology away from chlorinated compounds six weeks after top management took The Natural Step training.
- IKEA is producing an entirely new line of sustainable furniture based on The Natural Step training with the aim of replacing all existing lines.
- As a result of TNS training, one of Sweden's largest petroleum refiners is taking the lead in developing alternative fuels and calling for increased taxes on fossil fuels.
- In March 1995, ten CEOs from Sweden's largest companies met with Prime Minister Carlsson to request legislation to shift taxes to primary resources, carbon-based fuels, pollution and toxics. All ten CEOs were trained in The Natural Step.
- The Natural Step Environmental Institute offers training to businesses and local municipal authorities in ecological systems thinking and applications. To date, over 1,000 managers from 100 large municipalities and companies, including Scandic Hotels and McDonald's, have been trained. (Comparable U.S. figures would include 33,000 managers in 660 Fortune 1,000 companies and over 1,000 local governments. Youth Parliaments have been organized, and an annual Parliament on the Environment for 500,000 Swedish youths broadcast to classrooms by satellite TV. . An environmental award was offered by King Gustav in which 49 local authorities competed to determine which city was most effective in moving toward cyclical systems.
THE NATURAL STEP IN THE UNITED STATES Our intent is to foster results in the United States equally as dramatic as those in Sweden by educating a critical mass of people from four target audiences (corporations, academia, government and community) in the principles of TNS. Key objectives for the next five years are:
- Form an effective and responsive national organization;
- Develop a teaching model with widespread scientific consensus and support;
- Make educational activities and seminars in the principles of TNS widely accessible to all four target audiences;
- Develop and make widely available an effective set of self paced learning tools including: videos, an interactive world wide web site, computer games, self-study modules, workbooks, case studies, board games, etc.
THE NATURAL STEP IN THE GREAT LAKES
Thanks to start-up support from the Joyce Foundation, the Natural Step has launched a Great Lakes regional effort, led by Carol Misseldine, formerly executive director of the Michigan Environmental Council. The principle goal of the Natural Step's Great Lakes Regional Program is to offer training and follow-up support to interested audiences, with a particular focus on the corporate sector. Interested organizations are encouraged to contact the Natural Step's Great Lakes office.
For more information contact:
Carol Misseldine, Director
Great Lakes Program
The Natural Step
PO Box 20124
Lansing, MI 48901-0724
(517) 482-6232
fax: (517) 487-9541
e-mail: carolm@pilot.msu.edu
Natural Steps - US Home Page
Return to the Index of Synapse 39, Spring 1997