intelligent strategies for sustainability

For me the world is weird because it is stupendous, awesome, mysterious, unfathomable; my interest has been to convince you that you must assume responsibility for being here, in this marvelous world, in this marvelous desert, in this marvelous time. I wanted to convince you that you must learn to make every act count, since you are going to be here for only a short while, in fact, too short for witnessing all the marvels of it.

Don Juan, from Journey To Ixtlan by Carlos Casteneda

True Sustainability

We assist you in integrating principals of sustainability into the very fabric of your organization. Our straightforward process includes the following elements:

First We Listen

Tell us about your organizational mission and vision. We need to understand your organizational culture, rhythm, and values. Are you "true believers" in sustainability, or just "testing the waters?" How risk-averse or risk-tolerant are you? How does your organization adapt to, and manage, organizational change and development? These questions help define the parameters of how we tailor our work to your business or institution.

Explore Possibilities

Have you articulated your vision of sustainability, and your vision of change? We can work with your existing vision and mission, or help facilitate your exploration of new sustainability-related vision, consistent with your existing organizational mandate.

Define Tangible Goals and Objectives

If environmental performance or sustainability hasn't been part of your organizational vocabulary, we can help you determine how those considerations can become integrated with your existing business processes and mission, and help you determine how your business processes and mission may evolve to meet these new organizational objectives. If you have already engaged in environmental performance activities or energy efficiency programs, we can help you assess the effectiveness of your existing efforts, as well as discovering new opportunities to improve and expand on those measures.

Identify Current Environmental Aspects and Impacts

We help you carefully assess your inputs, your internal processes, and your outputs (including products, packaging, and waste). A complete inventory of what you do now is the foundation for determining how you can meet a new set of objectives.

Establish Priorities for Change

Where is the proverbial 'low hanging fruit'? Which improvements can pay for themselves immediately, or have the fastest payback? Which improvements can have the greatest impacts at the least cost? We will help you identify a sensible prioritization of measures and a program for their implementation.

Establish a Process for Change

We help you create a strategy for moving from where you are today to where you wish to be in the future. This includes creating self-assessment tools to test progress and modify your sustainability program as it evolves.

We use tools such as backcasting and systems analysis, drawing from the examples of dozens of organizations large and small who have already started down the path of transformation.