Banner2
Kathryn A Cooper 

 Thought of the Day

 

"We should all have an opportunity to feel a part of something, not just have a part in something." 
Simon Sinek 

Sustainability Learning Centre Logo Square

upcomincoursesUpcoming SLC Courses & E-Learning 

Green Building Standards Webinar, Jan. 29, 2014.

ON-Line Integrating ISO 26000 (Social Responsibility) into your Management Systems, Feb. 4-24, 2014.

Sustainability Toolkit: A Practical Guide to Integration, March 4 - April 15, 2014.

ON Demand Getting Ready for G4 (under the Global Reporting Initiative). 

Employee Engagement for Sustainability (ON Demand - available now)

Greenhouse Gas Measurement & Reporting (ON-Demand - available now)

Facilitating Transformational Change for Sustainability I (ON Demand - available Now)

Facilitating Transformational Change for Sustainability II (ON Demand - available now)greenprojmgmt

  
 

Developing Green Habits for Sustainability (available now On-Demand)

Integrating ISO 26000 (Social Responsibility) into your Management Systems (available now On Demand)   

The Natural Step

  Sustainability 101 

"I came away challenged and inspired. Challenged to hold myself to a higher standard and inspired to change the world." Suanne deBoer

 

Green Education On-Line

E- Learning Platform

 

Pathway to Sustainability Strategy

 

Intro to Energy Planning

 

Waste Management Concepts (7 Modules)

 

Green Cleaning Practices

 

Water Conservation (4 Modules) 

 

Sustainable Supply Chains (4 Modules)

 

Sustainable Purchasing Practices

Join Our Mailing List
   

 Follow us on Twitter

 

View our profile on LinkedIn

 

View our videos on YouTube

 

  Visit our blog 

 

Customized Training
Kick off 2014 right.  Book your 
employee training, lunch and learns or Green Team coaching now.  

See who we have been working with this month!

Many thanks to the amazing Teams at Sherwin Williams and Intelex!  
We trained over 100 people on sustainability as part of the on-boarding process.

We provided a "Lunch & Learn" for the Green Team to examine what is beyond the "low hanging fruit".
ENGAGE: Employee Engagement for Sustainability
(On Demand)
  
Understand the research and science behind successful principles and practices for employee engagement for sustainability. 
  
For more information.   
EmployeeEngagementOverview
EmployeeEngagementOverview
Partners' Quicklinks
  
CBSR Logo 
  
Issp-to 
    
Network for Business Sustainability   
Partners in Project Green   
Sustainability Speakers Series  
The Natural Step 
  
Accountability Project
  
  

 

The Sustainability Learning Centre is a learning & networking hub for sustainability.
Ask us about Customized In House Training & Green Team University Certification
 
Green Team University
studentdisDon't forget - students get 50 % off in our student scholarship program. Select Student Option when Registering. 
 
student discount


Green Chemistry, Partnership Building and Green Building Standards - what do they have in common?  

They are all part of the complex, interconnected problems that make up our sustainability challenge.  We are in the cross hairs of three global problems: climate change, global resource scarcity and a population boom.

We cannot continue to disrupt the eco-system services that sustain us, while adding another 3.5 Billion people to a highly consuming middle class.  As Paul Polman, CEO Unilever noted, "
The issues we face are so big and the targets are so challenging that we cannot do it alone. When you look at any issue, such as food or water scarcity, it is very clear that no individual institution, government or company can provide the solution."

That is why embracing innovation through education is so important. Continually advancing our global society toward sustainability requires the individual practice of personal mastery. Whether you are reading the featured partnership research, attending the upcoming ISO 26000 program or registering for the University of Guelph's new ON-Line MBA is Sustainable Commerce, we need to urgently get the skills to solve these complex, system challenges. We simply can't do that with our current level of thinking.  
 
Kathryn
 

Kathryn A. Cooper

President & Chief Learning Officer

Sustainability Learning Centre 

In This Issue:
CUSTOMIZED IN-HOUSE TRAINING - book now for 2014.
ENGAGE: Employee Engagement for Sustainability
Guelph's new ON LIne MBA in Sustainable Commerce
Sustainability Engagement Network Dialogue: Reporting
Green Building Standards Webinar, Jan. 29, 2013
FEATURED COURSE: Integrating Social Responsibility (ISO 26000) into existing Management Systems and Your Supply Chain
FEATURED RESEARCH: Two Kinds of Change Agents
FEATURED PODCAST: Green Chemistry (closing the loop)
UPCOMING TRAINING
 
GuelphMBAGuelph's new ON Line MBA in Sustainable Commerce

Sustainability Engagement Network Dialogue - Defining Success for your Sustainability Engagement Program (free)
wendy

 

Topic: SEND - Defining Success in your Sustainability Engagement Program

Date: Thursday, Dec. 12 2013 

Time: 12:00 pm, Eastern Daylight Time (New York, GMT-04:00)

 

 Register here: 

 

The Sustainability Engagement Network Discussion (SEND) Series is a free network of Sustainability Practitioners using peer learning to accelerate employee engagement for sustainability.

Integrating Business and SustainabilityDate:Jan. 29, 2013
Time: 12 noon - 1 pm
Free Registration until Jan. 15, 2013

In this webinar we will:

  • Understand the business case for green building design or a retrofit.

  • Compare and contrast the various green building standards.

  • Identify some of the key steps involved in greening a building.

  • Recognize the hidden challenges to greening a building.

For More Information or to Register 

 

ISO26000Integrating Social Responsibility (ISO 26000) into existing Management Systems and Your Supply Chain
ISO 26000

Date: Feb. 4 -24, 2014
Time: 1:00 - 2:30 pm EST
Registration: Early registration expires January 14, 2013.

What you will learn:

* Define Social Responsibility using the ISO 26000 as it relates to your organisation and supply chain.

* Apply Social Responsibility (ISO 26000) principles to current issues within your company and learn practical metrics and benchmarking methods.

* Identify Social Responsibility gaps in your current management systems and those of your supply chain.

* Integrate ISO 26000, a standardized social responsibility approach into your existing management systems and those of your supply chain.  
* Explore tools, frameworks and software for practical application of ISO 26000. 

 

For More Information or to Register

featuredresearchFEATURED RESEARCH: Sustainability through Partnerships - a guide for executives.
Network for Business Sustainability

 

New research by the Network for Business Sustainability provides guidance for developing partnerships for sustainability.

 

Partnerships have Grown Exponentially

According to the study, the number of partnerships has grown exponentially over the last 15 years. Partnerships are increasing because they are effective: they can address problems that individual organizations, or even whole sectors, can't solve independently. These problems are usually complex, requiring different kinds of skills or resources and involving many stakeholders.

Partnerships are also increasing because of changes in society. Citizens have higher expectations of business - and may not trust them to act alone. Governments have reduced resources, and look for others to share burdens. 


Partnerships Naturally Address Sustainability

Partnerships are a natural way to address sustainability issues. They can enable your business to innovate, improve society and the environment, increase legitimacy and acquire new skills and resources. 


But partnerships are also a new way of operating - and not all are successful. This report identifies steps for success. It provides the best research-based advice on planning and executing effective partnerships.

 

Optimize Partnerships to Advance Sustainable Business Webinar
Optimize Partnerships to Advance Sustainable Business Webinar

 

The study talks about different types of partnerships

  • Reactive partnerships are driven by threat (e.g. community outrage),compliance, or charity. 
  • Transactional partnerships focus on improving profit or market share. 
  • Integrative partnerships try to balance bottom-line considerations with social and ecological concerns.
  • Transformative partnerships seek wider societal improvement by meeting all partners' objectives and empowering communities.

And it provides case studies from the TD Bank Group, RaboBank, Walmart, Interface, and Loblaw.  Models and checklists are included that address: 1) How to Select partners, 2) How to manage the process, 3)Building understanding and 4)Developing relationships.

 

Solving today's complex problems is going to take all our best thinking and our deepest resolve.  This tool looks like an excellent starting point.

 

Read the Executive Summary

greenchemistryFeatured Podcast: Green Chemistry (closing the loop)
 
If it's on the store shelf, it's been tested and found safe, right? Guess again. Bev Thorpe of Clean Production Action talks about the hidden chemical dangers in everyday products and how 'green chemistry'-designing materials and products without harmful chemicals-promises to transform the relationship between us and our Stuff.
The Good Stuff, Episode 12: Green Chemistry
The Good Stuff, Episode 12: Green Chemistry
Upcoming Sustainability Training
CourseListingNew
Check out our listing of upcoming courses click above.