The Natural Step

The Natural Step, an international movement, started in Sweden, dedicated to helping society reduce its impact on the environment has developed four system conditions for sustainability ... 

Cheltenham, The Natural Step UK, 2000, pp.64, 30cm, 17 PVC AN EVALUATION USING THE NATURAL STEP FRAMEWORK... 

This is the full report of the Natural Step in the UK research project which was initiated by the PVC Co-ordination Group. The Natural Step framework evaluates the challenges needed to make PVC truly sustainable across its entire life cycle. The key questions explored in this study are whether the PVC industry is currently sustainable or is it moving towards increased sustainability and what steps are needed to make PVC sustainable ... 

The Natural Step defines four system conditions that must prevail for a society to become sustainable. 

THE NATURAL STEP FRAMEWORK BACKCASTING FROM PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABILITY... 

Blekinge Technical University and The Natural Step, Stockholm... 

Backcasting from Principles of Success Introduction to The Natural Step Framework and Approach... 

The Natural Step Framework is built on backcasting from basic principles of success. Backcasting refers to a planning procedure by which a successful outcome of the planning is imagined in the future, followed by the question what was it that we did today, that allowed us to get there The term basic principles of success denotes principles that... 

Applying The Natural Step Framework A Strategic Sustainable Development Decision-Making Process... 

The Natural Step has placed these principles into a framework for sustainable development, which is used in conjunction with backcasting techniques. Actions are launched, step by step, in a strategic way to serve as viable stepping stones towards compliance with the sustainability principles. The framework is systematized as an approach to facilitate the brainstorming sessions and team-planning that is presented in the A,B,C,D methodology. 

The Natural Step Framework and approach are elaborated from the constraints determined by basic principles of sustainability. Backcasting from basic principles of sustainability is a framework that covers relevant aspects of how to plan ahead in a complex system, such as for societies within the biosphere. The approach brings a sustainability perspective to analyses of current practices and materials, suggested solutions and visions, and the strategic evaluation of various solutions and paths to arrive at sustainability. And it brings this new perspective in with opportunities for improved economic outcomes. 

B. Nattrass and M. Altomare, The Natural Step for Business Wealth, Ecology, and the Evolutionary Corporation, New Society Press, Gabriola Island, British Columbia, 1999. 

Sustainability itself has been adopted by some countries. In Sweden, The Natural Step Framework (discussed later in this section) has received strong support from business and political leaders and has been adopted by a number of council municipalities and corporations (such as IKEA and Electrolux). 

A strategic framework for chemical engineers is required, as for example suggested by The Natural Step2 (a good example) or the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)3. As a structured framework, the Natural Step is about the science, life cycle analysis (see Fig. 5). 

The Natural Step Cyclic Principle (www.ozemail.com.au/ natstep)... 

Issues in sustainability that fall within the control of chemical engineers include the core elements of The Natural Step and GRI — Life Cycle Analysis and criteria for monitoring performance. These core elements fit well with elements that are... 

Robert s (1992) program, The Natural Step (TNS), is preferred to such options as life cycle, ecological footprinting, and green engineering. The four principles of TNS are as follows ... 

As engineers debottleneck, upgrade, and improve processes. The Natural Step criteria provide a convenient, and sometimes unsettling, set of guidelines. 

K.-H. Robert, The Necessary Step. Stockholm Ekerlids forlag. This is the original publication. However, sites on the Web provide more accessible data and examples. Search for The Natural Step. Some example sites are http //www.globalideasbank.org/BOV/BV-273.html, http //www.naturalstep.org, and http //iisdl.iisd.ca/business/naturalorg.htm. 

D. T. Allen and K. S. Rosselot, Pollution Prevention for Chemical Processes. New York John Wiley Sons, 1997. The authors do not use The Natural Step, but they provide excellent insight into sustainability. 

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