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Ottawa Ontario

Sustainability
– An Integrated Approach

Concurrent Session Presentation at


OCFMA and ASCC Joint Conference
Thunder Bay, Ontario
October 2008

Presenter: Phil Rouble, Facilities Planning Specialist


Revised: October 9, 2008
roublep@algonquincollege.com
In the 21st Century, the
Development of Humankind is at a
Tipping Point

!
LS

n?
IL

fu
R
be
TH

it
ill
W
This
world is
about to I L L S!
CH vive?
take us on a we sur
ride like Will

never before WA
IT
Wil IW AM
l
we we li AN INU
end ke w T O TE
up? her FF !
e !
Institutions of Higher Education Will
Play a Lead Role in Terms of Where
We End Up
• We shape the minds and values of the
leaders of tomorrow
• We shape a massive inventory of built
environments
• We can change the world - but first we
have some relearning to do

Think about it!


We Are Trying to Balance on an Unstable
Point Triggering Volatile Results

Sustainable Unsustainable
Development Development

THE ENVIRONMENT THE BIG UNKNOWN


(Because No One
Knows What Will
Eventually Happen)
The World is in Overshoot and the
World Is Changing
Humanity’s demand is exceeding the ecosphere’s supply
Sust
a
Deve inable
lopm
ent

Glob Unsu
a
Econ lization I s
Deve tainable
omie s
s and Changin lopm
ent
Soci g
eties

Excessive
The Ecosphere is Limited Climate Change Pollution

THE ENVIRONMENT THE BIG UNKNOWN


Resource
Depletion of Food Shortages
Shortages
Natural Resources Buildup Peak Oil
of Waste Social Unrest
We Must Change How We Define and
Build Success

ble
staina
Unsu pment
o
Devel

t a i nable
We Must Be Sus men t
l o p
Socially and Deve
Economically
Responsible

THE ENVIRONMENT THE BIG UNKNOWN


We Must Reduce Our Consumption We Must Triage the Most
and Regenerate Nature’s Reserves Critical Afflictions
Sustainable Development
Builds Sustainable Success
As individuals, organizations,
societies and a species:
1. We must redefine success
2. We need a new decision making
framework
3. We must act now to succeed for
tomorrow
Sustainable Development Is a
Journey – Not a Destination

The journey is one of working


together to create CHANGE
A Hitchhiker’s Guide to
Sustainable Development
(Beta 1.0)

What’s
Happening?
Why Do We Need Algonquin College’s
Sustainable Journey So Far
Development? Trends

DON’T PANIC
Simply Begin Your Journey
What’s Happening?
Why Do We Need Sustainable
Development?

Converging Changing
Storms Behaviours Sustainable
Learned Development
Behaviours
Lifestyle Transition
Changes Movement
Converging Storms Local
Solutions
High Road - Proaction Precedent:
New
Ozone Layer New Social
Depletion Economic Models Reduce
Lower Symptom Of Global Dependence
GHG Overshoot Global Response Models Citizenship On Energy
Emissions - Triage Action Plans Alternative
For Climate Energy
Individual Change Solving Social
Actions Poverty Equity
Climate Peak Oil
Change
Middle Road - Inaction The Most Globalization Civilization as
Complex, Issues of We Know It
Interconnected Rise of National Will Change
Severe Poor Civilization Emerging Globality Security
To Extreme Likely to To Ever Exist Economies – Competing
Outcomes Suffer Most (China, India…) With Everyone
Low Road – Alarmists / Naysayers From Everywhere
For Everything
Catastrophic Collapse of
and Abrupt Collapse of the Civilization as
Changes Developed We Know It
Economies
Learned Behaviours New Approaches
High Road - Proaction to Growth and
Lower Development
Carbon
Redefine Reduce Densification Footprints Respect for
Success Demand Of Cities the Eco-System
Stop
Eliminate Restoration of a Depleting
Waste Sense of Resources
Consumer Community
Society Ecological
Middle Road - Inaction
Urban Footprint
Development Overshoot Resource
- Exceeding Shortages
Capacity
Overconsumption Waste Bigger Homes Urban Of the
- Grew 45% from Declining
-1976 to 2006 Sprawl Eco-system Quality of the
Low Road – Alarmists / Naysayers Environment
Global
Conflicts
What If the I’m Entitled to Collapse of
Undeveloped A Big House the Eco-System
Nations Become
Like Us?
Average
Values of Past – Not Now
Happier House Size
Health Threats
Consumer Society Stewardship /
Resourcefulness /
Thrift
Doubled
Since 1970
Definition of
Happiness Victor Lebow
Synergistic Impacts Measure of
Contamination of Value
Declining Toxins Food Chain Consumer
Happiness Toxins Capitalism Planned
Corporations 100,000 Synthetic Identity Obsolescence
Chemicals
Outputs Pollution Nation of
People Waste Consumers Perceived
Government Energy Inputs Obsolescence
Products Heart of System
Ads and
Exploit Poor Media New Models
Labour Production Distribution Fashion
Materials Economy Consumption
- A System in Extraction
Goal: Keep
Consumption
Drives Disposal
Crisis Minerals
Fisheries Up System Recycling
Keep Inventory Helps
Keep Prices Moving Some But
Limits Finite Planet Forests Down 70x Waste
Keep Direct Occurs Upstream
Natural Resource Costs Down
Extraction 99% of Products
Water Trashed Within 6 Months
Economies Societies Externalize
Climate Waste Costs Pollution
Change
Environments Trashing the Planet
Carbon Average Per Capita
Offsets Waste Doubled Air
in 30 Years Water
Limits – We
Are Running Land
Real Costs Carbon
Out of Resources Taxes
Passed On
Overconsumption
1/3 Gone in
30 Years
Built from:
The Story of Stuff
Exploit the
Third World Ecological Footprints With Annie Leonard
Ecological Footprint
and Overshoot

Overshoot
– A Root
Issue to be
Addressed

From Global Footprint Network – 2006 Annual Report


Climate Change and Carbon Footprint
– Symptoms of Overshoot

From Global Footprint Network


Changing Behaviours
High Road - Proaction

Be Optimistic
Transformative Make
Change Progress Take Action
Be Proactive
Leadership
and Empowerment
Change Commitment
Management Be Positive
Middle Road - Inaction
Common
Resistance Themes in
to Change Sustainability
I Can’t Really Skepticism
Low Road – Alarmists / Naysayers Make a Difference and Cynicism

Fighting Just Another Apathy


Change Confusion
Plot Dismay
Change Management:
Are You Ready for Change?
For change to be successfully realized:
• Awareness – Why should we change?
• Desire – Need to be motivated to support and
participate in change – Incentives / Disincentives
• Knowledge – How do we change?
• Ability – Do we need new skills and processes?
• Reinforcement – Are we making progress?
• The ADKAR Model of Change Management by Prosci (Wikipedia September 2008)

Higher education must be a change agent


Common Themes on the Journey
to Sustainability PROGRESS

Vision
Leadership
Integrated
Decision Making Commitment
Standards
Ranking Champions Empowerment
Measurements /
Walk-the-Talk
Benchmarks / Action
Knowledge Metrics Participation
Awareness Learning Engagement
Communication Resources
Education
Integration Credibility
Change Where to What Will I Have
Confusion to Give Up?
Start? Selective
Resistance Inertia What Can
To Change I Do? Commitment
Fear of Losing Affordability
Control Controversy Misinformation
Information Eco- Greenwashing
Denial Overload Disillusionment DETOURS
Fatigue Mistrust
Who To Believe? Cynicism
Suspicion Misunderstanding Skepticism
Sustainable Development
High Road - Proaction
Social
The Triple
Inclusive Evolution Bottom Line
Sustainable
A Long Inclusive
History Model Integrated Success
Decision
The Path Environmental Economic Making
to Sustainable
Development A New
Middle Road - Inaction
Model for
Decision Making
A Definition
What About the of Sustainable Collaborative But It Always
Environmental Development Decision Comes Down
Movement But the Making To the Bottom
Low Road – Alarmists / Naysayers Environment Will Line
Still Not be a Priority
This Too
Will Pass Things Won’t Change Silos
A Definition of Sustainable
Development
“Sustainable development is development
that meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs.”
Brundtland Commission, 1987

Sustainable development recognizes that the


world is an interconnected system of social,
environmental and economic needs that must
succeed over time
More background on Sustainable Development
• The Sustainable Development Timeline 2007 – (IISD)
• Runnalls
, David, “Why Aren’t We There Yet? Twenty Years of Sustaina
ble Development”, March 2008, IISD
• The SD Gateway
Siloed Decision Making
Is Not Sustainable

Social An Obsolete
Distrust
Structure
That Should Be
Barriers and Abandoned and
Impediments Dismantled
To Success No Common
Ground
Results:
Mostly
Win-Loss- Loss
Environmental Economic
Sometimes
Win-Win-Loss
Seldom
Win-Win-Win
Collaborative Decision Making

Mutual respect yet still


separate interests
Little recognition of the
interconnectedness and
Still No Common Social interdependence on each
Ground other in order to succeed
over time
Results:
Win-Loss- Loss
Or
Win-Win-Loss
Environmental Economic
Sometimes
Win-Win-Win
Integrated Decision Making
- Comprehensive Decision Making Tool for
a Complex Interdependent World

Common Social
Ground Common ground
provides the best
Focus on: opportunity for
Win-Win-Win sustainable success

Mutual success
Environmental Economic
A Decision Making Framework
- Four Key Questions to Address
3. Does It Add
Value to Society?
Social
Decisions that do not Compromise will not
address any one area yield success Instead,
have increased risk of Rethink / Reframe the
ultimate failure problem or Rework the
4. What
solution.
Happens
Over Time?
Environmental Economic

2. Does It Sustain 1. Will We Be Able to Pay For It?


or Enrich the (Non-Profits) / Will It Make a
Environment? Profit? (For-Profits)
Trends

Sustainability Sustainability
In In Sustainability
Business Sustainability Higher In
In Education Built
Government Environments
And Global
Bodies
Sustainability in Business
High Road - Proaction
Cradle
World Business CSR – Corporate Sustainability To Natural
Council For Assessments
Assessing Sustainable Social Cradle Capitalism
Corporate Development Responsibilities Shareholder
Sustainability Value Eco-Efficiency
Sustainability The Business
- Doing More
Case for With Less
And Business
Middle Road - Inaction Sustainability
New
Dow Jones Most Smaller Paradigms
Sustainability Companies I Don’t
Index Limit to Environmental Understand
Low Road – Alarmists / NaysayersRegulations

I Won’t
Be Able
To Make a Profit
Sustainability and Business
• The World Business Council for Sustainable Development – WBCSD
– Excellent source of information on sustainable development
• SAM – Sustainable Asset Management
– “Many global companies are graduating from just thinking about
sustainability practices to actually including them in their day-to-day
operations reports the 2008 Sustainability Yearbook offered by SAM in
partnership with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). Yet the Yearbook also
states that if people from emerging markets consumed at the rate of
people in developed markets, we would need two extra Earths to meet
demand.”
– WBCSD - Yearbook Presents Sustainability Trends and Leaders
• The Dow Jones Sustainability Index
• Interface Flooring
– An excellent example of a sustainable corporation which built its
sustainability strategy using The Natural Step and Natural Capitalism
– Tripoli, Lori, “Interface’s Amazing Journey From “Planet Plunderer” to Pres
erver to Role Model”, Sustainability Magazine, August 2008
• The Economist – A good source of information on world trends
(Business globalization…)
Criteria to Assess Corporate
Sustainability
Social Criteria
"Corporate sustainability is • Corporate citizenship
a business approach that • Labor practice indicators
creates long-term • Human capital development
shareholder value by • Social reporting
embracing opportunities • Talent attraction and retention
and risks deriving from
economic, environmental
and social developments"

Environmental Criteria Economic Criteria


• Environmental performance • Codes of conduct
• Environmental reporting • Corporate governance
• Risk and crisis management
SAM – Sustainable Asset Management – Yearbook Presents Sustainability Trends and Leaders
The Business Case for
Sustainability
Carbon Tax
Eco-Efficiencies
Carbon Caps
Public Relations
Regulations and Opportunities
Public Demand Positive
Associations
Positive
Market Positive
Growth Employee Attraction
Efficiencies And Retention
Employee
New Market Consumer Productivity
Opportunities Access to Broader Loyalty
Pools of
Investment Capital

“The key to sustainability is making the market work


for the environment instead of against it. “
Time Magazine – Special Report – “New War on Waste”, August 12, 2002
Loop Initiatives Inc. – A Business Case for Sustainability
Sustainability Embeded in
Shareholder Value

SAM – Sustainable Asset Management – 2008 Sustainability Yearbook p. 11


Requires
Cradle to Cradle
Rethinking

Solution to
Approaches
Relatively Simple Waste = Food Still Eventually
Goes to a Landfill
Growing Problem Nutrients for As Waste
Waste Can Be Technical Systems
Make Waste Harmless Food for Growth
For Man, Plant
and Animal Everything in Biosphere Tends to
Change Will Likely Waste Should Should Go Back Nutrients for Downcycle
- Biodegradable Production
Come From Be Compostable to Soil Safely / Downgrade
Economic Forces and Be Healthy Systems A Material
Waste = Food
Solves a Big Problem
Intelligent Product
Bad Business System Versus Traditional
Cradle to Cradle Paradigm Shift –
Becomes Nutrients
Waste Recycling
Protocol
Waste is Stupid Design for Look At Entire
Michael Braungart
Eliminate the Disassembly
Life-Cycle of
Products
– Industrial Chemist Concept of Waste
We Have a Problem -William McDonough
Architect / Designer Considered
-Hero of the Planet Addresses Limits
In Raw Materials
Natural Systems By Making Waste
Design
Rapidly Most Productive
Growing Productive
Mountains of When It Creates
Economies Design a Building
Waste NIKE – No More Waste for Nutrients To Behave Like
Waste by 2020 A Tree in the
Patterns of Biosphere –
High Consumption NIKE Considered We Can Be Happy A Productive System
Falling Raw
- A Sustainable Line
of Shoes
Being Productive Built from: A Part of Nature
-Not in Conflict
Material Reserves
“Waste = Food” Video With Nature
Building Respects (An inspiring documentary on
The People Herman Miller
– The People Are "GreenHouse" Factory the Cradle to Cradle design
More Productive, & Offices
More Positive and More Committed concept)
Not About Being
Less Bad But
About Being
Accrual of Good for the Planet
Cradle to Cradle
More Species

Celebration Protection Does


Waste = Food
Not Mean Destroy
Of Natural World A Little Less
Emotional Goal – Technical Goal is to Create A Materials and
How Do We Design Systems Delightfully Diverse, Safe, Healthy and Just World Energy
That Love Children of With Clean Air, Soil, Water and Power in Closed Waste=Food
All Species for All Time? Economically, Equitably, Ecologically Cycles
and Elegantly Enjoyed
Sustainability a 2 Key Design “Cradle to Cradle”
Minimum Goals Some of the Most Is the Handbook
Eco-efficiency Some of the Most Hopeful Events For Circular Economy
Often Takes The Wrong Destructive Events
Approach of Being China Has One Looking at
Less Bad Not a Utopian Of the World’s Sustainable Wa
Dream Profitable for Biggest Challenges To Make Villag
Business Presidential Life Attractive
Eco-efficient 5 Year Plan
Calling for a
Sustainability Circular Economy 400 M People
Is Just A Start Eco-Effectiveness In New Urban Housing
In Next 12 Years!
China’s Village of
Great Huangbaiyu
$2B Heritage Project –
The Environmental Renovation of
Adventure - Model Homes
Creating New Six Building
The Ford River Rouge Industrial Site New
May be Seen as In Detroit It Only Takes Natural Building Cradle to
Materials
Eco-Luxury If ~5% To Effect Cradle
Using Low Energy Cities
Viewed As a Cost
“Convert site to Maintained
Change Production
Techniques
A Place You Would Shareholder
Want Your Children Value Saved $30M
To Play” We CAN Reinvent
Takes 50,000 lbs. How We Do Things
A Measurable Of Raw Material
Created An Industrial Business Objective To Build a 3,000 lb It’s Time!
Nature Park Vehicle!
-We Need to Change!
Sustainability in Government and
High Road - Proaction Global Bodies
Chicago Climate
Should Canada Action Plan
The Decade Millennium
Development Have a Unified Densification
of Education Sustainability Of Cities With
2005-2014 Goals Quality of Life
Departmental Strategy?
Sustainability - Vancouver
The United Strategies Required
By Law
Nations Cities
Middle Road - Inaction The World Is
The Government Adding a City
The Size of China Expects
of Canada Seattle Every 400 Million
No Unified 7 Days To Migrate From
Sustainability Rural Homes To
Low Road – Alarmists / Naysayers Strategy for New Cities In
Canada Less Than 20 Years

The UN Can
Never Agree Inaction /
On Anything Politics
Sustainability in Higher Education
High Road - Proaction Institutionalizing
Sustainable
Presidents’ Tailloires Greening the Development
Commitment Commitment Curriculum LEED Buildings
To Climate Sustainability NWF On Campus
Change Coordinators / Campus
Offices Environment 2008
Leadership Inter Disciplinary Report Card
And Education Walking
Commitment The Talk
Middle Road - Inaction
Educating
The Future
Students Students
Expecting a Web 2.0 Collaborative Looking for
Green Technologies Learning A Green Campus
Low Road – Alarmists / Naysayers

Go Slow
Sustainability Agreements
• Tailloires Declaration
– Letter of recognition to Algonquin College as signatory to TD
• “Institutions that wish to contribute to a future of ecosystem integrity,
human health and justice, biological diversity and economic
viability… A key step in the process is developing an
implementation plan at Algonquin College to put the elements of the
Talloires Declaration into practice. Without such a plan in place, the
signing of the Declaration may become a purely symbolic act, or the
institution will make piecemeal progress without coherent long-term
goals. For this reason, we highly recommend that you create an
official environmental or sustainability task force to develop a
campus strategy and to monitor sustainability initiatives on campus.”
– Wynn Calder, Director, Association of University Leaders for a
Sustainable Future (ULSF) (Secretariat for signatories)
• American University Presidents’ Agreement on Climate
Change
– Canadian Version starting in BC
Key Higher Education Links
• AASHE - Association for the Advancement of
Sustainability in Higher Education
– http://www.aashe.org/index.php
• SCUP – Society for College and University Planners
– Sustainability in Higher Education
– http://www.scup.org/resources/topic_issue/sustainability.html
• The Chronicle for Higher Education - Special Report on
the Sustainable University
– http://chronicle.com/indepth/sustainable/
• CampusERC – The Environmental Resource Centre for
Higher Education (Sponsored by NACUBO and Others)
– http://www.campuserc.org/Pages/default.aspx
Sustainability in Built Environments
High Road - Proaction
Cradle to BIM – Building Lean
Smart
Cradle Design Buildings Information
Modelling
Construction
Optimize the Right-size Intentions
Use of Buildings Buildings LEED and
Integrated Other Rating
Leaders Project Systems
Buildings In Sustainability Delivery
And
The Environment Green
Middle Road - Inaction Designers Buildings
And Buildings Total
Rising Cost of Ownership
Primary Energy
Huge Impact Generator Changing Changing Costs
On Resources Of GHG Market Client Shortages
Expectations Expectations In Material and
Low Road – Alarmists / Naysayers
Labour Resources
Can’t Afford It
The Bottom Line Wait and Greenwashing
Is Cost See
The Cradle to Cradle Tripod
Equity / Equity:
Are people treating
Equity / Ecology: Equity one another with
How is this product
respect?
going to affect future
generations’ health?
Equity / Economy:
Are men and women
Ecology / Equity: being paid the same
Is it fair to pollute a for the same work?
river or poison the air?
Economy / Equity:
Ecology / Ecology: Are employees earning
Are we obeying a living wage?
nature’s laws? Are
we not only
Economy / Economy:
sustaining our own
Can I make or provide
species but all
Ecology Economy my product or service
species?
at a profit?
Ecology / Economy: Economy / Ecology:
Is our ecological Eco-efficiency – Trying
strategy economically to do less bad – trying
fecund too? to do more with less
McDonough and Braungart, 2002, p. 150
Cradle to Cradle
Two Design Intentions
• “Design Systems That Love All of the
Children of All Species for All Time”
• “Our Goal Is A Delightfully Diverse, Safe,
Healthy and Just World With Clean Air,
Soil, Water and Power – Economically,
Equitably, Ecologically and Elegantly
Enjoyed”
– William McDonough: The wisdom of designing Cradle to
Cradle
(Video)
Green Building Rating Systems
• U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED NC system:
– This is good example of a rating system which provides a measurement of environmental
achievement. Continued developments in life cycle assessment, requirements for renewable
energy or carbon reduction targets for certified projects will continue to make this system an
effective resource for architects.
– www.usgbc.org
• Green Building Initiative’s Green Globes:
– The system offers a broad based evaluation of projects in both the design process and based
on environmental criteria. When used to certify a project, more stringent and specific
requirements in the areas of energy reduction and operational performance are needed, as
these are the two areas that most influence carbon production.
– www.thegbi.org
• International Initiative for a Sustainable Built Environment’s SBTool:
– SBTool 07 is a toolkit for designing a rating system. If used as a rating system providing
certification, SBTool 07 would be stronger if there was an increase in the number of “required”
items vs. those that are simply “encouraged” and required project documentation. Specific
requirements in the areas of energy reduction and operational performance would supply any
rating system approach that comes out of SBTool 07 with performance-based requirements
necessary for reaching carbon reduction goals.
– www.iisbe.org – Canadian

– http://www.aia.org/release_050808_greenrating - Excellent overview and comparison but


neutral
Ottawa Ontario

Algonquin College’s
Journey So Far

Commitment Actions
And Next
Leadership Engagement Steps
Ottawa Ontario

Commitment and Leadership


Focus On Success Asked for Formed
Student In the Expression Committee In
Success Global Of Interest January 2008
Economy From Across
College Community
Embedment
Of Sustainability Formation
In 2008-2013 Of College
Strategic Plan Environmental
First College Steering
Financial In Canada to Committee
Environmental Sustainability Sign Tailloires
Sustainability
Declaration
Committee
Signed Membership
Safety, Health Represents
And Wellness 10 Point October
2007 All Aspects of
Paramount Action College Community
Plan
Ottawa Ontario

Strategic Plan 2008-2013


Linkages
• Create opportunities for students to • Safety, health and wellness
develop the skills, knowledge and of our students and
attitudes necessary to succeed in employees is paramount
the global economy
Social
• Increase the environmental
sustainability content in programs • Enhanced greening of
campus operations and
• Build on current “green” improved operational
practices to create a Student efficiencies
sustainable environmental Success
footprint Common Ground • Embrace the
concepts of
Environmental Economic environmental
• Help prepare students to live and financial
• Implement sustainability for
and work in and contribute to
environmentally both its program
environmentally sustainable
sustainable best practices delivery and its
communities
in College operations. operations.
Ottawa Ontario

Engagement
Building Pilot Project
A Sustainable -Sustainability
Algonquin -In Health Care
Website -By Nursing Students
GreenPower
Communications
Curriculum

Events
Earth
College Hour Earth Green
Communications Participation Day Architecture
Managing Participation
The Messaging ENVIRO
Staff Engagement
Contest
Green Business
Program
Ottawa Ontario

Actions
Elimination
Of Styrofoam
Containers
In Food Campus
Development Energy
Services Conservation
Consultant
Team With ESCO
Sustainability
Operations Expertise
Eco-Efficient
Projects
Sustainability
Integrated Strategy
Recycling
Program Pest Management Unintentional
Sustainability Eco-Efficient
Consultant Projects
Ottawa Ontario

Sustainability Consultant
Key Deliverables
• Identify Trends and Best Practices in Sustainability in
Higher Education, Industry and Other Areas
• Conduct a Sustainability Assessment of Algonquin College
(funded by Students’ Association)
– Establish a Current State Baseline
– Assist in Articulating a Desired Future State Vision of Sustainability
for Algonquin
– Complete a Gap Analysis Between Current and Desired Future
States
• Facilitate the College in the Articulating an Integrated
Sustainability Strategy
• Articulate the Business Case for Sustainability at Algonquin
College
• Develop an Action Plan to Achieve the Desired Future State
Ottawa Ontario

Campus Development Consultants


Key Scope
• To assist the College in planning the development
of its Woodroffe Campus in Ottawa over a 5 year
term
• Develop a Campus Development Plan that
captures the spirit of the College and
encompasses the following principles:
– Academic excellence in the application of theory and
practice
– Responsiveness to the needs of the business
community,
– Sustainable development: social, financial and
environmental,
– Integration into the urban community

More - Professional Advice


Ottawa Ontario

Campus Development Consultants


Professional Advice
• Campus planning:
– Land use (zoning, building locations, density, etc.)
– Landscaping
– “Town and gown” planning (neighbourhoods, city fabric, etc.)
• Infrastructure planning (engineering disciplines related to sewer, water, storm water
management, electrical, heating, cooling, noise and emissions, IT cabling, etc.)
• Transportation planning (roads, parking, public transit, pedestrian access…)
• Real estate and development potential:
– Commercial (office, retail, residential, etc.)
– Public (municipal development plan, arts, library and archives, recreational, etc.)
– Institutional (medical, educational, etc.)
• Financial advice (AFP/PPP funding models, pro forma analysis,
federal/provincial/municipal funding sources, etc.)
• Sustainable development:
– Social (student accommodation, interaction, safety, security, accessibility, etc.)
– Financial (total cost of ownership, life cycle costing, etc.)
– Environmental (green building practices, alternative energy sources, reuse and recovery
of materials, etc.)
• Cost estimating

Back – Key Scope


Ottawa Ontario

Rename Launch
Sustainable
Algonquin
Website Next Steps
Implementation
Steering Of First LEED
Committee Pursuing Complete Work Gold Facility
A Leadership Training
With Sustainability By 2011 In LEED
Possible Role in Consultant
Rebranding Higher Launch
As Sustainable Education Outreach
Algonquin To Rest
Of College
Community
Leadership Actions
And
Commitment Embed
Engagement Sustainability in
Curriculum
Follow-up Sustainability Environmental
On Tailloires Expert from Language
Declaration Campus Development In Purchasing
Commitments Consultant Team Policy
Facilitate Vision
And Pedagogy
Sustainability 101 For New Centre for Construction
Online Training Trades and Building
Sciences
Ottawa Ontario

Unintentional Eco-Efficiencies
• Program Review Process
• An integrated Curriculum that ensures quality and
Review Process that affordable programming
progressively tests relevancy
Social • Application of lean
and viability of new programs at
methodologies to College
various thresholds
business processes (Saving
$Ms + Waste reduction)
• A mature Space
Entrenched • Creation of a 5-year
Management process Integrated capital plan process
that has optimizes Planning
allocation of space Processes • Building up of College
resources (Savings: capital reserves to allow
• $100Ms + Reduced Environmental Economic more stability and flexibili
ecological footprint) • Space Costing Model for
academic space and • Improved Business Plan Models for
ancillary space that is programs that look at the full build-
efficient and effective out of activity and include capital
requirements
Guide
Return

To Summarize:
We Must Change How We Define and
Build Success

ble
staina
Unsu pment
o
Devel

t a i nable
We Must Be Sus men t
l o p
Socially and Deve
Economically
Responsible

THE ENVIRONMENT THE BIG UNKNOWN


We Must Reduce Our Consumption We Must Triage the Most
and Regenerate Nature’s Reserves Critical Afflictions
Sustainable Development Builds
Sustainable Success
• We have a challenge ahead
• There is some urgency
– We need to start NOW even without all the answers
• Sustainable development offers a decision
making framework to keep on course
– Common sense
– Balanced
– Integrated
– Focused on sustainable success
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Resources
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Bibliography
• Baer, Linda L.; Duin, Ann Hill; and Ramaley, Judith A.. 2008. “Smart Change” Planning
for Higher Education. Volume 36 Number 2, P. 5–16
– “This article explains how "smart change" (contrasted with routine, strategic, and
transformative change) is about using learning as a core asset and a guidance system for
institutional change, and provides three institutional vignettes.”
• Blackburn, William R., “The Sustainability Handbook – The Complete Management
Guide to Achieving Social, Economic and Environmental Responsibility”, 2007,
Earthscan
• Brown, Lester B., “Plan B 3.0 – Mobilizing to Save Civilization”, 2008, Earth Policy
Institute
• Cortese, Anthony D. 2003. “
The Critical Role of Higher Education in Creating a Sustainable Future” Planning for
Higher Education. 31(3): 15–22.
• Edwards, Andres, “The Sustainability Revolution”, 2005
• Flynn, Sean Masake, “Economics for Dummies”, 2005, Wiley Publishing Inc.
• McDonough, William and Braungart, Michael, 2002, “Cradle to Cradle – Remaking the
Way We Make Things”, North Point Press
• Runnalls, David, “Why Aren’t We There Yet? Twenty Years of Sustainable Development
”, March 2008, IISD
• Tennesen, Michael, “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Global Warming”, 2 nd Edition, 2008,
Penguin Group
Sample Sustainability Consultants
• Delphi Group
– http://www.delphi.ca/
• ecoverde
– http://www.ecoverde.ca/en/
• Stratos
– http://www.stratos-sts.com/
• The Natural Step
– http://www.naturalstep.ca/
• Loop Initiatives
– http://www.loopinitiatives.com/
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Glossary – A Mashup of Launch


Words for Further Exploration
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Abrupt Change
• Idiot’s Guide
• Abrupt Climate Change
– http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/abrupt/index.html
• It happens like a boat tipping
– http://www.usatoday.com/weather/climate/2006-05-30-abrupt-warming_x.htm
• Abrupt climate change
– http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abrupt_climate_change

• Stabilizers
– Resiliency
• Ability to absorb shocks
– Diversity / Alternatives / Redundancy
• Natural light if lights go out
• Operable windows if HVAC goes
– Forecasting – COGNOS -
• Best-practices in forecasting
• Overcoming barriers to change
• Technology to sustain a renewed forecasting process
– Analytics
– Multiyear planning / Lifecycle planning
– Contingencies
– Be smart about escalation
– Build reserves
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Adaptive Capacity
• “Adaptive capacity is the capacity of a system to adapt if the
environment where the system exists is changing. It is applied to
for example , ecological systems and human social systems.
• As applied to ecological systems, the adaptive capacity is
determined by :
– genetic diversity of species
– biodiversity of particular ecosystems
– heterogeneous ecosystem mosaics as applied to specific landscapes or
biome regions.
• As applied to human social systems, the adaptive capacity is
determined by :
– the ability of institutions and networks to learn, and store knowledge and
experience.
– creative flexibility in decision making and problem solving
– the existence of power structures that are responsive and consider the
needs of all stakeholders.”
– Wikipedia (October 9, 2008)
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Biodegradable
• “Biodegradation is the process by which organic
substances are broken down by the enzymes produced
by living organisms. The term is often used in relation to
ecology, waste management and environmental
remediation (bioremediation).
• Biodegradable products are products that undergo
biodegradation. In theory, biodegradable products, or
BPs for short, are the perfect solution for reducing a
large percentage of the waste products that pollute our
environment…. The greatest issue with BPs is public
motivation and awareness.”
– Wikipedia (September 20, 2008)
• This is a key element in the Cradle to Cradle concept of
“Waste = Food”
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Biodiversity
• “Biodiversity is the variation of life forms within a given
ecosystem, biome or for the entire Earth. Biodiversity is
often used as a measure of the health of biological
systems.”
– Wikipedia (September 13, 2008)
• Canadian Biodiversity Strategy, 1995
– Often referred to as "biodiversity", biological diversity refers to
the variety of species and ecosystems on Earth and the
ecological processes of which they are a part.
– Three components of biodiversity are ecosystem, species and
genetic diversity.
– Ecosystems perform functions that are essential to human
existence such as oxygen and soil production and water
purification.
– The Canadian Biodiversity Information Network - CBIN
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Biomimicry
• “Biomimicry (from bios, meaning life, and
mimesis, meaning to imitate) is a relatively new
science that studies nature, its models, systems,
processes and elements and then imitates or
takes creative inspiration from them to solve
human problems sustainably.”
– Wikipedia (September 13, 2008)
• “Different from learning ABOUT the natural world
– its about learning FROM the natural world.
That’s the switch”
– Janine Benyus, Author of “Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by
Nature”

More
•The Biomimicry Institute
•Janine Benyus on TED.com (Video)
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Cap and Trade System


• “Emissions trading (or emission trading) is an administrative approach
used to control pollution by providing economic incentives for achieving
reductions in the emissions of pollutants. It is sometimes called cap and
trade.

• A central authority (usually a government or international body) sets a


limit or cap on the amount of a pollutant that can be emitted. Companies
or other groups are issued emission permits and are required to hold an
equivalent number of allowances (or credits) which represent the right to
emit a specific amount. The total amount of allowances and credits
cannot exceed the cap, limiting total emissions to that level. Companies
that need to increase their emissions must buy credits from those who
pollute less. The transfer of allowances is referred to as a trade. In effect,
the buyer is paying a charge for polluting, while the seller is being
rewarded for having reduced emissions by more than was needed. Thus,
in theory, those that can easily reduce emissions most cheaply will do so,
achieving the pollution reduction at the lowest possible cost to society.”
– Wikipedia (September 22, 2008)
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Carbon Tax
• “A carbon tax is an environmental tax on emissions of
carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. It is an
example of a pollution tax…
• The intention of a carbon tax is environmental: to reduce
emissions of carbon dioxide and thereby slow climate
change. It can be implemented by taxing the burning of
fossil fuels — coal, petroleum products such as gasoline
and aviation fuel, and natural gas — in proportion to their
carbon content. Unlike other approaches such as carbon
cap-and-trade systems, direct taxation has the benefit of
being easily understood and can be popular with the
public if the revenue from the tax is returned by reducing
other taxes. Alternatively, it may be used to fund
environmental projects.”
– Wikipedia (September 22, 2008)
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Climate Change
• NWF - Guide to Climate Action Planning - Pathways to a Low-Carbon
Campus
– By David J. Eagan, Terry Calhoun, Justin Schott and Praween Dayananda
– A comprehensive review of the strategies and steps to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions on campus, with best practices from U.S. colleges and universities.
– http://www.nwf.org/campusecology/resources/HTML/climateactionplanning.cfm
– Excellent – Talks about Integrated Planning
• Research and Solutions: U.S. Carbon Markets 101, Making Dollars and
Sense out of Acronym Soup
– Ian Monroe, Lauren Casey. Sustainability: The Journal of Record. August 1,
2008, 1(4): 262-268. doi:10.1089/SUS.2008.9944.
– http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/pdfplus/10.1089/SUS.2008.9944

• Thomas Friedman – Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need A Green


Revolution—And How It Can Renew America
– The World Is Flat
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Consumer Capitalism
• “Consumer capitalism describes a theoretical economic
and cultural condition in which consumer demand is
manipulated, in a deliberate and coordinated way, on a
very large scale, through mass-marketing techniques, to
the advantage of sellers…”
• “Stiegler argues that capitalism today is governed not by
production but by consumption, and that the techniques
used to create consumer behavior amount to the
destruction of psychic and collective individuation. The
diversion of libidinal energy toward the consumption of
consumer products, he argues, results in an addictive
cycle, leading to hyperconsumption, the exhaustion of
desire, and the reign of symbolic misery...”
– Wikipedia (September 14, 2008)
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Cradle to Cradle
• “Cradle to Cradle is a phrase coined by Walter R. Stahel in the
1970s and popularized by William McDonough and Michael
Braungart in their 2002 book Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way
We Make Things. This framework seeks to create production
techniques that are not just efficient but are essentially waste free.”
– Wikipedia (September 13, 2008)
• “Cradle to Cradle presents an innovative concept and tools for
designing products, processes and systems to optimize material
health, recyclability/compostability, product life cycles, renewable
energy use, water efficiency, water quality, and social responsibility,
instead of only reducing the negative impacts of commerce ('eco-
efficiency').”
– MBDC – Cradle to Cradle Community Forum
• The Cradle to Cradle is a landmark reference in the area of
sustainability
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Culture
• “Culture can be defined as all the ways of life
including arts, beliefs and institutions of a
population that are passed down from
generation to generation. Culture has been
called "the way of life for an entire society." As
such, it includes codes of manners, dress,
language, religion, rituals, norms of behavior
such as law and morality, and systems of belief
as well as the art.”
– Wikipedia (September 28, 2008)
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Eco-Efficiency
• “Eco-efficiency is achieved by the delivery of competitively priced
goods and services that satisfy human needs and bring quality of
life, while progressively reducing ecological impacts and
resource intensity throughout the life-cycle to a level at least in
line with the Earth’s estimated carrying capacity." In short, it is
concerned with creating more value with less impact.
– Interface, one of the world’s largest producers of commercial floor
covering, saved over $200 million from 1996 to 2002 through its
sustainability efforts.
– HP in California reduced its waste by 95% and saved $870,564 in 1998.
– STMicroelectronics, a Swiss-based technology manufacturer, saved £38
million in energy and $8 million in water costs, with a total saving over a
decade predicted at $900 million.
– Dupont reduced energy use by one-third at one facility saving over $17
million per year on power while reducing greenhouse gas pollution per
pound of product by half.”
– The World Business Council for Sustainable Development
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Ecological Footprint
• “The ecological footprint is a measure of human demand
on the Earth's ecosystems. It compares human demand
with planet Earth's ecological capacity to regenerate it. It
represents the amount of biologically productive land and
sea area needed to regenerate the resources a human
population consumes and to absorb and render harmless
the corresponding waste, given prevailing technology
and resource management practice. Using this
assessment, it is possible to estimate how many planet
Earths it would take to support humanity if everybody
lived a given lifestyle.”
– Wikipedia (September 27, 2008)
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Ecological Footprint
Worldchanging.com
• Mission
• Worldchanging was founded on the idea that
real solutions already exist for building the future
we want. It’s just a matter of grabbing hold and
getting moving.
– worldchanging.com
• Founder: Alex Steffen – Inspirational Video
– TED.com - Inspired ideas for a sustainable future
• “The world is adding the equivalent of a new city
the size of Seattle every 7 days”
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Ecological Footprint
Global Footprint Network
• Mission
• To support a sustainable economy by
advancing the Ecological Footprint, a
measurement tool that makes the reality of
planetary limits relevant to decision-
making throughout the world.
– Global Footprint Network -
http://www.footprintnetwork.org/
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Economics
• “Economics is the social science that studies the
production, distribution, and consumption of goods and
services.”
– Wikipedia (September 14, 2008)
• “Economics – The Science of How People Deal with
Scarcity
– Economics is all about humanity’s struggle to achieve happiness
in a world full of constraints…
– Having to choose is a fundamental part of everyday life. The
science that studies how people choose – economics – is
indispensable if you really want to understand human beings
both as individuals and as members of larger organizations.
– Sadly, though, economics has typically been explained so badly
that people either dismiss it… or stand falsely in awe of it…”
– Flynn, Sean Masake, “Economics for Dummies”, 2005, Wiley
Publishing Inc.
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Economics vs. Finance


• Economics
– “The study of resource allocation, distribution
and consumption; of capital and investment;
and of management of the factors of
production”
– Wiktionary (September 28, 2008)
• Finance
– “The management of money and other
assets”
– Wiktionary (September 28, 2008)
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Economy
• Economical
– Careful with money so as not to spend too much; prudent; thrifty.
– Relating to economy in any other sense
– Wiktionary (September 28, 2008)
• Economy (Noun)
– “Effective management of the resources of a community or system.
– The collective focus of the study of money, currency and trade, and the
efficient use of resources.
– Frugal use of resources.
– (Adjective): cheap to run; using minimal resources; representing good
value for money.”
– Wiktionary (September 28, 2008)
• Economic (Adjective)
– Pertaining to an economy
– Frugal; cheap (in the sense of representing good value); economical.
– Pertaining to the study of money and its movement
– Wiktionary (September 28, 2008)
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Environment
• Environment
– “The natural world or ecosystem”
– Wiktionary (September 28, 2008)
• Ecosystem
– “A system formed by an ecological community and its
environment that functions as a unit.
– The interconnectedness of organisms (plants, animals,
microbes) with each other and their environment.”
– Wiktionary (September 28, 2008)
• Ecology
– “The branch of biology dealing with the relationships of
organisms with their environment and with each other.”
– Wiktionary (September 28, 2008)
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Externalized Costs
• “The real costs of making stuff aren’t
captured in the price”
– FreeRangeStudios ,“The Story of Stuff”

• “Cost externalizing is a socio-economical


term describing how a business
maximizes its profits by off loading indirect
costs and forcing negative effects to a
third party.”
– Wikipedia (September 20, 2008)
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Globality
• “Globality refers to a new phase of global
economic competition that is replacing the
longstanding trend of globalization…
Globality is what comes next after
globalization: a new state of worldwide
hyper-competition.”
– Wikipedia (September 14, 2008)
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Globalization
• “Globalization – the growing integration of economies and societies around the
world – has been one of the most hotly-debated topics in international
economics over the past few years. Rapid growth and poverty reduction in
China, India, and other countries that were poor 20 years ago, has been a
positive aspect of globalization. But globalization has also generated significant
international opposition over concerns that it has increased inequality and
environmental degradation “
– Wikipedia (September 14, 2008)
– The World Bank Group - Globalization
• “What Is globalization? Is it the integration of economic, political, and cultural
systems across the globe? Or is it Americanization and United States
dominance of world affairs? Is globalization a force for economic growth,
prosperity, and democratic freedom? Or is it a force for environmental
devastation, exploitation of the developing world, and suppression of human
rights?
• Globalization101.org is dedicated to providing students with information and
interdisciplinary learning opportunities on this complex phenomenon. Our goal
is to challenge you to think about many of the controversies surrounding
globalization and to promote an understanding of the trade-offs and dilemmas
facing policy-makers.”
– The Levin Institute – Globalization 101
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Green Cities
• SustainLane Presents: The 2008 US City Rankings
– http://www.sustainlane.com/us-city-rankings/
– City of Portland – Sustainability
• http://www.portlandonline.com/saltzman/index.cfm?a=86887&c=263
69

– Chicago Climate Action Plan


• http://www.chicagoclimateaction.org/
• Corporate Knights Forum - Canada’s Top Five
Sustainable Cities
– http://corporateknightsforum.com/index.php/CKtemplates/CKco
mments/97/

– City of Ottawa – Enviro


• http://www.ottawa.ca/residents/environment/index_en.html
– City of Vancouver – Sustainability
• http://www.city.vancouver.bc.ca/sustainability/index.htm
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Greenwash
• “Green-wash (green'wash', -wôsh') – verb: the
act of misleading consumers regarding the
environmental practices of a company or the
environmental benefits of a product or service.”
– TerraChoice
Environmental Marketing, “The Six Sins of Greenwashing”,,200
7
• “The term is generally used when significantly
more money or time has been spent advertising
being green (that is, operating with consideration
for the environment), rather than spending
resources on environmentally sound practices.”
– Wikipedia (September 20, 2008)
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Industrial Ecology
• “Industrial Ecology (IE) is an interdisciplinary
field that focuses on the sustainable combination
of environment, economy and technology…
Industrial ecology is the shifting of industrial
process from linear (open loop) systems, in
which resource and capital investments move
through the system to become waste, to a
closed loop system where wastes become
inputs for new processes.”
– Wikipedia (September 27, 2008)
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Integrated Design Process


• “The Integrated Design Process (IDP) is a method for realizing high performance buildings that
contribute to sustainable communities. It is a collaborative process that focuses on the design,
construction, operation and occupancy of a building over its complete life-cycle. The IDP is
designed to allow the client and other stakeholders to develop and realize clearly defined and
challenging functional, environmental and economic goals and objectives. The IDP requires a
multidisciplinary design team that includes or acquires the skills required to address all design
issues flowing from the objectives. The IDP proceeds from whole building system strategies,
working through increasing levels of specificity, to realize more optimally integrated solutions.”

• IDP:
– Is a method for realizing high performance buildings that contribute to sustainable communities; IDP is
a process more than an end result;
– Is not a silo based process;
– Is not a predetermined process;
– Improves the odds of success in designing high performance / green buildings;
– Proceeds from whole building system strategies, working through increasing levels of specificity, to
realize more optimally integrated solutions;
– Is about learning how to respect and communicate between participants;
– Sessions have energy and create magic;
– Is about creating a team focused on the same objectives and unleashing creativity from design team
members;
– Is a vehicle that educates and fosters creativity”
– “ROADMAP FOR THE INTEGRATED DESIGN PROCESS”, DEVELOPED FOR: BC GREEN BUILDING ROUNDTABLE, PREPA
RED BY: BUSBY PERKINS+WILL / STANTEC CONSULTING
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Integrated Project Delivery

• “Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) leverages early contributions of


knowledge and expertise through the utilization of new technologies,
allowing all team members to better realize their highest potentials
while expanding the value they provide throughout the project
lifecycle.”
– The AIA – Integrated Project Delivery
• “…vision is a transformed and sustainable construction industry,
where each project is designed, developed and delivered to
optimize value across its lifecycle.”
– The AIA – 3XPT Strategy Group “Integrated Project Delivery: First Principles for
Owners and Teams”, July 2007
• AIA – Committee on the Environment (COTE), “
Measures of Sustainable Design and Performance Metrics”
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Lean Construction
• “Lean construction is a translation and adaption of lean
manufacturing principles and practices to the end-to-end design and
construction process. Unlike manufacturing, construction is a project
based-production process. Lean construction is concerned with the
holistic pursuit of concurrent and continuous improvements in all
dimensions of the built and natural environment: design,
construction, activation, maintenance, salvaging, and recycling. This
approach tries to manage and improve construction processes with
minimum cost and maximum value by considering customer needs.
(Koskela et al. 2002)

• The term "Lean Construction" was coined by the International Group


for Lean Construction in its first meeting in 1993..”
– Wikipedia (October 9, 2008)

More
•Lean Construction Institute
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Lean Principles
• “Lean manufacturing or lean production, which is often
known simply as "Lean", is the practice of a theory of
production that considers the expenditure of resources
for any means other than the creation of value for the
presumed customer to be wasteful, and thus a target for
elimination.
• …a loosely connected set of potentially competing
principles whose goal is cost reduction by the elimination
of waste. These principles include: pull processing,
perfect first-time quality, waste minimization, continuous
improvement, flexibility, building and maintaining a long
term relationship with suppliers, autonomation, load
leveling and production flow and visual control.”
– Wikipedia (September 18, 2008)

More
•Lean Thinking, Womack, James P. and
Jones, Daniel T., Free Press, 2003
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Life-Cycle Approach
• Understanding a life-cycle approach Learning
unit B: exploring eco-efficiency
– http://
www.wbcsd.org/plugins/DocSearch/details.asp?txtDo
cTitle
=eco-efficiency%20module&txtDocText=eco-efficienc
y%20http://www.wbcsd.org/plugins/docsearch/details.
asp?DocTypeId=25&CharValList=25;&DateStart=01.0
1.2006&DateEnd=01.01.2007&ObjectId=MTc5OTI&U
RLBack=result.asp%3FDocTypeId%3D25%26CharVa
lList%3D25;%26DateStart%3D01.01.2006%26DateE
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26CurPage%3D1
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Natural Capitalism
• “In Natural Capitalism the authors see the
world's economy as being within the larger
economy of natural resources and ecosystem
services that sustain us… The "next industrial
revolution" depends on the espousal of four
central strategies:
– "the conservation of resources through more effective
manufacturing processes
– the reuse of materials as found in natural systems
– a change in values from quantity to quality
– investing in natural capital, or restoring and sustaining
natural resources".”
– Wikipedia (October 3, 2008)
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Optimism
• “Entrenched interests use despair, confusion and apathy to prevent change
– They encourage modes of thinking which lead us to believe that problems are insolvable,
that nothing we do can matter, that the issue is too complex to present even the opportunity
for change. It is a long-standing political art to sow the seeds of mistrust between those you
would rule over
– In reality, cynicism in average people is the attitude exactly most likely to conform to the
desires of the powerful – cynicism is obedience
• Optimism, by contrast, especially optimism which is neither foolish nor silent, can be
revolutionary
– Where no one believes in a better future, despair is a logical choice, and people in despair
almost never change anything
– Where no one believes a better solution is possible, those benefiting from the continuation of
a problem are safe
– Where no one believes in the possibility of action, apathy becomes an insurmountable
obstacle to reform
– But introduce intelligent reasons for believing that action is possible, that better solutions are
available, and that a better future can be built, and you unleash the power of people to act
out of their highest principles. Shared belief in a better future is the strongest glue there is: it
creates the opportunity for us to love one another, and love is an explosive force in politics.
• Great movements for social change always begin with statements of great optimism.”
– From Alex Steffen, “The Politics of Optimism”, March 25, 2008, worldchanging.com
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Overshoot
• “Global overshoot occurs when humanity's
demand on nature exceeds the biosphere's
supply, or regenerative capacity. Such overshoot
leads to a depletion of Earth's life supporting
natural capital and a build up of waste. At the
global level, ecological deficit and overshoot are
the same, since there is no net-import of
resources to the planet. Local overshoot occurs
when a local ecosystem is exploited more
rapidly than it can renew itself.”
– Global Footprint Network
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Peak Oil
• “Peak Oil is about the end of cheap and plentiful oil, the recognition
that the ever increasing volumes of oil being pumped into our
economies will peak and then inexorably decline. It’s about
understanding how our industrial way of life is absolutely dependent
on this ever-increasing supply of cheap oil.”
– YouTube Video – Rob Hopkins – Transition Handbook
– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGHrWPtCvg0&eurl=http://chronicle.c
om/blogs/architecture/2295/a-guide-to-making-the-transition-away-from-
oil

– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQF09NG00V8&eurl=http://chronicle.
com/blogs/architecture/2295/a-guide-to-making-the-transition-away-from
-oil

• Energy Bulletin
– http://www.energybulletin.net/primer
• Post Carbon Institute – Reduce consumption: produce locally
– http://www.postcarbon.org/
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Resilience (Ecology)
• “A resilient ecosystem can withstand shocks and rebuild itself
when necessary. Resilience in social systems has the added
capacity of humans to anticipate and plan for the future."
Resilence is conferred in human and ecological systems by
adaptive capacity.
• One definition of resilience is the rate at which a system returns to
a single steady or cyclic state following a perturbation. This
definition of resilience assumes that behavior of a system remains
within the stable domain that contains this steady state.
• When a system can reorganize, that is shift from one stability
domain to another, a more relevant measure of ecosystem
dynamics is ecological resilience. It is a measure of the amount of
change or disruption that is required to transform a system from
being maintained by one set of mutually reinforcing processes
and structures to a different set of processes and structures.”
– Wikipedia (October 9, 2008)
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Risk Management
• “Risk management is a structured
approach to managing uncertainty related
to a threat, a sequence of human activities
including: risk assessment, strategies
development to manage it, and mitigation
of risk using managerial resources.”
– Wikipedia (October 3, 2008)
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Social
• Social
– “Of or related to society”
– Wiktionary (September 28, 2008)
• Society
– “The people of one’s country or community taken as a whole”
– Wiktionary (September 28, 2008)
• Culture
– “The arts, customs, and habits that characterize a particular
society or nation.
– The beliefs, values, behavior and material objects that constitute
a people's way of life.”
– Wiktionary (September 28, 2008)
• Equity
– “Justice, impartiality and fairness”
– Wiktionary (September 28, 2008)
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Social Capital
• “Social capital is a concept in business, economics, organizational
behaviour, political science, public health, sociology and natural
resources management that refers to connections within and
between social networks … the core idea [is] "that social networks
have value.”
• For L. J. Hanifan (1916), social capital referred to:
– Those tangible substances [that] count for most in the daily lives of
people: namely good will, fellowship, sympathy, and social intercourse
among the individuals and families who make up a social unit....The
individual is helpless socially, if left to himself....If he comes into contact
with his neighbor, and they with other neighbors, there will be an
accumulation of social capital, which may immediately satisfy his social
needs and which may bear a social potentiality sufficient to the
substantial improvement of living conditions in the whole community.
The community as a whole will benefit by the cooperation of all its parts,
while the individual will find in his associations the advantages of the
help, the sympathy, and the fellowship of his neighbors.”
– Wikipedia (October 9, 2008)
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Society
• “A society is a population of humans
characterized by patterns of relationships
between individuals that may share a distinctive
culture and institutions. More broadly, a society
is an economic, social and industrial
infrastructure in which a varied multitude of
people or peoples are a part. Members of a
society may be from different ethnic groups. A
society may be a particular people, such as the
Saxons, a nation state, such as Bhutan, or a
broader cultural group, such as a Western
society.”
– Wikipedia (September 28, 2008)
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Suburbia
• The End of Suburbia
– Trailer – Good overview of the issues related to peak oil
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHr8OzaloLM
– Video
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3uvzcY2Xug
– Order Full DVD
• http://endofsuburbia.com/

• The Tragedy of Suburbia - James Howard Kunstler


– http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/james_howard_kunstler_dissects_s
uburbia.html

– Alarmist / Opinionated / Controversial / Vocal


– BUT some sound ideas and concepts
• Sense of place / A place worth caring about
• We ARE NOT consumers – We ARE CITIZENS with responsibilities
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Sustainable Development
• “Sustainable development is a pattern of resource use that aim to
meet human needs while preserving the environment so that these
needs can be met not only in the present, but in the indefinite future.
The term was used by the Brundtland Commission which coined
what has become the most often-quoted definition of sustainable
development as development that "meets the needs of the present
without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their
own needs.“ The field of sustainable development can be
conceptually broken into three constituent parts: environmental
sustainability, economic sustainability and sociopolitical
sustainability.”
– Wikipedia (September 22, 2008)
• “What is Sustainable Development? Environmental, economic and
social well-being for today and tomorrow”
– International Institute for Sustainable Development - IISD

More
• The Sustainable Development Timeline 2007 – (IISD)
• The SD Gateway
Guide
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Tipping Point
• “The term tipping point describes a point at
which a slow gradual change becomes
irreversible and then proceeds with gathering
pace. It is derived from the metaphor of a rigid
solid object being tilted to a point where it begins
to topple.”
– Wikipedia (September 22, 2008)

• “Tipping points are "the levels at which the


momentum for change becomes unstoppable.”
– Wikipedia (September 22, 2008) (The Book)
Guide
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Transformative Change
Approaches to Change
• Routine change is the application of routine expertise to well-defined
problems.
– It is discrete, requires generalist thinking, and is largely discipline-focused. It
applies to clear questions where there are well-known answers.
• Strategic change involves design and reengineering to improve the
productivity, clarity, or quality of activities or outcomes.
– It is incremental, requires specialist thinking, and has a largely interdisciplinary
focus.
• Transformative change is systemic and focuses on the application of
adaptive expertise to emerging challenges.
– In cases where there are no clear answers, one needs to employ the aggressive
understanding and application of change management principles—including
integrative engagement, shared leadership, and the implementation of
transformative goals—to develop institutional capacity and create systemic
change.
– Transformative change is exponential, requires global or big-picture thinking, and
has a largely trans- or multidisciplinary focus.
– It is imperative for finding solutions when there are no clear answers, and it
results in significantly expanding core capacities because it demands that people
work together differently.

Taken from Baer and Duin, “Smart Change” - 2008


Guide
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Transition Movement
• “The transition model emboldens communities to look peak oil and climate
change squarely in the eye and unleash the collective genius of their own
people to find the answers to this big question:for all those aspects of life
that this community needs in order to sustain itself and thrive, how are we
going to:
– significantly rebuild resilience (in response to peak oil)
– drastically reduce carbon emissions (in response to climate change)?
• Typically, self-determined solutions will involve some flavour of
relocalisation.”
– Transition Network
• See Transition Initiatives Primer
• Carlson, Scott, “A Guide to Making the Transition Away from Oil”, August 1,
2008, The Chronicle of Higher Education
• YouTube Videos
– Rob Hopkins' Transition Handbook (5:47 min) – Brief overview of peak oil and
transition philosophy
– TRANSITION TOWNS: An Interview with Rob Hopkins (founder) (52:41 min)
Guide

United Nations Decade of Education for


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Sustainable Development – 2005-2014


• “The United Nations General Assembly on December 20, 2002 adopted a
resolution establishing a United Nations Decade (2005-2014) of Education
for Sustainable Development (DESD). DESD offers an opportunity to
advance progress made in human resource development, education and
training to support sustainable future. It aims to strengthen international
cooperation toward the development of innovative policies, programs and
practice of education for sustainable development (ESD).
– UNESCO – United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
– Education for Sustainable Development (Portal)

• UNESCO Director General (Video)


– Lessons of interdependence
– Mainstream sustainable development approaches
– Promote systems thinking as quick as possible
– Transforming and creating new values and attitudes
– Radically changing the way education is viewed and structured
– Need to unlearn, rediscover and learn again
– All academic disciplines have something to contribute
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Value Engineering
• “Value engineering is a systematic method to improve
the "value" of goods and services by using an
examination of function. Value, as defined, is the ratio of
function to cost. Value can therefore be increased by
either improving the function or reducing the cost. It is a
primary tenet of value engineering that basic functions
be preserved and not be reduced as a consequence of
pursuing value improvements.”
– Wikipedia (September 25, 2008)
• The importance of environmental sustainability needs
clarification to ensure that it contributes significantly to
the definition of value in this process
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Victor Lebow –
Price Competition in 1955
• "Our enormously productive economy ...
demands that we make consumption our way of
life, that we convert the buying and use of goods
into rituals, that we seek our spiritual
satisfaction, our ego satisfaction, in
consumption.... we need things consumed,
burned up, replaced, and discarded at an ever-
accelerating rate.“
– (Paraphrased Quotation Featured in Story of Stuff)
– Wikipedia (September 11, 2008)
Guide
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Wellness
• "Wellness can be described as a state that combines
health and happiness. Thus those factors that contribute
to being healthy and happy also will be contributing to
being well. Factors that contribute to health and
happiness have long been recognized, at least since the
time of Ancient Greeks. In order to achieve a state of
wellness one has to work on its determinants. The
determinants of wellness are: better understanding of
concepts like destiny, health practices, spirituality, family,
environment, work, money and security, health services,
social support and leisure..“
– Wikipedia (September 18, 2008)

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