Newsletter masthead
August 2010                                                  Vol. 3 No. 8
In This Issue
New Members
ISSP Member Meeting & Discussion Forum: Marketing Sustainability: Building the right communication strategies for different stakeholders
Member

September 15 at Noon Pacific Time

How do you sell sustainability? The September meeting invites you to discuss this idea with guest moderator Beth Bengtson.

To participate in this free conference call, send an email to Marsha Willard
ISSP New Member Orientation
Member

August 19 at 4:00pm Pacific Time

New (and even old) members are welcome to join this free orientation conference call. Learn about the benefits of ISSP, the contents of our web site, and meet other new members. If you'd like to participate, send an email to Marsha Willard

News

ISSP brings you the news two ways:

Just want the few critical news stories each month?
Join the News You Don't Want To Miss group.

Want a full news feed? Follow Us on Twitter
Twitter

Twitter account: sustainableprof.

You do not have to have an account to see our Twitter posts.
Find ISSP on

ISSP LinkedIn Group

Don't forget to link to the ISSP LinkedIn group.This is a great networking site for sustainability professionals. Click on the graphic to go to our group.

Maintaining Our Email List Reminder
ISSP Logo
Please note that the move to using Constant Contact for our emails, members will be updated every month to ensure we have an accurate list. When a member joins, they will be automatically subscribed. If a member does not renew, they will be automatically unsubscribed.

All non-members will be responsible for maintaining their contact info. This is done by clicking on the Update Profile/Email address link found at the bottom of every email. It is best for everyone to save our emails as a "safe sender" to ensure your emails get into your inbox.
Greetings!

The Management Team had a retreat early in July to plan our Sept 2010-August 2011 fiscal year. We used the feedback from the Member Survey to guide our priorities. Some of the changes you can look forward to in the coming year:
  • Members asked for more regular reminders so we will be sending out the newsletter at the beginning of the month and then a couple other reminders/updates during the month.
  • Members wanted a conference so we'll be planning an ISSP event in September 2011 in Portland, Oregon. Please add this into your budget to attend. Instead of just 'talking-head' presentations, we hope to design sessions that are generative, that create new information and consensus.
  • We have planned a new line-up of educational events. See more information below.
  • For the last two years, the focus has been on climate change. In the next year, we are choosing water as the theme. If you have ideas for articles or events, let us know!

In this issue, we include the last in a series of articles on climate change. The outdoor supply retailer, REI, talks about how they transformed their metrics from a backward looking report to a planning tool.


Sincerely,
The ISSP Management Team
  Executive Director: Marsha Willard
  Managing Editor: Darcy Hitchcock
  Education Director: Christy Nordstrom
  Marketing Director: Jessica Vreeswijk
  Board Liaison: Dorothy Atwood
Featured Article

GHG Management at REI: From Tracking to Accountability

by Kimberly Allen and Kirk Meyers

REI logoHow do you evolve from rear-view-mirror sustainability metrics that tell you what you DID do to forward-looking management tools that help you make decisions for the future? Learn from outdoor retailer, REI, and their journey in using metrics for tracking the past to using them as a management tool. Get article.

Member Involvement

ISSP Research Projects

We are compiling a directory of sustainability planning and reporting tools (ie, software that helps organizations track and report on sustainability indicators and progress.) If you are aware of a good tool we should include, please email [email protected]. These are the tools we know about and are soliciting information on:
  • Advantage IQ
  • Agilewaves
  • EnergyCAP
  • Hara
  • HondoGreen
  • Lucid Design Group
  • SAP
  • School Dude/Utility Dude
  • SoFi
  • SPaRK
  • Utility Management Services


Last chance to participate in the
Sustainability Knowledge Competency Study.
Help us answer the question,
What are the most important sustainability terms, concepts and frameworks sustainability professionals know? Take the survey now.
Upcoming ISSP Events

NewLogo_small
Fall classes
Sign up now for early registration price!
For a full list of the ISSP educational offerings, click here.


WORKSHOP
 Sustaining Sustainability:
Organizational Assessments and Systems

Sustaining Sustainability: Organizational Assessments
Wednesdays (September 8, 15, 22, 29) at 12:00PM Pacific Time-USA
Follow this link to the registration page.  Register here.

Once initial sustainability projects have been completed, organizations are often at a loss as to how to maintain newly acquired practices and continue to move their sustainability efforts forward. 

Management systems are the key to ongoing progress.
A SMS (sustainability management system) allows for
�       systematic internal review
�       monitoring
�       corrective actions for continual improvement

Discover practical methods to solidify and advance sustainability efforts.  Learn best practices.  Apply proven management system tools and practices. 

Customize a sustainability management system to fit your organization's needs.  With an emphasis on using the Plan-Do-Check-Act framework, learn what level of sophistication works best for you and what elements to add as your system matures. 

The Workshop will help you answer the following questions for your own sustainability program:
�       How do we move from ad hoc projects to an integrated program?
�       How do we go from a sustainability plan to a living sustainability system that is part of our core business?
�       How do we assess where we are and set priorities?
�       How often should we review goals, projects and the program as a whole?
�       How many people should be involved?
�       Do we have training, communication, and support systems in place for our program?
�       How can we keep the program alive if a key champion leaves?

WORKSHOP
 Responsible Purchasing: How Consumers, Retailers, and Manufacturers are Trying to
Buy a Better World



How Consumers, Retailers, and Manufacturers are Trying to Buy a Better World
Thursdays (September 9, 16, 23, 30) at 10:00-11:30 AM Pacific Time-USA
Follow this link to the registration page.  Register here.
Explore the strategies government and corporate purchasers are using to buy more environmentally and socially responsible goods and services while balancing traditional supply chain concerns like price, performance, and availability. 
 
Week 1 -- Purchasers Save the World:
�       Learn how and why Purchasers are incorporating human health, environmental, and social considerations into the routine purchasing process.
�       Explain the hidden human health and environmental impacts of every purchasing decision.
�       Define Responsible Purchasing.
�       Describe the historic role government purchasing has played in shaping our future.
�       Understand some of the ways purchasers are integrating human health and environmental considerations into their purchasing decisions.
�       Locate useful responsible purchasing resources.
 
Week 2 -- Responsible Green Purchasing ~ Tricks of the Trade:
�       Identify some of the most successful strategies being used to implement responsible purchasing programs.
�       Cite relevant examples of others' use of the strategies.
�       Understand how to apply the strategies within your own organization.
�       Identify where to locate additional information.
 
Week 3 -- Writing a Responsible Green Purchasing Policy:
�       Describe the key responsible purchasing components found in typical green purchasing policies and practices.
�       Determine which components would be relevant within one's own organization.
�       Understand how other purchasing agencies have supported the development of relevant policies.
 
Week 4 -- Avoiding the Greenwash Gremlin:
�       Learn how to avoid being fooled by misleading environmental claims.
�       Identify the seven sins of greenwashing.
�       Differentiate among the different environmental standards.
�       Understand how to integrate meaningful environmental considerations into the routine purchasing process while continuing to reduce costs.

WORKSHOP
Zero Waste Strategies

Zero Waste Strategies
Tuesdays (Oct 5, 12, 19, 26) at 12:00PM Pacific Time-USA
Register here.
This is a conceptual, advanced class on policies and practices that can lead to a zero waste society. You will produce materials that may be published as a white paper on zero waste strategies.

Week 1: Zero Waste and Resource Conservation
Week 2: Product Stewardship
Week 3: Waste to Energy
Week 4: Dialog



What's New @ ISSP

UPDATE
New Web Site Feature: Our own registration system


Our new built in registration system certainly makes our lives easier, but here's what it can do for YOU:

  • Automatically calculates discounts. You don't need to pay attention to the date or your status. The new system recognizes you as a member and applies your discount automatically. It also tracks the date to be sure you get the early registration discounts when they apply.
  • Tracks your purchases. The system will keep an archive of all your purchases for you so you can see on your own account page which classes you've taken, which webinars you've attended and when your membership expires!
  • Allows multiple purchases.  We heard you. It's annoying to have to buy classes one at a time.  The new system allows you to fill a shopping cart to take some of the hassle out of your buying experience.
  • Eliminates EvenBrite. OK maybe this is more a benefit for us, but it means you don't have to leave our beautiful new site whenever you make a purchase.  Yeah!
Try out the system today!  Register for an event or class (and get the early bird price)!


New job listing: Sustainability and Conservation Specialist
Visit the job posting section of the web site for details


New Salary Study by Acre and Acona
While most of the data is taken from European respondents, the report does include data from all over the world.  See what sustainability professionals earn!
http://sustainabilityprofessionals.org/resources/corporate-responsibility-salary-survey
Book Reviews
NOTE: We now have a relationship with Better World Books, a bookseller that shares our values. We will begin to provide links to purchase the books we review on the ISSP site. So if you want to purchase books and benefit ISSP at the same time, check for links at the top of book reviews on our website. Ironically, these two books are not available through Better World Books. Go figure.

Darcy Hitchcock has new book reviews in the member resource section.

Cover

Wright, Ronald (2004) A Short History of Progress. New York, NY: Carroll and Graf Publishers.



cover


Wilkinson, Richard and Kate Pickett (2009) The Spirit Level: Why greater equality makes societies stronger. New York, NY: Bloomsbury Press.
Sustainability Conference Listing

Take at look at the upcoming conferences and trainings around the world.

See details on the ISSP site under
Education & Events - Non ISSP events
Special discounts for ISSP members.
  • Disaster Risk Reduction Certificate, Sept 6-17, Lusanne, Switzerland and November 8-19, Bangalore, India
  • Green Initiatives Conference, September 29-30, Atlanta, GA
  • GoGreen, October 5, 2010, Portland, Oregon, Arpil , 2011, Austin, Texas, April 2011 TBD
  • Sustainable Building Advisory Program,  October, Portland, Oregon
  • Gaining Ground 2010, October 4-7, Victoria, BC
  • Integrating Life Cycle Thinking, October 26-27, Miami