Newsletter masthead

June  2011
         www.SustainabilityProfessionals.org       Vol. 4 No. 6      
Registration now open!!

ISSP Conferenece

September, 21-23,  

Portland, Oregon


Network, learn and co-create - that pretty much describes ISSP's first ever face-to-face conference. We plan to give members first shot at the slots for this event at a deeply discounted rate. Register here!
What's New

Discount for Early Renewal  


Renew before your membership expires
and save $20.
 
New Member   Orientation

June 7 @ 4:00PM PT
July 26 @ 9:00AM PT
Aug 16 @ 4:00PM PT   

> Membership benefits
> Overview of website
> Networking 

To join this free orientation contact

Marsha Willard  

 
Follow me on Twitter

 View my profile on LinkedIn

Find me on Facebook
ISSP Management Team
  
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR:

Marsha Willard


PUBLICATIONS:
Darcy Hitchcock


PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT:
Christy Nordstrom


RESOURCES:
Dorothy Atwood

MARKETING:
Ray Berardinelli

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY:
Jessica Vreeswijk


 BOARD LIAISON:
Ira Feldman
In This Issue
Journal Article
ISSP Conference
Workshop: LCA
Consultants Cohort
ISSP in the News
Book Reviews

Not Feeling So Smart about the Smart Grid? 

A Primer for Sustainability Professionals & Policy Makers 
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There has been a lot of talk about the importance of the smart grid: how it transforms the energy business and enables renewables. This primer was written by MBA students at Bainbridge Graduate Institute.


Get the report.

 


The ISSP Fall Conference
September 21-23, Portland, OR
Portland skyline mountain

We're working to bring you the best and most creative conference possible.  Based on member input, this conference will have world class speakers, lots of networking time, a member expo where members can share their products and services, and special generative sessions in which you will participate in the shaping of our profession.

 

Here's a sampling:

  • Randy Olson, author of Don't Be Such a Scientist, is a keynote speaker, "A Superhuman Tale of Science Communication".
  • Representatives from GRI, SAI and ULE to talk about the latest tools and trends in reporting and assessing.
  • Presenters from Nike, Mattel, and SAP telling the stories of their internal implementations.
  • and more...

In addition to the two-day conference you can also participate in one of two pre-conference events:

  • Workshop: Sustainability Planning taught by Marsha Willard (fulfill an ISSP certificate requirement in this one-day, face-to-face format)
  • Portland Sustainability Site Tour to some of the city's most innovative organizations in both the public and private sector. 

To keep the conversations intimate, registration in these events is limited.  We're offering ISSP members first shots at the seats, so don't delay!

Click here to register or get more information 

 

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 

> For a full list of the ISSP educational offerings, click HERE   

> To see how these workshops apply to ISSP's Sustainability Professional Certificate click HERE   

Participants regularly note in workshop survey follow-ups how very important the instructor, resources and assignments, on-line format and price are to them.  All of which ISSP delivers consistently.

 JUNE  

      WORKSHOP: Life Cycle Assessment 101       

REGISTRATIONS OPEN THROUGH MONDAY JUNE 6TH 

Tom Gloria

Tom GLoria, Ph.D.

Are you a sustainability professional wondering if LCA would be a good field to get into and/or seeking introduction to LCA before taking the 'deep dive' into the certification training?

Or, are you a sustainability practitioner who may need to hire a firm to do a detailed LCA and need to know enough about the process to manage the project?
Then join
Thomas P. Gloria, Ph.D., Managing Director at Industrial Ecology Consultants, in June for this online interactive workshop. Tom will help you gain an understanding of the scope, challenges and possibilities in applying life cycle assessment to decision-making processes.  You will practice accessing the true environmental impacts of a product through all stages of its life, from cradle to grave/cradle.

Tuesdays (June 7, 14, 21, 28) 1pm PT  | 2pm MT | 3pm CT | 4pm ET  

Discounts available  $75 off for ISSP members.  > Register  HERE.

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ISSP WebChat with Joyce LaValle 

A Day in the Life of a Sustainability Professional 

 June 15, 2011 @ 11am PDT      

Are you curious about how to build an internal culture of sustainability?  Or how to maintain a strong sense of purpose in your sustainability mission?  Join your colleagues in this live interactive webchat as Joyce shares her experience and insights as a sustainability champion.   

Joyce LaValle
  Joyce LaValle


ISSP is pleased to host Joyce LaValle, a veteran in the commercial interiors industry and advocate for environmental sustainability. She recently retired from InterfaceFLOR as both Senior VP of Customer and Associate Engagement and as Senior Vice President of Marketing for Interface Americas. Their Mission Zero was inspired by the founder's, Ray Anderson, vision for sustainability innovation. 
 


Online Event Date:  

Wednesday June 15 @ 11am PT | 2pm ET

Convert Your Timezone  

FREE event to members.  $10 to all others. >REGISTER HERE  

 CONSULTANTS COHORT JULY 2011 - JUNE 2012

 Build a thriving sustainability practice

CONSULTANTS, DO YOU WANT TO? 

Grow your business | Develop relationships

Discover your calling | Make a difference

 

> Environmental consulting alone is estimated to be worth $25 billion worldwide. 

 

DO YOU WANT TO BE PART OF THIS TREND? 

If so, join this 12-month online cohort of   

committed sustainability consultants to:   

> Hear from experts 

> Learn from each other  

  > Pick up new tools to sell      

  

Register now: Cohort begins July 2011  

> 12 webinars / 12 months coaching   

> Interactive 'classroom' available 24/7 

> Webinars 2nd Friday, 12 -1:30pm PT  

 

Darcy Hitchcock

Darcy Hitchcock

Facilitator: Darcy Hitchcock, consultant and author of the award winning book, The Business Guide to Sustainability.   

 

 Reserve your space today.  Limited to 16.

> REGISTER HERE    

Attendees must be an ISSP member to participate; if you're not a member yet, join before the cohort begins.  

 ON DEMAND - AVAILABLE ANYTIME 

Online learning

WORKSHOP: Sustainability 101     Instructor: Darcy Hitchcock   

You'll know after taking ISSP's foundation course the concepts, frameworks and tools used by sustainability professionals.   

Open enrollment | VIRTUAL workshop.  


> Register HERE.  

ISSP IN THE NEWS

ISSP Competency Survey Report Highlighted by Yale Center for Business and the Environment

The Yale Center for Business and the Environment is running an opinion poll of its own based on the findings of the ISSP research entitled "The Sustainability Professional: 2010 Competency Survey Report. Check it out at the link below.

Finalists for Inaugural Pinnacle Award Recognized by Facilities Publication

Sustainable Facility magazine reported on the selection of finalists for ISSP's first Pinnacle Award, which recognizes individuals who have contributed significantly to the advancement of the profession.

A Day in the Life of a Sustainability Pro

Read a review of one of ISSP's recent webinars in the Planet Profit Report, which reports on energy and economic sustainability in the western United States.

 RESOURCES
Resources image

 

June is our Life Cycle Assessment month.  Tom Gloria will be leading ISSP's  Life Cycle Assessment 101 workshop.  Life cycle assessments (LCAs) are becoming more common.There are also some great techniques for performing simple LCAs.  

  • Do you have an LCA to share?
  • Do you have some advice regarding performing LCAs?
  • Have you seen one on the web that you like or have favorite website LCA resources?
  • Are you looking for an LCA for a specific product?

Share what you know and would like to know on LCAs.  Once you have your submission, it is easy to post in the Resource section of the ISSP website. 

 

> Here is how:

1.  Log in and click on the Resources section in the left column

2.  Click on Create Content under your log-in name in the right column. 

3.  Click on Resource.  Title and body boxes will pop up.

4.  In the Title box - Start your post with: "Climate Action Plan" for ease of searching, followed by your name.

5.  Paste your submission, comments, and/or links in the Body Box.

 

Review and comment on other submittals.  Do a search for Climate Action Plan.  Add a new comment to those you review. In the subject line, indicate the number of stars (max 5 starts that you would give the plan.  Then add your comments. 

 

Dorothy Atwood is ISSP's Resources Program Manager.  If you have ideas of things you want other members to post or ideas of ways we can use this feature to pull together information contact Dorothy HERE.  

 JOB OPENING  

Sustainability Data Specialist

Check out this new posting and other jobs still available at the ISSP job posting site

http://www.sustainabilityprofessionals.org/jobs 

RESEARCH PARTICIPATION

ISSP is in discussion about partnering on a series of research papers with Sustainability Guild International

an organization focused on cross-sector research on organizational sustainability strategy.


Initial studies will focus on the experience of organizations participating in cross-sector sustainability-driven partnerships, and emerging issues and opportunities for organizations implementing sustainability initiatives for the benefit of people, planet and prosperity. Survey results will advise policy and incentives relevant to sustainability at the UN level in support of the Rio +20 Global Conference on Sustainable Development.

 

As sustainability professionals your input to these studies would be valuable. In exchange for connecting Sustainability Guild International with ISSP members, the Guild will share the findings of these surveys with participants. We see the Guild as a great potential partner in furthering the definition of this field and providing important information for our members.

 

Please consider participating by contributing your input and passing along the survey links to any colleague or associate engaged in relevant work. Though the surveys are very comprehensive, they are designed to obtain deep information in order to support the creation and provision of further resources and incentives, and provide participants with a road map to improved organizational Triple Bottom Line performance and impact.

 

Register and participate in one or both of these studies:

 

P3 for P3: Private/Public Partnership for People, Planet and Prosperity 

 

Organizational Triple Bottom Line Impact and Value 

 BOOK REVIEWS

Cover

Brown, Michael Jacoby (2006) Building Powerful Community Organizations: A personal guide to creating groups that can solve problems and change the world. Arlington, MA: Long Haul Press.

A good workbook for anyone wanting to solve a problem that nags at them. It provides interesting stories, sound advice and worksheets for you to think through your strategy. The table of contents is excellent, providing a separate table of exercises. More.... 

 

Cover

Goodwin, Neva, Julie Nelson and Jonathan Harris (2009) Macroeconomics in Context. Armonk, NY: ME Sharpe.

If you're looking for a textbook on economics that integrates sustainability issues, this is a good choice. It exposes some of the weaknesses in classical economics while covering all the basics.More.... 

  SUSTAINABILITY CONFERENCES & EVENTS

See details on the ISSP site under >Education & Events>Partner Events 

Special discounts for ISSP members.