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OCTOBER 2012                                                                     VOLUME 6 NO. 10             

In This Issue
Riding the Wave of Opportunity
Rio +20: Over and Done?
Join the ISSP Conference Advisory Board
Local Chapter Updates
Member Discount on eBooks
Contribute to Green Chemistry Guide
ISSP Linked In Page Gets A New Look
Job Posting: Executive Director of Health Coop
ISSP to Participate in Certification Webnar
Book Review: Creating A Sustainable Organization
ISSP's Ira Feldman Addresses Educators
October Workshop: Organizational Assessments and Systems
Oct - Nov Workshop: Sustainability Event Management
October Webinar: Employee Engagement the Key to Sustainability Implementation
November Workshop: Leadership Skills for Change Agents
November Webinar: Greening Up the Game
Self-Paced Workshop: Sustainability 101
2013 Workshops: A Preview
Sustainability Conferences and Events
 
 

Want To Sponsor This Newsletter?

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Contact ISSP Marketing Manager Ray Berardinelli
 for details.



 

 
MarketingWkshop
Latest News About
ISSP Conference 2013   

Registration Now Open
Early Bird Pricing Available for Chicago Meeting 
Registration is now open for the ISSP Member Conference May 8-10, 2013 in Chicago. There are TWO early bird prices. To get the best price, register before the end of the year. We also have a limited number of specially priced rooms at the conference hotel. This year we are reserving a limited number of discounted slots for students and members from our category 1 countries. You will find registration and program information on the ISSP web site.  
 
Sponsors and Exhibitors: Broaden Your Presence with An Elite Group of Sustainability Professionals
ISSP is pleased to offer companies, universities and NGOs the ability  to broaden their presence among the sustainability community by offering sponsorships and exhibit opportunities in support of ISSP Conference 2013. Contact ISSP marketing manager Ray Berardinelli to learn how you can get involved.

 

Featured Article
 
ISSP E-JOURNAL ARTICLE:
Sustainability Consulting:
Riding the Wave of Opportunity

By Linda Lovett

Early this year, the International Society of Sustainability Professionals (ISSP) collaborated with New York City-based research, advisory and consulting firm Green Research on its 2012 global sustainability consultant survey. Green Research analyzed responses from 1,548 sustainability consultants from around the world and produced a summary, which you can download for free  here.  

 

This article is the first in a series that ISSP will publish to provide further insights from the survey data and other research and to address the questions:

  1. What is the market for sustainability consulting?

  2. What are the key competencies a sustainability consultant should have?

  3. What are the key associations and tools a sustainability consultant should know about?

For full text of the article, click here

 

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Rio +20:  Over And Done?
The Parameters of the Post-2015 Agenda Emerge
 
by Ira Feldman
 
For all of the frustration and unmet expectations that marked the conclusion of the the UN Conference on Sustainable Development ("UNCSD" or "Rio+20") in June, it may be too soon to close the book on the results of the recent international conference on sustainable development. The final text of the Rio+20 agreement contained few details in certain significant areas, but left the door open to a wide range of follow-on activities both inside and outside the formal UN system.  As reported by IISD, a number of encouraging next steps have already been taken.

Early in September, the UN Economic and Social Council ("ECOSOC") adopted a resolution on its role in the implementation of the outcomes of major UN conferences and summits. The resolution recalls the commitment made at  Rio+20 regarding strengthening ECOSOC within its mandate under the UN Charter, and requests the UN Secretary-General to submit to the UN General Assembly, at its 67th Session, a report containing proposals for strengthening it to effectively fulfill its functions. In the resolution, ECOSOC calls on its functional commissions, regional commissions and other subsidiary bodies to support the Council in the "integrated and coordinated implementation" of the outcomes of all major UN conferences and summits in the economic, social, environmental and related fields. 

For full text of the article, click  here

 

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Member Involvement
ISSP Conference Planning Advisory Board

The ISSP management team is soliciting interest from members to participate in 1-3 virtual conference planning meetings. We are eager to get member input into the design of the May conference as well as seek fresh perspectives on the selection of speakers (particularly international speakers), program design elements, and sponsorship contacts.

We are particularly interested in participation of members with good connections to the field of sustainability and creative ideas about late breaking trends. We plan to initially limit participation to 15 for this first meeting to ensure a robust and participative dialogue

The first meeting will occur October 8 at 2:00pm Pacific Time.
If you would like to submit your name for participation, please send an email to Marsha Willard.


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LOCAL CHAPTER UPDATES

Energy is building in various parts of the country around our local chapter effort. 
Great Lakes Region - there is a virtual planing meeting scheduled for anyone in the Great Lakes Region of North America. Our boundaries encompass Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, Ontario and Quebec. If you are in that region and would like to lend your voice to this planning conversation about forming one or more regional chapters of ISSP, join us on November 6 at noon central time/1:00pm eastern time via our webinar platform. To register for this virtual meeting, contact Marsha Willard.

Portland, Oregon - ISSP is partnering with the local chapter of Net Impact to hold a series of breakfast gatherings of sustainability professionals.  The theme of the series will be on building a resilient local economy.The first three meetings have been scheduled:
  • October 10, 2012: Series launch: How do we build a Resilient Local Economy?
  • November 7, 2012: Building Social Capital.  
  • December 5, 2012: Technology Economy
If you'd like to join the party, register on the ISSP Website.


Vancouver, BC - Interest is brewing in western Canada for a local chapter.  ISSP member David Aquino is organizing locals to explore the possibility of coalescing into an ISSP Vancouver chapter. If you live in the area, contact David and get involved.

If you are interested in forming or joining a local effort in your area, contact Marsha Willard and subscribe to our list serve of interested people, participate in some of our local leadership meetings and help us move this effort forward.

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SPECIAL DISCOUNT FOR ISSP MEMBERS

New Publisher Launches First DoShorts: Sustainability ebooks You Can Read in 90 Minutes

Do Sustainability is the publisher of DoShorts: a new series of short, expert ebooks you can read in 90 minutes. Each DoShort focuses on one sustainability challenge at a time and distils best practice for busy professionals.
 
The first two titles were launched this  month: The Changing Profile of Corporate Climate Change Risk  and Solar Photovoltaics Business Briefing.
 
Some of their forthcoming titles include: Making the Most of Standards  by Adrian Henriques * Sustainability Reporting for SMEs  by Elaine Cohen * Green Jujitsu: The Smart Way to Embed Sustainability into Your Organisation by Gareth Kane * The Short Guide to SRI  by Cary Krosinsky * How to Make Your Company a Recognised Sustainability Champion  by Brendan May * Sustainability: The First 100 Days on the Job  by Anne Augustine... See all published and forthcoming titles here  .
 
Do is offering a 15% discount for ISSP members. Log into your ISSP account and go to our member discount page to find the code. If you would you like to be alerted when a new DoShort is published, click here!

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Contribute To Creation of New Green Chemistry Guide  for Driving Cleaner Process and Products

The National Pollution Prevention Roundtable, a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization, is the largest membership organization in the United States devoted solely to pollution prevention (P2). The mission of the Roundtable is to provide a national forum for promoting the development, implementation, and evaluation of efforts to avoid, eliminate, or reduce pollution at the source.
 
Join the NPPR's Work Group Research, Technology and Energy, as they work on a project to develop a 101 Green Chemistry Guide for P2 Practitioners!  There has been interest expressed to learn more about green chemistry and how to apply the principles in driving cleaner process and products.  The committee estimates this effort to bring a manual ready for use will take approximately one year and they will use various planning elements from the successful NPPR P2-101 guide to get started in this endeavor.

If you are interested in participating contact
Michael Simpson [email protected]

 

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ISSP LinkedIn Site Undergoes Overhaul To Better Reflect ISSP "Workstreams"

New Discussion Categories and a New Platform
for the Lexicon Dialogue Have Been Added

For those ISSP members who are also linked into our ISSP LinkedIn group, some significant changes have been evident over the last few days. We are restructuring and re-purposing the ISSP LinkedIn group to better reflect and support ISSP's mission and activities and to take a new approach to member engagement. 

Rather than continuing as a succession of ad hoc posts, the ISSP  LinkedIn group has been reorganized to better identify and advance ISSP's existing "workstreams" -- Membership; Research; Education; and Policy & Standards -- as well as several of ISSP's "signature" activities -- the Sustainability Hall of Fame (tm); the ISSP Annual Conference; and the Sustainability Lexicon Project (tm).

"There are any number of sustainability-oriented groups on LinkedIn, and our ISSP LinkedIn group is not competing with them, nor is it useful for us to duplicate their postings," explained Ira Feldman, coordinator of ISSP's Policy & Standards workstream, "Instead, ISSP's LinkedIn group will now focus on our own organization's goals and activities to better serve our members." Ray Berardinelli, ISSP's manager of Membership & Marketing, added, "We expect to make good use of the LinkedIn polling function so we can more effectively identify the preferences of our members and fine tune our offerings."

The past week has already seen posts relating to how members can engage in the "Hall of Fame" and the "Annual Conference" activities.  Shortly, posts will appear for the "Lexicon Project" which is entering a new phase. Going forward, the ISSP LinkedIn group will be the platform for the Lexicon Project's dialogue, so all ISSP members who might wish to participate in the Lexicon Project now have good reason to also join the ISSP LinkedIn group. To join, go to  www.linkedin.com; search for "ISSP" under groups; then click "join" group, or, simply click on the logo above.

Announcements relating to each ISSP educational activity -- such as a workshop or a webinar -- will be posted in a new discussion with a link to registration. Announcements relating to all other upcoming (non-ISSP) events and webinars should now be posted as a "comment" in the "Other Events and Webinars" discussion thread.

Ongoing discussion threads have also been established for ISSP LinkedIn group members to post "comments" about "New Reports & Timely Articles" and "New Books." Other newly-established discussion threads will house posts and links from members for "Archived Webinars, Podcasts and Interviews."

To distinguish the ISSP LinkedIn group from other LinkedIn groups, we are also encouraging a new category of post -- the Practitioner-to-Practitioner Question or "PPQ.".  Members are urged to initiate a new discussion as a "PPQ" when inquiring about available tools, proper protocol, and/or expert advice. Our hope is that your responses to such PPQ's will demonstrate how our membership is functioning as a community of practice.

 

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NEW JOB POSTING:
Executive Director of Health Coop

This is an exciting opportunity to lead the development of a health insurance coop. No insurance background is necessary. Instead the organization is looking for someone versed in social ventures.  If you'd like more information about this leadership position, visit the ISSP job posting site.

 

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ISSP To Participate in Panel Discussion About Certifying the Sustainability Profession

November 27 Webinar Planned in Partnership with Security & Sustainability Forum and American Planning Association

ISSP will be contributing to a discussion that will investigate the need for establishing a professional certification for our field. This webinar will look at the kinds of certifications currently available and explore whether we need additional, official licensing of the profession.    ISSP executive director Marsha Willard, and ISSP board member Rich Goode, senior manager of climate change and sustainability services for Ernst & Young, will be among the panelists during a Webinar on Tuesday, November 27, 1:15-2:45pm EDT. 
  Business and municipal leaders will join the conversation to weigh in about how their organizations would value a professional certification in sustainability. Panel members will explore how stakeholders can work together to establish a common understanding of sustainability and, if desirable, the credibility and curricula necessary to offer cross-sector sustainability certification.   
To learn more about the Webinar and to register, click here .

 

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BOOK REVIEW:
Creating A Sustainable Organization:
Approaches for Enhancing Corporate Value through Sustainability

Soyka, Peter A. 2012. Creating a Sustainable Organization: Approaches for Enhancing Corporate Value through Sustainability. FT Press. New York.  

 

Review prepared by ISSP member Faye Sinnott

 

Peter Soyka's book, Creating a Sustainable Organization is a very thoughtful and well-researched book designed to help businesses and their management respond to the challenges and opportunities posed by today's emerging environmental issues. In a nutshell it shows us that:

  • Well-chosen eco-efficiency initiatives improve corporate returns

  • There is a strong correlation between strategic sustainability management practices and firm value

  • Solid environmental management practices and execution lead to lower costs of capital

  • Improved employee relations, strong environmental policies and performance and products with benign environmental health and safety characteristics reduce risks, thereby reducing corporate costs of capital.

Soyka shares his perspectives on what is needed to realize these gains with documented studies. He writes from a deep sense of values, and states his view: "sustainability is a value set, philosophy, and approach rooted in the belief organizations (corporations and otherwise) can and must materially contribute to the betterment of society" and must recognize the "larger interests of the societies in which they operate."

 

Reflecting on the conflicting challenges facing today's executives, Soyka builds the case that sustainability offers an effective framework for aligning the entire firm to achieve a culture dedicated to value creation. This has the power to increase the revenue stream and underlying customer base, improve earnings and/or cost controls, and to adequately understand and manage risk. He identifies multiple trends suggesting that adequate access to capital will increasingly be contingent on the quality of a company's commitment to and implementation of sustainability, although much has to happen for this to be actually realized.

This is both an excellent reference and a pragmatic manual. I recommend it highly.   

 

Read the full review here.  

 

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 News from the
 ISSP Board of Directors

Ira Feldman to Address Educators at
Conference In New York City


Ira Feldman

Ira Feldman been invited to speak at the World Savvy Sustainable Communities Institute on Oct 4 in New York City. The two-day workshop

for educators will model a variety of interactive teaching and learning strategies to engage diverse students in an examination of issues such as sustainable development, energy, food, water, transport and design on a local, national and global scale.  Middle and high school social studies, science, math, language and creative arts teachers, school administrators, non-profit leaders working with youth, and graduate students interested in global education were invited to attend the institute.   

 

Ira is president of greentrack strategies, and is a member of both the ISSP Board of Directors and the ISSP Management Team.  


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Members, Send Us Your News !!! 

Have you or your company done something interesting lately? Did you recently publish an article, win an award or make a presentation to a large group?  Let us know what you've been up to so we may share it with your fellow members here in our newsletter.NewsLogo
Send your news items to [email protected] 
with the phrase Newsletter Item in the subject line. 

See you on-line! 
   

Upcoming Events

October 2012 Virtual Workshop
Sustaining Sustainability
Organizational Assessments & Systems
with  Dorothy Fisher Atwood 
 
> ISSP Members save $75 -- Anytime
 

Starts Tuesday October 9

Dates and timezones for Live Webinars Weeks 1 - 4:    

>Tuesdays Oct 9 & 23 @ 4PM PT / 5PM MT / 6PM CT / 7PM ET 

>Tuesdays Oct 16 & 30 @ 10AM PT / 11AM MT / 12PM CT / 1PM ET 

 

Management systems are the key to ongoing progress.  A sustainability management system allows for systematic internal review, monitoring and corrective actions for continual improvement for your sustainability plan. This workshop will walk you through the creation of such a system to fit your needs.  Read more HERE.

Dorothy Atwood
Dorothy Atwood
 Dorothy Fisher Atwood has over 25 years of environmental consulting experience with the last ten years focused management systems implementation for private and public organizations.  Her work includes development of implementation tools and procedures, training, and sustainability and environmental management system (including ISO 14001) integration into core business systems.   

 

Past participants report appreciating the provided tools of templates and resources plus enjoy ISSP's dynamic , interactive eLearning experience by meeting online once a week for a live webinar plus interacting 24/7 at the ISSP Learning Center.    

                         

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October - November 2012
Virtual Workshop
Sustainability Event Management
Five-week webinar-workshop
with  Meegan Jones
  
 
> ISSP Members save $75 anytime.     

  

Dates and times (note timezones) for Live Webinars      

>Thursdays Oct 11, 18, 25 and Nov 1, 8 @ 3PM PT / 4PM MT / 5PM CT / 6PM ET 

>Australian time-Friday Oct 12, 19, 26 and Nov 2, 9 @ 6AM WST / 7AM JST / 8.30AM CST / 9AM EST / 11AM NZST)  

>London (BST) 11pm, 11th October.     

 

5 week workshop, $550
> ISSP Certificate Participants, $325 (email ISSP      

With increasing urgency to address sustainability, how is the event industry facing the need for sustainable production practices while continuing to be a single-serve product?  If you're involved in planning, procurement, production and practical implementation of events, this five-week webinar workshop is for you.  Read more HERE.  

 

IREGISTER NOW>> 

  

 

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OCTOBER 18 WEBINAR 

  Employee Engagement - The Key for Successful Sustainability Implementation   
with Kevin Wilhelm     

Thursday October 18, 2012 at 11am PDT

 

REGISTER NOW>>           

        
Kevin Wilhelm
Kevin Wilhelm

Join Kevin Wilhelm, CEO of Sustainable Business Consulting and author of Return on Sustainability, to discuss the barriers to implementation and the how, why, nuts and bolts of employee engagement.    

Read more HERE.    

 

Free to ISSP Members.  $10 for ISSP non-member site visitors. 

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November 2012 Virtual Workshop
Leadership Skills for Change Agents
with Bob Willard, PhD.   
> Early Bird Discount - $50 off - ends 11/01/12.
> ISSP Members save $75 anytime. 

Dates for Live Webinars: Mondays November 2012 (5, 12, 19, 26) at 4pm PDT/5pm MDT/ 6pm CDT/ 7pm EDT

 

ISSP's Leadership Skills workshop prepares sustainability professionals at any level in the organizational hierarchy to lead an organizational change to a sustainable enterprise.  You will learn how connects the dots between timeless leadership practices and how to transform an organization to a sustainability culture.  Bob teaches how to quantify the business case for sustainability strategies.  At the end of this workshop participants will be able to... Read more HERE

 

Bob WillardBob Willard is a leading expert on quantifying and selling the business value of corporate sustainability strategies.  He is also an inaugural member of the ISSP Sustainability Hall of Fame(TM).   He is a teacher, speaker and author whose books include The Sustainability Advantage, The Next Sustainability Wave and The Sustainability Champion's Guidebook.  He has a PhD. in sustainability from the University of Toronto.  

 

REGISTER NOW>>                        

 

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NOVEMBER 14 WEBINAR
Greening Up the Game: 
Sustainability In Sports  

 

Wednesday Nov. 14, 2012 at 11am PST / 2 PM EST

 

 

Professional sports teams around the globe are embracing sustainability as part of their everyday business practices. What are some tips and strategies for how to successfully engage fans as well as stadium vendors in greening up a sporting event?  

 Green Sports Alliance Logo

Join a panel of experts organized by the Green Sports Alliance to find out how professional sports teams and venues have saved millions of dollars in operating expenses, reduced their environmental impact, and inspired their fans to join in the effort.

 

Presentations and Q&A are planned with:

  • Sissy Burkhart, Cleaning Operations Manager for the Pittsburgh Pirates

  • Mary Ann Gettis, Manager, Marketing Initiatives, for the Philadelphia Phillies

  • Bram Reynolds, General Manager, Facilities of Global Spectrum @ Citizens Bank Park

  • Jami Leveen, Director, Marketing and Environmental Stewardship, Aramark

Read more about what's planned for this Webinar here.

 

Free to ISSP Members. $10 for ISSP non-member site visitors.

 

 REGISTER NOW>>                        

 

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SELF-STUDY WORKSHOP:  SUSTAINABILITY 101
Instructor:
  Darcy Hitchcock, co-founder of ISSP and
co-founder of Axis Performance Advisors

   

on-line learningAre you well-versed on all the essential sustainability concepts? To be a credible sustainability professional, there are certain key concepts you should know. Use this self-study workshop to test your knowledge and fill in any gaps. The course has four modules (read more HERE). The prerecorded webinars are taught by ISSP co-founder and sustainability consultant/author, Darcy Hitchcock.  

 

Dates: Open Enrollment. Register at any time.  Take up to 8 weeks to complete.  

 REGISTER NOW>>                        

 

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2013 WORKSHOPS
Looking forward to the
first half of 2013...

 

JAN  Ecosystem Evaluations - James Pittman 

FEB  Stakeholder Engagement Strategies - Susanne Croft

MAR Sustainability Planning - Marsha Willard

APR Sustaining Sustainability Dorothy Atwood

MAY Practical Tools and Methods - Alan AtKisson  

JUN Life-Cycle Assessment - Tom Gloria  

JUL  Biomimicry, Learning from Nature - Mary Hansel  

 

For more information on the ISSP Certificate program read more HERE 

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SeptEventsSUSTAINABILITY CONFERENCES AND EVENTS

 

See details about these events on the Other Sustainability Events  page of the ISSP Website.       

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