Thank You To Our Newsletter Sponsor:
Great organizations like Chatham University and its School of Sustainability and the Environment make this newsletter possible.
For information about sponsorships, contact ISSP marketing manager Ray Berardinelli.
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VOLUME 7 NUMBER 10 OCTOBER 2013
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Member Survey Results Drive Strategic Planning Process
ISSP is about to celebrate its fifth anniversary later this October. We have much to be proud of. We have
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topped 700 members from all over the world, created and grown a professional certificate program providing education to hundreds of professionals, held two conferences, conducted several original research reports and amassed a large data base of professional materials. But we've only just begun!
This last year we restructured our board of directors and created a five member leadership team to lend more energy and
support to our next phase of growth and development. This September the team launched a strategic planning effort designed to breathe new life into our mission and vision. The planning effort has been studious in its attempt to get the most accurate read of the landscape. One of the critical pieces of that scan was our 2013 member survey. I offer the results of the survey up for membership review and will follow up with the board's ideas for how we are using this input to increase the membership value proposition.
Briefly here are some of the key points we gleaned from your responses:
- Our mission rings true! Just as we suspected, the main reasons you join ISSP are (in order of importance) networking with other professionals, having access to resources, participating in professional development opportunities, supporting the spread of sustainability and being kept abreast of late breaking developments in the field.
- We are basically fulfilling these needs for members but have room for growth and improvement.
- The most frequently mentioned suggestion was for more face-to-face events like training workshops, conferences and/or local chapter meetings
- Our conferences have been quite popular, but, according to responses, not occurring often enough.
This input gives us a good idea about where to focus our resources. Watch for announcements about our planning results in future newsletters. And thank you for your input!
Click here to access the full report
Marsha Willard
Executive Director
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DEADLINE EXTENDED TO OCTOBER 11:
Search for New ISSP Executive Director Continues
ISSP is conducting a search for a new executive director to replace our current, departing ED Marsha Willard. If you are interested in leading this growing and exciting organization, find detailed job description and application link here. Applications will be accepted until October 11.
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Check out ISSP's New On-Line Sustainability Marketplace
ISSP has created a new on-line sustainability marketplace that aggregates information about tools, publications, training providers and services from a variety of third parties that are designed to help sustainability professionals do their jobs. ISSP members and Website visitors alike can search for what they want, whenever they want it. All Marketplace listings are free and can be easily submitted here. Advertisers stand out, since their information appears on every page of the Marketplace section. Explore the Marketplace today!
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MEMBER INVOLVEMENT OPPORTUNITIES
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BELTWAY MEMBERS AND SUPPORTERS
MD - VA - DC - You're Invited!
Team Up for an Open House Event
WHY: Local chapters of ISSP have begun to form around the country. Let's gather and use this time to explore the possibilities of doing the same in your area. Plus it's a great networking opportunity!
WHEN: Thursday October 10, 2013, Between 5 & 7:30pm
WHERE: At the offices of Bethesda Green Located on the second floor of Capital One Bank Branch, 4825 Cordell Avenue, Suite 200, Bethesda, Maryland 20814
WHO: Christy Nordstrom, ISSP's Program Manager and Bethesda Green
Space is limited, if you haven't already RSVP'd, please do so here
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4 WEEKS! OCT 19 - NOV 16
READING GROUP
The Shark's Paintbrush Biomimicry and How Nature is Inspiring Innovation by Jay Harman
Join us for a fascinating 4-week journey through the world of biomimicry as we read Jay Harman's new book together, The Shark's Paintbrush: Biomimicry and How Nature is Inspiring Innovation. The wave of the future has been around since the beginning of time: it's called Nature.
Let inventor and entrepreneur Jay Harman introduce you to stunning solutions to some of the world's thorniest problems.
� Why does the bumblebee have better aerodynamics than a 747?
� How can copying a butterfly wing reduce the world's lighting energy bill by 80 percent?
� How will fleas' knees and bees' shoulders help scientists formulate a near-perfect rubber?
AUTHOR WEBINAR
Jay will share his insights with the Reading Group participants Friday November 1, 2013 at 11:00am PDT - which allows the group to synthesize and ask questions of the author.
Mary Hansel, ISSP's Biomimicry course instructor, will be the Reading Group's facilitator. She has organized a 4-week interactive sprint through Jay's book. For more information and to register click here.
Reading Group begins October 19 and concludes November 16. Free: ISSP Members
Or join us for $25 USD$ REGISTER here
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Join a Member Led Discussion Group About Tools and Technology
Member Doug Williams invites you to join an ISSP discussion group to uncover what organizations need most to help them on their sustainability journey. This is a chance for members to help members in an informative exchange. Doug has started the forum with these questions:
- What tools and/or technology are currently needed by organizations interested in sustainability?
- What tools and/or technology are being applied successfully by organizations interested in sustainability?
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Next ISSP Conference To Be Held In Denver in November 2014: Help Us Plan It!
We are inviting ISSP members to join an advisory committee to help us plan the the next ISSP conference, to be held November 12-14, 2014 in Denver, Colorado. This committee will meet up to four times over the course of the year. Its job will be to provide ideas and contacts for the conference program. The first meeting is scheduled for October 29 at 9:00am pacific time. If you'd like to have a say in what the next conference looks like, please consider joining the committee. We want to continue to make our conferences just what our members want.
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New Job Postings
ISSP posts job openings in the sustainability field on its job board site. Several new listings have come through this month. Check them out on our resource page. ISSP Job Board
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ISSP WEBSITE TIP OF THE MONTH
How to Find Your Registered Event Details on ISSP Website
Want to find out more info about the events you've registered for on the ISSP Website? It's easy to do! Just follow these simple instructions:
1) Find and click on "Your Account" in the BLOCK on the upper right.
2) Scroll down the page and in the middle main area and click on: "View Contact Dashboard"
3) You'll see YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS; YOUR EVENTS, YOUR MEMBERSHIPS; YOUR CONTACTS.
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Sponsor this Newsletter and Be Seen By Thousands of Sustainability Pros
Sponsoring an issue of the ISSP Insight e-newsletter is a great way to be seen by thousands of sustainability professionals worldwide. It's also a terrific way to show your support of ISSP, just as Chatham University has done by sponsoring this issue.
Thank you to Chatham University and everyone involved with their Executive Master In Sustainable Leadership program! For more information about the benefits of ISSP Insight e-newsletter sponsorship, visit http://bit.ly/10EF596.
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EDUCATION AND EVENTS
Experience professional development with live webinars and online discussion forums
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OCT 2013 Certificate Course:
Sustaining Sustainability Organizational Assessments & Systems
Ad hoc to integrated > Build accountability
> Keep it going!
Special Discounts:
4-week Course price: $450 USD $
ISSP Members save $75 off anytime >Start October 9 - Webinars are recorded >Apply this core workshop credit towards the ISSP Certificate
Online Course with Dorothy Atwood
In this 4-week interactive, webinar-based online course move from one-off sustainability projects to sustainability being integrated into the core culture of the organization through metrics, reporting, defined roles and responsibility.
For each improvement project or step toward sustainability, ask what do I need to do to keep this going and supported?
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ISSP's OCTOBER WEBINAR
Small Business: Big Impacts
How small and mid-sized companies can benefit financially from taking action as stewards of the world's resources with Graham Russell and Martha Young
The webinar will describe a groundbreaking research project that is examining the successes of SMEs that have embraced sustainability, the barriers many SMEs have encountered in implementing sustainability-based initiatives and how they were overcome.
Tuesday October 22 @ 11:00am Pacific Time-US
11am PDT/ 12pm MDT/ 1pm CDT/ 2pm EDT
Check for your time zone here Most large corporations have recognized that they can drive innovation, competitive advantage and improved financial performance by adopting sustainable business practices. Small and mid-sized companies (SMEs) typically have not yet embraced sustainability as a key element of their business strategy. This represents a major lost opportunity, both for the SME business community and for the entire economy. Free: ISSP Members
Or join us for $10 USD$
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NOV 2013 Certificate Course:
Leadership Skills for Change Agents
The new sustainability imperative
Special Discounts:
4-week Course price: $450 USD $
Early Bird Save $50 through October 28 ISSP Members save $75 off anytime
>Start November 4 - Webinars are recorded >Apply this core workshop credit towards the ISSP Certificate
Online Course with Bob Willard
In this 4-week interactive, webinar-based online course explore the risk and opportunity drivers of the new sustainability imperative. Acknowledge the urgency and why companies care more about sustainability now than they did five years ago. Apply the culture of sustainability and lead organizations effectively, quickly, and without executive position power.
All Certificate courses are open to all. For more info click here
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ISSP's NOVEMBER WEBINAR
State of the World 2013: Is Sustainability Still Possible?
This webinar will aim to restore the word sustainability to its original environmental meaning with Erik Assadourian, Senior Fellow at the Worldwatch Institute and Robert Engelman, President of the Worldwatch Institute.
The word "sustainable" has come to be all but meaningless, generally used to connote a practice or product that is slightly less environmentally damaging than the conventional alternatives. This webinar, based on the 2013 edition of Worldwatch Institute's flagship annual, State of the World (subtitled Is Sustainability Still Possible?), will aim to restore the word to its original environmental meaning.
The key question is: can sustainability be shown to have a scientific foundation? And if so, what do theory and current data say about the sustainability of our global civilization?
Wednesday November 13 @ 11:00am Pacific Time-US
11am PDT/ 12pm MDT/ 1pm CDT/ 2pm EDT
Check for your time zone here
Free: ISSP Members
Or join us for $10 USD$
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ISSP's DECEMBER WEBINAR
The Buzz on ISSP Local Chapters
Thursday December 5 @ 11:00am Pacific Time-US
11am PDT/ 12pm MDT/ 1pm CDT/ 2pm EDT
Check for your time zone here
Curious about what's happening F2F on the ground with ISSP Local Chapters? Several communities and regions are launching local chapters around the world. With the initial help of a focus group of over 80 interested members, ISSP developed the process to facilitate the creation of regional groups to enable face-to-face contact among members.
Join Executive Director Marsha Willard and local leaders who are forming groups in their regions for this interactive conversation about local chapters.
Free: ISSP Members
Or join us for $10 USD$
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Sustainability Events
Happening Around the World
- SXSW Eco, October 7-9, Austin, TX
- Sustainable Hotel and Resort Conference, October 14-15, Orlando, FL
- VERGE, October 14-17, San Francisco, CA
- Kevin Wilhelm's Book Launch Party, October 17, Seattle, WA
- 3S Awards in Sustainable & Socially Responsible Sourcing, October 22, New York NY
- GRI Training at UT Austin, October 22-23, Austin, TX
- Net Zero Cities 2013, October 23-24, Fort Collins, CO
- Green Industry Conference, October 23-25, Louisville, KY
- Local Renewables Freiberg 2013, October 24-25, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany
- 2013 Net Impact Conference, October 24-26, Silicon Valley, California
- Sustainable Brands London Conference, November 18-19, London, UK
- Corporate Sustainability and Eco-Innovations, November 18-19, Warsaw, Poland
- Responsible Business Forum on Sustainable Development, November 25-26, Singapore
- Northwest Environmental Conference and Trade Show, December 10-11, Portland, OR
- Toward Urban Sustainability, January 5-15, Stellenbosch, South Africa
- GreenBiz Forum 2014, February 18-20, Scottsdale, Arizona
- Carbon Professional Path, various dates, Canada
- Sustainability Workshop and Networking Series, various dates, Perrysburg, OH
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