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VOLUME 9                     NUMBER 1               January 2015
ISSP NEWS

FROM THE PRESIDENT'S DESK

Top  

Tomorrow's Child is Calling Us...

 

By ISSP President and EcoSTEPS Sustainability

Partner Julian Crawford of Sydney, Australia

 

Dear Fellow ISSP Members,

 

It is the start of a new year and so time for reflection!

Julian Crawford

ISSP has come a long way in a very short time. Our first conference was in Portland (Sept 2011), the second in Chicago (May 2013) and the third, recently in Denver. Each conference has seen increasing numbers of participants and speakers from more and more countries. But we need to pick up the pace... Tomorrow's Child is calling us - let me explain...

 

Since its inauguration in 2011, the ISSP Hall of Fame has served to recognize individuals who have made significant professional contributions to sustainability. Our very first induction was given posthumously, shortly after he passed away, to one of sustainability's earliest pioneers Ray Anderson, the founder of Interface.

 

Mission Zero is Interface's promise to eliminate any negative impact its companies may have on the environment by 2020. "Be the first company that, by its deeds, shows the entire world what sustainability is in all its dimensions: people, process, product, place and profits - and in doing so, become restorative through the power of influence." Ray finished most of his speeches with a poem written by an Interface employee who was inspired after hearing Anderson describe his environmental vision...

 

Tomorrow's Child � Glenn Thomas 

Without a name; an unseen face
and knowing not your time nor place
Tomorrow's Child, though yet unborn,
I met you first last Tuesday morn.

A wise friend introduced us two,
and through his shining point of view
I saw a day that you would see;
a day for you, but not for me

Knowing you has changed my thinking,
for I never had an inkling
That perhaps the things I do
might someday, somehow, threaten you

Tomorrow's Child, my daughter-son
I'm afraid I've just begun
To think of you and of your good,
Though always having known I should.

Begin I will to weigh the cost
of what I squander; what is lost
If ever I forget that you
will someday come to live here too.

 

There are now over 100,000 people on the Sustainability Professionals LinkedIn site - and growing rapidly. It is time for big, bold, actions. 2015 is going to be the biggest year yet for ISSP as we launch Professional Sustainability Certification. ISSP is doing this because it will achieve three much needed objectives:

  • Definition and cohesion to the emerging profession of sustainability
  • Practitioners in the field evidence of competency, furthering their credibility, influence and career advancement opportunities
  • Employers with credibility and assurance of a standard level of competency of the sustainability professional

This is a defining year for the Sustainability Profession and ISSP is proud of you, our members, for supporting this vital work.

 

Julian Crawford

 

PS: If you're interested is working with us on our Local Chapters, Committees or other projects then please explore the opportunities by contacting us at [email protected].

 

Sustainability Professional Certification

ISSP Launches Professional Certification Effort   

 

Marsha Willard, ISSP Certification Committee Co-Chair

 

Since ISSP was formed in 2007, the field of sustainability has attracted hundreds of thousands of people from a variety of backgrounds who are doing work in this field and claim the title "sustainability professional." While the field has been enriched and informed by the diversity of expertise these people bring, it has also created inconsistency in practice and definition. ISSP believes that, in order for the field and its professionals to be taken seriously and be granted due credibility, there needs to be definition and standardization of the competencies that employers and seekers of consultants can expect from sustainability professionals.

 

Working towards this goal, in 2010, ISSP published the results of its research on the core competencies of a sustainability professional. Then in 2013, we published the job task analysis that will be the basis for the certification scheme. ISSP is now ready for the third step - the creation of a professional certification scheme. We take this step for these reasons:

  • To provide cohesion and definition to the emerging profession of sustainability
  • To provide credibility for employers and assurance of a standard level of competency of the sustainability professional
  • To provide practitioners in the field evidence of competency, furthering their credibility, influence and career advancement opportunities
  • But mostly because our members have been overwhelmingly asking for this:

Of the 843 respondents to our 2014 survey, 70% said they seek certification as a sustainability professional if it were available

 

How Certification will work

The scheme for certification recently approved by the ISSP board of directors includes these features:

  • It will include two levels of certification: ISSP Sustainability Associate (ISSP SA) and the ISSP Certified Sustainability Professional (ISSP CSP).
  • The certification for the ISSP SA will be awarded to anyone passing our basic level exam which tests foundational conceptual knowledge of sustainability.
  • The certification for the ISSP CSP will awarded to those who pass a more comprehensive test based on our job task analysis, demonstrates a minimum required combination of work experience and formal education, and signs the ISSP Code of Ethics.
  • Maintaining the certification will require professional development activities including a combination of related work experience, training, conference attendance, publication, association involvement and membership in ISSP

ISSP's intent is to have a Beta version launched in March 2015 and a version 1.0 launched in Nov 2015.

 

How you can be involved

There are three opportunities for ISSP members to become involved in the certification creation process:

 

Contribute test items to the databank.

We plan to generate about 1,000 questions from which both the ISSP SA exam and the ISSP CSP exam will be built. Only ISSP members and specially recruited professionals are being invited to participate. There is no guarantee that a submitted question will be included in the final databank but we are eager to capture the vast expertise within our membership.  Watch for a special mailing with a link to the item submission form.

 

Participate in the Beta test

We will be recruiting a limited number of people to participate in the Beta run of our scheme sometime this spring. Those participating will help us validate the exam and test the application, scoring and awarding process. In exchange for helping us work out the bugs, you have the chance to be among the first certified professionals in the world! Stay tuned and join our Beta certification mailing list for announcements about the date and location of the Beta test.

 

Become a development partner

ISSP is seeking partnerships with organizations interested in providing funding or in-kind services to bring standardized certification to the field of sustainability consulting. In return, ISSP provides its partners in this effort with a unique opportunity to help shape the future of the profession, and with industry-wide recognition as a leader in bringing newfound rigor, discipline, and consistency to the sustainability consulting arena. For more information, contact ISSP Executive Director Maureen Hart.

 

 

BOOK REVIEW

Changing the Food Game: 

Market Transformation Strategies for Sustainable Agriculture 

     

By Lucas Simons

Greenleaf Publishing, Sheffield UK, 2014

 

Reviewed by Faye Sinnott, President of Solution Navigators, Inc. and ISSP Member

 

"Of all our global strategies, agriculture is probably the most unsustainable," begins this compact volume that looks at food production from a systems perspective.  Our everyday actions help drive these destructive systems because many of the processes that afford us convenient and monetarily cheap foodstuffs perpetuate their negative impacts.  Our challenge?  In the future there will be more people to feed, and we must learn to provide for all of us in a way that the planet and its people can support.

  

Simons is an expert in macro systemic market transformations, and he shows us what changing our food systems might look like.  His message is hopeful, as some specific markets ARE changing, even though our current global food system is the poster child for the causes and drivers of failing systems.

  

Simons has written a very informative book that clearly lays out the power of systems for understanding and addressing problems, the challenges in doing so, and the analytical framework for seeing the key phases and important pressure points to encourage market transformation in agriculture.  It is a good read, clearly written and appropriate for professionals in the field - and understandable for novices - to better see the opportunities and obstacles for helping agriculture meet the difficult task of creating a sustainable, prosperous future for all of us. 

 

Continue reading Faye's review of Changing the Food Game

 

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Partners in Sustainability    

   

Policy Updates From The American Sustainable Business Council

 
ISSP is proud to continue our partnership with the American Sustainable Business Council (ASBC). ASBC's mission is to educate and inform the public and policymakers about the benefits of a more sustainable economy, as well as policies and practices that can help the economy become more sustainable.

Follow these links for ASBC's updates and policy action calls on federal-level legislation and regulations:

Rethink FrackingBusinesses and communities in New York State got an early Christmas present this year when Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced a statewide ban on hydraulic fracturing. Despite arguments that fracking must play a role in our national energy strategy, serious concerns remain about its impact on our water and air, damage to the tourism and agricultural sectors, and even a link between fracking and earthquakes. Join the American Sustainable Business Council Action Fund in calling on President Obama to support a smarter energy strategy.

Support Family Medical Leave:  Currently, the United States is one of a handful of countries nationwide that doesn't guarantee employees paid time off to care for a seriously ill family member, or following childbirth or adoption. Congress has been debating legislation to change this, and the FAMILY Act is expected to be reintroduced in the next Congress. Show your support by adding your voice to the American Sustainable Business Council Action Fund's business petition.

Stop Keystone: Despite a Senate vote on the Keystone XL pipeline falling short late in the year, the next Congress is expected to take up the pipeline as one of its first actions. Keystone won't affect oil prices in this country, and its job creation potential is limited at best. What it will do is allow for the transportation and burning of dirty tar sands, further fueling climate change and putting the economy in even more danger. Add your voice to the American Sustainable Business Council's petition.

 

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CONFERENCES AND EVENTS

South African Sustainability Conference Issues Call for Abstracts  

The International Conference on "Innovation for Sustainability under Climate Change and Green Growth/Economy" will be held at the Birchwood Hotel, Johannesburg, South Africa from 26-28 May, 2015.

This conference is jointly organized by the Exxaro Chairs in: Business and Climate Change (University of South Africa), Energy Efficiency (University of Pretoria), Business and Biodiversity (University of Pretoria) and Global Change and Sustainability Research (University of the Witwatersrand), together with the South African Government's Department of Environmental Affairs.

Abstracts can be submitted on the following tracks/themes: Business and Biodiversity; Energy and Energy Management; Water Connections, Global Change and Sustainability; and Climate Change and Green Economy/Growth transition. For details, including sub-themes, registration and fees please visit the conference website.  

 
ISSP Seeks to Add New Faces to its Board of Directors

The ISSP Board of Directors is made up of committed sustainability professionals who are members of ISSP and want to help expand ISSP's professional development and networking opportunities. If you would like to be considered for a position on the ISSP Board of Directors, please send an email with a brief description of your experience and particular area of interest.

Please note: you MUST already be a member of ISSP in order to be considered for nomination to the Board.

Jobs Board: A Great Resource for ISSP Members Worldwide

ISSP maintains a jobs board of open sustainability-related positions of interest to our members.  A few of our most recent posts include:

  • Sustainability Coordinator
  • Director of Sustainability
  • Operations/Project Manager
  • Sustainability Specialist
  • Social Compliance Auditor
  • Management and Sustainability Fellow
  • Program Manager, Sustainable Communities Collaborative
  • Corporate Social Responsibility Manager
ISSP members, check out the full list of opportunities on the ISSP Jobs Board. Have an open job to post? Send it to [email protected].
 
EDUCATION AND EVENTS

Experience sustainability professional development with live webinars, free resources and online discussion forums

CALENDAR OF EVENTS 




Sustainability Events
Happening Around the World 
  • 6th Energy Efficiency Forum and Fair, Jan. 14-17, 2015, Istanbul, Turkey
  • Global Sustainability Institute Research Conference 2015, Jan. 26-27, 2015, Cambridge, UK
  • 14th Annual New Partners for Smart Growth Conference, Jan. 29-31, 2015, Baltimore, MD
  • GreenBiz Forum 2015, Feb. 17-19, 2015, Phoenix, AZ
  • SoL: Foundations for Leadership Program, March 25-27, 2015, Bedford, MA
  • SoL: Leadership for Sustainability Workshop, Jun. 2015, Exact Dates & Location TBD
  • SoL: Executive Champions' Workshop, Aug. 18-21, 2015, Stowe, VT
For details about these conferences, visit our

International Society of Sustainability Professionals | [email protected]  | http://www.sustainabilityprofessionals.org
99 Pratt St., Suite 200, Hartford, CT 06103

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