Making Sustainability Standard Practice
Vol. 9       No. 11       November 2015
Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter View our profile on LinkedIn
In This Issue
Quick Links
Upcoming Events
Top 
Looking Ahead to the Next Round of Leadership
By Marilyn Johnson, ISSP President and Senior Director, Corporate Sustainability at IHS, Seattle WA  

The growth of ISSP continues as new members join in steady numbers and more and more local ISSP chapters form around the globe. In the past month, we've enjoyed meeting current and prospective ISSP members at industry events such as the 2015 AASHE Conference of educational professionals in Minneapolis and the most recent Net Impact Conference and Expo in Seattle, which was attended by hundreds of sustainability practitioners and students from around the globe. The positive energy at both these events was palpable.

With the growth of sustainability awareness in general, and ISSP membership in particular, comes an important need to always be looking forward in new and innovative ways. ISSP is currently accepting nominations for candidates to join the ISSP Board of Directors from people who share in our mission of making sustainability standard practice around the globe. Check out the articles below for details of the nomination process, and for a short report on our recent travels.
ISSP Seeks New Faces for Board of Directors 

Are you a committed sustainability professional interested in expanding professional development and networking opportunities and making certification for the field a reality? If so, we want you on the ISSP Board of Directors!  

Board members serve a two-year term, with our newest cohort of board members to begin their term in January, 2016. Members of the Board are expected to actively participate in setting policy, developing programs, fundraising and implementing key projects for ISSP. For more information, see the description of the Board Criteria and Selection Process.

Self-nominations are welcome! If you would like to be considered for a position on the ISSP Board of Directors, please send us an email with a brief description of your experience and which of the four key elements of ISSP's mission you are most interested in working on. Applications are being accepted through Nov 30th
 
ISSP-CSP Beta Exam Underway 

The 80 candidates registered for the Beta ISSP Certified Sustainability Professional (ISSP-CSP) are a subset of the 153 candidates who took the ISSP Sustainability Associate (ISSP-SA) exam earlier this year. These sustainability professionals from diverse industries around the world are providing ISSP with valuable feedback on the exam content and the ISSP Sustainability Professional Certification process as whole. We are now evaluating the results of the ISSP-SA with the assistance of a psychometrician to develop the "cut score" (aka the passing grade). We will announce the results in December as well as the timing for the official launch.

Be sure to sign up for the  ISSP Sustainability Professional Certification announcements so that you hear the results first hand!
 
ISSP Greater NYC Chapter Hits The Ground Running 

On October 14th, 2015, a great group of current and aspiring sustainability professionals gathered for the inaugural event of our ISSP Greater New York City Chapter. All were fascinated and inspired by Dr. Allen Hershowitz's talk, "Leveraging the Cultural and Market Influence of Sports to Promote Sustainable Communities." The venue was warm and inviting, and the enthusiasm in the room was felt by everyone!
 
A strong take-away for everyone was Dr. Hershkowitz's focus on how cultural impacts are key to changing perceptions in how people think about the environment, building trust, and driving behavior change. Dr. Hershkowitz stimulated our thinking on how we can leverage opportunities for cultural influence and the power of organizational networks to increase momentum and to scale achievement of sustainability goals.

Want to learn more? Read the complete debrief, including key takeaways and action items, and check out the ISSP Greater NYC Chapter's webpage and upcoming event: Why The World Needs Greener Products

ISSP Meets Members Old and New
at AASHE and Net Impact Conferences

This autumn has been a busy travel season for ISSP. Our officers and board members traveled to conferences in Minneapolis, MN and Seattle, WA to meet with current and prospective members.

At the recent 2015 AASHE Conference and Expo in Minneapolis, current and former members of the ISSP Leadership Team moderated and presented on two panels focused on sustainability certification and professional education. ISSP also hosted a networking session attended by dozens of AASHE Conference attendees.

This year's Net Impact Conference in Seattle featured a host of organizations, students, and professional leaders all working on the world's greatest sustainability and social justice challenges - and ISSP is proud to have been a part! ISSP was represented at the N+I conference by ISSP Founder Marsha Willard and ISSP President Marilyn Johnson, along with member and education expert Christy Nordstrom. They were on hand to staff the ISSP booth in the exhibition hall, where they met with N+I attendees to tell them about all the great benefits and educational opportunities available from ISSP.

ISSP Leadership Team members Rob Andrejewski and Dorothy Atwood and ISSP Executive Director Maureen Hart welcome visitors to the ISSP booth at the recent AASHE Conference and Expo in Minneapolis.
 
ISSP Launches New YouTube Channel 

From our Profiles in Excellence interview series, produced in partnership with ReNewable Now, to panel discussions from our conferences and chapter events, ISSP has been producing video content over the past year that highlights the important sustainability work that our members and Hall of Famers are involved in. Now we have a place to showcase that content: our new ISSP YouTube Channel!

The ISSP YouTube Channel currently features Profiles in Excellence interviews from USPS's Thomas Day, GreenBiz's Joel Makower, and The Sustainability Consortium's Sarah Lewis, as well as a video of ISSP Hall of Famers speaking at our 2014 conference. The channel will be updated weekly with more content to help publicize and inform the work of sustainability professionals worldwide.

View our videos on YouTube  
ISSP's Upcoming Webinar: Is Print Killing Your Sustainability Scores?   
Thursday, November 19 at 11:00am PT / 2:00pm ET
 
Businesses don't usually think of printers as a major energy or resource expense. But bad office printing habits can be a serious drain on an organization's sustainability plan - especially if nobody's keeping track of the data.

ISSP's upcoming webinar exposes how bettering your organization's printing systems can better its sustainability scores. Hosted by Dale MacIntyre, Pharos Systems' Vice President of Marketing and Sustainability, the workshop will give the basics on tracking the costs of Managed Print Services (MPS) and using data-driven best practices to improve printing habits.
Help Us Plan ISSP Webinars
Send Us Your Proposals and Volunteer to Review Topics
 

We've received some great feedback from ISSP members about topics for new Webinars that they would like to see, and we're looking for more! Members are invited to submit their ideas for webinar topics by visiting our webinar page. We're also recruiting members who would like to volunteer to help review and select webinar topics as they are submitted. To submit your name for the Webinar Review Committee, please contact us.

 

This is a chance for members to showcase what they've been working on that may be interesting to other sustainability professionals. Share with others how you do what you do!

 

What topic do YOU want to teach? Let us know!

 

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:

  • Director of Sustainability
  • Natural Resources Specialist: Business Initiatives Specialist
  • Natural Resources Specialist: Sustainable Consumption Specialist
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].

 


Sustainability Events Around the World  
 
The International Society of Sustainability Professionals (ISSP) is the world's leading professional association for sustainability professionals. ISSP is a member-driven association committed to moving the profession of sustainability forward through building strong networks and communities of practice.