Making Sustainability Standard Practice
Vol. 10       No. 6       June 2016
Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter View our profile on LinkedIn
In This Issue
Quick Links
Explore sustainability with thought leaders, industry practitioners, policy experts, and scholars. Join us!
Speaking companies include: Citigroup, Hershey, Biogen, GE, Ingersoll Rand, TD Bank, Avery Dennison, SAP, EY, JetBlue and more.
Upcoming Events
Top
From the President's Desk
Thanks for Your Efforts and Support 
During This Year of Accomplishment
By Marilyn Johnson, ISSP President and Senior Director, Corporate Sustainability at IHS, Seattle WA  
Wow - how time flies! As I look back at the past year, I'm amazed at what we have accomplished together! It has been my pleasure to be President of the Board of this tremendous organization during a time of true evolution. Most notably, the coordination, effort, expertise and passion of my fellow board members and many talented professionals, has resulted in the launch of ISSP Professional Sustainability Certification - elevating the profession to a whole new level and expanding our membership to the highest level in the history of the organization. Our membership and our board is more diverse than ever and we are forging new and deep relationships with many organizations and experts around the world to accelerate this work. Thank you for this opportunity and I look forward to continuing my involvement in this exciting field that we all love so much.

With Gratitude,
Marilyn


ISSP Targets July for
Education Partners Program Launch
An important step ISSP is taking to ensure that the ISSP Sustainability Professional Certification Program meets the highest standards is to build partnerships with sustainability education and training organizations. Our Education Partners Program, scheduled to launch next month, will recognize those organizations that prepare sustainability professionals with the same kind of career-building knowledge and expertise that we test in our certification exams. We are already conducting a pilot program for a limited group of education and training organizations. This first cohort of Education Partners will be featured in the program announcement next month.

In addition to the heightened visibility Education Partners will receive from ISSP members and certification applicants, participating organizations will be able to provide discounts on ISSP membership to their students and a host of promotional benefits. These benefits include a listing on our website, enhanced visibility on ISSP's social media channels, discounted advertising in our newsletters, and more. Education Partners will also have access to certification materials and standards in order to improve their own offerings. The program is priced affordably at $750/year for for-profit institutions and $550/year for nonprofit and public institutions, plus an additional $250 application fee.

For updates on the development and launch of the Education Partners program, sign up for the ISSP Education Partners Newsletter on our website. There is limited space in the pilot program, but if your organization is interested in participating contact [email protected] for more information.
Book Review: The Business Guide to Sustainability: Practical Strategies and Tools for Organizations, Third Edition
Book by Darcy Hitchcock and Marsha Willard
Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, 2015
Reviewed by ISSP Member Kris Coperine
The Third Edition of The Business 
Guideto Sustainability: Practical Strategies and Tools for Organizations shows the evolution of the field of sustainability, and the increasing business value of practical sustainability implementation. The guide, written by two founders of ISSP, expands on the case studies offered in previous versions, tailoring cases specifically to address the conditions after the Great Recession suffered in 2008.  The depth of knowledge exhibited by the authors provides valuable guidance and insights into the directionality of sustainability trends and insights for how businesses can leap-frog beyond linear business assumptions.

The book goes hand-in hand with ISSP's online S-CORE Assessment tool. S-CORE, which stands for Sustainability--Competency, Opportunity, Reporting, and Evaluation assesses and organization's sustainability initiatives, measures progress, and benchmarks that progress against others in the sectors and industry.  Although the full benefit of this tool is best realized by having a licensed professional conduct the assessment, the guide is very valuable for anyone interested in critically assessing their organization's sustainability practices and brainstorming more sustainable solutions.

Read the full review here

Back to top 
June 16 Webinar:
The Business Case for Life Cycle Assessment
Thursday, June 16, 2016 at 11:00am PT / 2:00pm ET 
An exercise like an LCA for a manufacturer is truly a journey. It took more than two years for DIRTT Environmental Solutions to complet a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of its environmental impacts, quantifying results per square meter of its building product, a prefabricated modular wall for building interiors. The final results are everything DIRTT's sustainability team hoped for, in spite of challenges and mistakes made along the way.

Join us to understand the implications of undertaking an LCA, how to create a convincing business case for senior management's approval, and why an LCA is the foundation stone for diminishing the environmental and financial impacts of a company's operations. 
ISSP's July Course:
Life Cycle Assessment 101 -
A Simulated Approach
Begins Tuesday, July 5, 2016 at 12:00pm PT / 3:00pm ET 
When businesses need to measure the environmental and social impacts of their products and practices, they rely on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) as a tool in their sustainability arsenal. ISSP's upcoming July course will provide an introduction to LCAs, including its use, scope, and challenges when applied to the decision-making processes of businesses and other institutions.

Aimed at sustainability practitioners in the business world - including anyone who needs to understand LCA in order to produce Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) or wants to get a building LEED certified - the course will look at how LCAs can be applied for corporate and organizational benefit. Participants will use a business simulation for detailed study of how LCAs operate on the ground. Any business leader interested in quantifying the impact of what they do will be well-served by understanding LCA as a potent sustainability tool.

Classes start July 5th, but don't wait - ISSP is offering an early bird discount to those who register before June 28th! Register today. 
ISSP Chapter News
ISSP Chapters Offer Diverse Set of Activities
ISSP members continue to gather across the globe, both virtually and in person, in order to meet and network with other sustainability professionals. Here's a round-up of news from various ISSP chapters.
 
Newly Formed ISSP Chapter in UAE
Hosts Meeting on Women in CSR
An ISSP Chapter in the United Arab Emirates was formed recently from the CSR & Sustainability Meetup Dubai Group. The new ISSP Chapter held its first meeting last month in Dubai to discuss gender balance and business performance, and the role of women in corporate social responsibility. Presenting were Sevim Guvenc, GCC Zone Marketing Manager, Sodexo, and Helel Al Uzaizi, CME, an independent marketer and brand strategist based in the UAE.

Among the questions explored by the group were how women can impact CSR/sustainability in forward thinking organisations, and what the future may hold for women in the sustainability field.

Lipscomb Sustainability Summit Learnings
To Be Shared in Memphis Meeting 
On Monday, June 20 in Memphis, Professor Dodd Galbreath from Lipscomb University will share some of the most important lessons learned from discussions held at the recent Lipscomb Sustainability Summit. The Summit included highly respected developers, designers, corporate and environmental management executives, consulting scientists, engineers and non-profit leaders. The ISSP AR-MS-TN Chapter co-hosted the Summit and is also hosting the June 20th event. For more information and to register, click here.

Join the ISSP Greater NYC Chapter on Thursday June 23 for a comprehensive workshop on the ISSP Sustainability Professional Certification Program, led by Maureen Hart, Executive Director of ISSP. The session will include information on certification requirements, including small group discussions on how sustainability certification impacts the individual professional, an organization, a local environmental community and the global sustainability sector. This is an opportunity to learn what it takes to become a certified sustainability professional and to network with both established and emerging colleagues. Click here for more information and to register.

We are looking to expand ISSP chapters beyond the current 'place-based' chapters to include virtual 'affinity-based' chapters. Our first virtual chapter will be made up of sustainability professionals located anywhere in the world who are working on sustainability in the Film/Entertainment Industry or related sustainability practice area. We are also going to be collecting 'stories' about what sustainability professionals are doing in these areas. If you are in the Film/Entertainment industry and have a sustainabiltiy story to tell about your work, send us an email at [email protected]. If you are interested in being one of the founding members of the ISSP Sustainable Film/Entertainment Chapter, send an email to [email protected]. We look forward to hearing from you!
Check Out Upcoming ISSP Webinars!
Our webinar calendar is filling up!  Here's a brief primer on our upcoming topics:
  • June 16th - Andree Iffrig:
  • July 7th - Heather Elgar, Damien Smith, and Rodney Irwin: The Reporting Exchange: Can a Collaborative Platform Reduce Fragmentation and Confusion in the Reporting Landscape?
  • August 25th - Richard Eidlin: The Sustainable Business Council and COP21
  • September 22nd - Anastasia ORourke and Alison Bennett: What's behind the label? The Landscape, Role, Credibility, and Application of Ecolabels
  • October 13th - Archie Kasnet and Blaine Collison: Understanding and Executing PPA's in the Private Sector

Make sure to keep an eye on our Calendar of Events for additional events and to register. Future topics include Biomimicry, renewable energy collaborations, and more!
 
And of course, a special thanks to our wonderful presenters and to the volunteers on the ISSP Webinar Committee - we couldn't do it without you! 
 
ISSP Out and About: Where to Meet Us 
Here's where various members of the ISSP community will be gathering this month. If you're attending any of these events, seek them out and say hello!

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.

International Society of Sustainability Professionals | 1429 Park St | Suite 114 | Hartford | CT | 06106