2017 April Edition -flipbook

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40 I NonprofitPerformance Magazine
Education
Those working with schools worked
together to offer holistic teacher training on
sustainability and coordinated our services
to each school based on their interests
and needs. We’ve also set up a Sustainable
Entrepreneurship Microloan Program for
Schools.
Business
We wanted a way to recognize businesses
that were working toward sustainability and
to encourage others to move in that direction.
We couldn’t find certification that met our
criteria (fast, easy and cheap; applied to all
industries; offered levels of performance that
included social and environmental criteria
with the highest level as full sustainability).
So, through a member’s technical skills, we
built an online system which we can share
with well-positioned organizations in other
regions.
Community
Metrics can really focus people. We are
developing sustainability indicators so we
can compare communities in our region
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on factors like recycling, hunger, quality of
life, solar power production, and river flows,
to see over time if we are approaching full
sustainability.
Concurrently the region has decided to
brand itself as a sustainable destination, so
economic development folks now need some
of our programs, creating community interest
in and support for our work.
Keep your eyes open for opportunities
Opportunities will crop up where your group
could offer useful insights. Our Alliance
sometimes acts like a mini-think tank, a
forum to find elegant solutions solving
multiple problems at have assembled
interdisciplinary recommendations for a
variety of local issues including solving
traffic problems using existing infrastructure.
We’ve also made recommendations regarding
undeveloped City land, how to get the biggest
sustainability bang for their buck.
Operate on a shoestring
All of this has been done without funding.
You can get lots done when you offer people
an important project aligned with their
passions and you don’t care who gets credit.
Start small and identify someone with project
management and meeting facilitation skills
to lead it.
It’s definitely been worth it. We hope you’ll
give it a try. Let us know if we can help.
Darcy Hitchcock, Collaborator in Chief for the
Sustainability Alliance, has advocated for organizational
democracy and sustainability for over 25 years. She’s
a keynote speaker, the author of 10 books, and the
co-founder of the International Society of Sustainability
Professionals where she teaches online classes on
sustainability assessments to an international audience.