The Natural Step is a non-profit, non-governmental organisation founded in Sweden in 1989 by scientist Karl-Henrik Robèrt. The Natural Step is also used when referring to the partially open source framework it developed. Following publication of the Brundtland Report in 1987, Robèrt developed The Natural Step framework, setting out the system conditions for the sustainability of human activities on Earth; Robèrt's four system conditions are derived from a scientific understanding of universal laws and the aspects of our socio-ecological system, including the laws of gravity, the laws of thermodynamics and a multitude of social studies.
The Natural Step has pioneered a "Backcasting from Principles" approach meant to advance society towards greater sustainability.[1] Whole-systems thinking and backcasting from sustainability principles form the basis for numerous applications and tools to plan and (re-)design organisational strategy, organisational processes, product/service innovation and business models. Its biggest advantage is the concept of 'simplification without reduction' to prevent getting lost in the details with the complex topic of sustainability. For almost 30 years, the approach has been implemented, proven and refined in education, research, businesses, municipalities, regional and national governments, inter-governmental organisations (e.g. UN, EU) and a multitude of NGOs around the world.
Currently, The Natural Step has offices in 12 countries and numerous associates and ambassadors in more than 50 countries. Next to the Five Level Framework and the TNS Framework (or Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development), the TNS 'theory of change' shows an integrated cascaded approach to accelerate change towards a sustainable society by collaboration on individual, organisational and multi-stakeholder system level. Change programs and transition Labs include Future-Fit Business Benchmark and the Alberta, Canada energyfutureslab.
The Natural Step (TNS), an approach used to guide sustainability efforts in organizations, involves implicit and explicit precautions judgments that may limit growth. But these limits may be difficult for companies and individuals to adhere to. Some implicit precautions are that TNS avoids making judgments about specific levels of damage thresholds or critical concentrations because they are uncertain and can cause disagreements. TNS recommends actions to reduce dependence on certain materials and activities, but these recommendations assume that critical thresholds have already been breached. Some explicit precautions are TNS rate corollaries include avoiding the extraction, production, or dispersion of materials at a faster rate than their breakdown in nature and avoiding harvesting or manipulation of nature in a way that reduces productivity and diversity, and infrastructure development in human history would not have been possible had the TNS systems conditions and these first intended corollaries have been adhered to.[2]
^Holmberg, J. and Robèrt, K-H. (2000). "Backcasting from non-overlapping sustainability principles – a framework for strategic planning." International Journal of Sustainable Development and World Ecology 7:291-308.
^Upham, Paul (1 March 2000) [11 October 1999]. "An assessment of The Natural Step theory of sustainability". Cleaner Production: 447-449.
TheNaturalStep is a non-profit, non-governmental organisation founded in Sweden in 1989 by scientist Karl-Henrik Robèrt. TheNaturalStep is also used...
founded and headed up TheNaturalStep USA. From 1996 to 1998, Hawken was co-chairman of TheNaturalStep International. TheNaturalStep was founded in 1989...
small-step semantics) formally describe how the individual steps of a computation take place in a computer-based system; by opposition natural semantics...
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Other QMS, e.g. NaturalStep, focus on sustainability issues and assume that other quality problems will be reduced as result of the systematic thinking...
key concept of the "Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development" (FSSD) pioneered by Karl-Henrik Robèrt, founder of TheNaturalStep, an international...
step (one piano key) to C, then up a whole step to D, a whole step to E, a half step to F, a whole step to G, and a final whole step to a high A. The...
Valienté (a natural "Stepper") and Lobsang, who claims to be a Tibetan motorcycle repairman reincarnated as an artificial intelligence. The two chart a...
the statement holds for some arbitrary natural number n, and prove that the statement holds for n + 1. The hypothesis in the induction step, that the...
operationalize sustainability. At the core of the process lies a consensus on what Robèrt came to call thenaturalstep framework. The framework is based on a definition...
Natural science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical...
A stepper motor, also known as step motor or stepping motor, is an electrical motor that rotates in a series of small angular steps, instead of continuously...
are used to change AC voltage levels, such transformers being termed step-up or step-down type to increase or decrease voltage level, respectively. Transformers...
Stepping stones or stepstones are sets of stones arranged to form an improvised causeway that allows a pedestrian to cross a natural watercourse such as...
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Military step or march is a regular, ordered and synchronized walking of military formations. The steady, regular marching step was a marked feature of...
gas emissionsPages displaying short descriptions of redirect targets TheNaturalStep – FoundationPages displaying short descriptions with no spaces Net...
atmospheric pressure. Systems using EP have a regulator at the service entrance to step down to UP. Natural gas piping systems inside buildings are often designed...
signed to the company. In 1969, she won the first ever Female Vocalist of the Year Dove Award. As a naturalstep in her career, Vestal Goodman released...
back and the follower stepping forward. The hesitation change is a Bronze syllabus figure. The first 3 steps are identical to thenatural turn. The last 3...
Box step is a basic dance step named after the pattern it creates on the floor, which is that of a square or box. It is used in a number of American Style...
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