About
The Natural Step Canada works synergistically together with our strategic partner the Smart Prosperity Institute (SPI) to help accelerate Canada's journey to being a strong and inclusive economy that thrives within nature's limits.
In collaboration with leaders and experts from industry, government, and civil society our teams are working on Five Big Bets for Canada that have enormous potential to contribute to a clean and prosperous economy, as we collectively develop effective and scalable solutions to climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution.
Our Vision: a strong and inclusive economy that thrives within nature's limits.
Imagine: Canadians embrace this as their top shared priority. All levels of government across the full political spectrum are adopting thoughtful policies that enable, incentivize and accelerate innovation and system transitions that are good for both the economy and the environment. In turn, businesses are developing, adopting and scaling smart, sustainable and profitable practices, products and services, making them globally competitive.
Collectively all people of Canada are equitably benefitting from a stronger economy that is growing, diversified, generating new jobs, high employment rates and a high standard of living for one and all. Parallel to this – and in part because of it – Canada is far outperforming its historical track record and most other nations in reducing carbon emissions, biodiversity loss, waste, and pollution.
Our Mission:
To accelerate progress on the most urgent and complex challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution while enabling a stronger and more inclusive Canadian economy, through research, policy expertise, and catalysing multi-stakeholder collaboration focused on driving systems change.
Our Approach:
Collectively our core competencies are in research, public policy development and fostering deep collaboration on issues at the intersection of the environment and the economy. With over 25 years of experience working on complex issues across a wide spectrum of sectors, industries and supply chains - we are uniquely positioned to serve as a catalyst and source of expertise on some of the most pressing issues of our times.
Much of our work is done through innovation-focused multi-stakeholder initiatives that place us on the front-lines of the environmental economy, working alongside major brands, policymakers, and key stakeholders. Currently these initiatives include the Canada Plastics Pact, Circular Economy Leadership Canada, the Energy Futures Lab, and the PLACE Centre. We are also in the process of building the partnerships and resources required in the lead up to the public launch of the Nature Investment Hub and the Canadian Alliance for Net-Zero Agri-food (CANZA).
In addition to taking immediate collective action on critical issues, these 'solution labs' foster a rich exchange of knowledge and insights with the Smart Prosperity Institute's global academic research network, their national policy think tank, and other thought leaders.
Our History:
The Natural Step Canada was founded in 1996, and has been part of a global network of non-profit organizations that share the same brand, core identity and purpose and that has been at the forefront of sustainable development internationally for more than twenty years. The science-based framework that we employ (called the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development – FSSD) has been used successfully in hundreds of forward-thinking organizations around the world.
The Natural Step has received a number of awards over the years including: Mikhail Gorbachev's Green Cross Millennium Award in 1999 and The Blue Planet Award (considered the "Nobel Prize of the Environment") in 2000. The Natural Step's founder, Dr. Karl-Henrik Robèrt, has been honoured with numerous international distinctions including the first Laureate Medal for Social Responsibility issued in 2005 by the Global Centre for Leadership and Business Ethics and, in 2009, as an Ashoka Fellow and Globalizer. In 2006, The Natural Step's "Sustainability 101" eLearning course was awarded the Brandon Hall Silver Medal for Excellence in Learning.