The Natural Step

The Natural Step (TNS) is both an organization and a framework helping to move businesses, communities, schools, government entities, organizations, and individuals on the path toward sustainability. The Natural Step framework is science-based, with a robust set of principles and a process that allows for self-determined, customized paths to sustainability.

TNS is used to create economic gains along with social and environmental ones. Twenty-one Wisconsin cities and counties have adopted TNS eco-municipality resolutions and many others have active groups educating their communties about the framework through study circles.

Companies like IKEA, Electrolux, Norm Thompson, Interface, Rejuvenation, and Starbucks actively use the TNS framework. In addition to the goodwill inherent in the goal of sustainability and the financial benefits of increased efficiency and decreased resource use, there are other distinct commercial advantages for companies and organizations. Case studies show a range of benefits: increased brand loyalty and market share, a capacity for innovation, and a propensity to anticipate and remain ahead of changing government regulations.

The TNS framework enables intelligent and profitable integration of environmental considerations into strategic decisions and daily operations. It encourages dialogue, consensus building, and systems-thinking and creates the conditions for profound change to occur. The framework complements other tools such as LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), life cycle analysis, and ISO 14001 (the International Standardization Organization’s standard for environmental management systems.

The Natural Step has also inspired an international network of non-profit, educational organizations working together to build a sustainable society. Monona is part of this larger community.

The Natural Step Beginnings
The Natural Step framework was developed by Swedish oncologist Dr. Karl-Henrik Robèrt in 1989. Frustrated by increasing rates of cancer and the reductionist approach to addressing the environmental problems he saw around him, Dr. Robèrt brought leading Swedish scientists together to develop a consensus on requirements for a sustainable society. These “system conditions,” based on natural cycles and the laws of thermodynamics, have become the backbone of The Natural Step. Today, more than sixty major Swedish corporations and seventy-one municipalities (municipalities in Sweden are more like our counties) have adopted The Natural Step principles.