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.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. 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 9 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.
Towards sustainability Sustainability essentially means preserving life on Earth, including humanity - or the well-being of the socio-ecological system and it's subsystems over time. As also expressed in the 1987 Our common future report (a.k.a. the Brundtland report) meeting the needs of humans is central in sustainable development, however, it does not state which needs. Attempting to satisfy those human needs (whether 'real' or created) also are the root causes of many of societal (incl. ecological) challenges we face today. The Natural Step differs between fundamental human needs and their satisfiers (Manfred Max-Neef) and between real needs and created desires.
The Natural Step believes the root causes for unsustainability should be taken into account when designing for sustainable solutions and satisfaction of fundamental needs. These root causes are derived from a scientific understanding of our socio-ecological systems – the interactions between humans in society and between humans, their organisations and the ecosystem.
It was found that ecosystem functions and processes are systematically altered in the following ways (thereby degrading the ecosystem services and resources they provide): Society mines and disperses materials from the lithosphere into the biosphere faster than they are returned to the Earth's crust (examples include oil, coal, minerals such as Phosphors and metals such as mercury and lead). Society produces and concentrates substances faster than they can be broken down by natural processes — if they can be broken down at all (examples of such substances include plastics, dioxins, DDT and PCBs). Society encroaches on ecosystems faster than they can regenerate (for example, over-harvesting of natural resources including trees, fish, fresh water), or by other forms of ecosystem manipulation (for example, paving over fertile land or causing soil erosion). Simultaneously, societal systems can be degraded by several factors (thereby eroding trust in the systems and trust in the individuals, organisations and institutes it consists of): Society allows structural obstacles to: health (of individuals in the system); influence (of how the system is organised), competence (development to understand context and to become the best one can be); impartiality (equal treatment) and meaning-making (a larger purpose).
Framework
Overview The 5 Level Framework (5LF) is a comprehensive model for planning and decision making in complex systems based on whole systems thinking. It comprises 5 levels: 1) System, 2) Success, 3) Strategic Guidelines, 4) Actions and 5) Tools. It can be used to analyze any complex system of any type or scale (e.g. human body, the game of chess or soccer, an organization, a sustainability concept) and helps to plan, decide and act strategically towards success based on principles determined by the working of the system (e.g. treat cancer, win chess or soccer, manage a successful business, design useful tools).
When the 5LF is applied to the socio-ecological system (or society within the biosphere) it is called the Natural Step Framework, or the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD). As a framework it helps to see the BIG picture of the workings and functions of our ecological and social systems and institutions, current trends and our sustainability challenge, how we as a society negatively influence the functioning of the socio-ecological system (System), what systems conditions should be met for it not to be negatively influenced (Success) and how to strategically plan towards that (Strategic Guidelines) with prioritised actions (Actions) selecting (or designing) and applying the appropriate tools for those (Tools).
Since its creation by Dr. Karl Henrik Robert in 1989, the framework has been reviewed by many scientists, is under constant development and has been an inspiration to other tools and concepts in the area of sustainable development. The framework has been tested in hundreds of organizations (businesses, governments, neighborhoods, NGO's) around the world. Based on experience with the framework specific guidelines, methods and applications have been developed and refined to accelerate and improve the application of the framework.
FSSD System Level
The Sustainability challenge To explain the sustainability challenge, the metaphor of a funnel is used. The walls closing in represent the many (systematic and often exponentially increasing) trends impacting upon, and degrading, the system e.g.; decreasing number and quality of natural resources and ecosystems, the stricter laws and regulations, degrading interpersonal and person-to-person trust, increasing toxicity levels, growing human population, increase in demands for resources, etc. The walls of the funnel are getting closer and closer over time limiting the room to maneuver. Individuals, organisations and society are hitting the walls of the funnel over time e.g.: victims of climate change-related weather events, stricter laws and regulations, depleting fish stocks, increased number of cancer occurrences, air-, water-, soil pollution, erosion of trust, financial crises, bankruptcies due to price increases of scarce resources, land erosion, etc.
Overview of the science - Systems functions Behind the framework there is a science-based understanding of the dynamic interrelationships within and between socio-ecological sub-systems and is based (a.o.) on study of ecosystems, laws of nature (including thermodynamics, conservation laws, laws of gravity, biogeochemical cycles, photosynthesis, systems thinking, flows of resources and wastes), social systems, social institutions (including trust and fundamental human needs), psychology.
In order to be able to create a structured overview and not to be confused with more downstream or detailed information only the logic of the concepts are explained here.
Ecological System Earth's biosphere is an open system with regards to energy. Energy comes in the form of sunlight and energy leaves in the form of heat radiation. Earth's biosphere is a (relatively) closed system regarding matter, some meteorites and dust enter and only limited matter leaves due to gravity (e.g. some space rockets, dust).
The First and Second Laws of Thermodynamics (LoTD) and Laws for conservation of matter (LCoM) set limiting conditions for life on earth: The First Law says that energy is conserved; nothing disappears, its form simply changes (e.g. heat, movement). Another way of stating this is: "Energy cannot be created, or destroyed, only modified in form." The implications of the Second Law and second law of conservation of matter, are that matter and energy tend to disperse over time. For matter this is referred to as "entropy." Putting the different laws together and applying them to our planetary system, the following facts become apparent: All the matter that will ever exist on earth is here now (1st LCoM). Disorder increases in all closed systems and the Earth is a closed system with respect to matter (2nd LCoM). However, it is an open system with respect to energy since it receives energy from the sun, and radiates waste heat to space. Sunlight, or energy radiation, (LoTD) is responsible for almost all increases in net material quality on the planet through photosynthesis and solar heating effects. Chloroplasts in plant cells take energy (and minerals and oxygen) from sunlight for plant growth (Sugars, structure, oxygen). Plants, in turn, provide energy for other forms of life, such as animals. Evaporation of water from the oceans by solar heating produces most of the Earth's fresh water. This flow of energy from the sun creates structure and order from the disorder. The global ecosystem and its local ecosystems evolved over time into a complex adaptive system with many interdependencies.
Social system A social (sub-)system also is a complex adaptive system. Trust is essential in the smooth workings of societal systems and can be seen as the glue binding society (economically, politically, socially). A lack of trust, e.g. in the future and each other, creates societal unrest and instability as individuals and (sub-)systems within society will attempt to continue to satisfy Individual fundamental human needs (as articulated by Manfred Max-Neef, among others).
Being able to keep one's health, influence of how the system is organised, learn & develop to become the best one can be; equal treatment and pursuing a larger purpose are important factors to trust and 'believe in' the system one is part of.
Human influence