The Natural Step (TNS) is an international sustainable development charity, which Forum for the Future holds the license for in the UK.

Using the internationally endorsed and tested TNS Framework, businesses, government agencies, policy-makers, individuals and communities are engaged in training and partnerships, research and development, and community involvement to lead the transition to an ecologically, socially and economically sustainable future.

The Natural Step Framework is a methodology for successful organisational planning. It is based on systems thinking, recognising that what happens in one part of a system affects every other part.

We begin by understanding the broader system within which problems occur and the principles governing success within that system. This upstream approach to sustainability means problems are addressed at the source and are turned into opportunities for innovation and success.

Many successful organisations worldwide are using The Natural Step Framework in their everyday business practices. From a business perspective, the Framework is used as a planning tool to enable businesses to profitably integrate environmental and social considerations into strategic organisational decisions and daily operations.

In the UK, successful businesses using the Framework include BP, Carillion, the Co-operative Bank, Interface Inc., Sainsbury’s and Yorkshire Water. Like businesses, communities can benefit from the Framework as it helps provide a clear, compelling, science-based definition of sustainability and a practical strategic planning framework. Communities such as Whistler in Canada have used TNS to make smart economic decisions and move them step-by-step towards a successful and sustainable future.

The Natural Step Framework complements other environmental tools and approaches such as life cycle analysis and ISO 14001 by providing a context and strategic vision that makes them more effective.

The Natural Step Framework has three main components:
The Funnel

The Natural Step uses the metaphor of a funnel to help us visualise the economic, social and environmental pressures that will inevitably impinge on society as natural resources continue to diminish and population grows.

System Conditions

The Natural Step’s principles of sustainability define the conditions that must be met in order to have a sustainable society. These four System Conditions are the core of the Natural Step Framework. Their precise wording reflects a system-level understanding of how the Earth functions.

In the sustainable society, nature is not subject to systematically increasing:

• concentrations of substances extracted from the Earth's crust
• concentrations of substances produced by society
• degradation by physical means

and, in that society...

• people are not subject to conditions that systematically undermine their capacity to meet their needs.

Implementation

How can the System Conditions be applied to an organisation’s everyday operations? TNS has developed and tested an ABCD approach to help complex organisations to incorporate sustainability into their strategic planning and decision-making processes. It includes Backcasting – framing goals with regard to a desired future outcome – and systematic step-by-step implementation, that provides benefits in the short-term, while retaining a longer-term perspective.

More about the TNS Framework

Basic Science

The basic science behind The Natural Step Framework.

For more information please contact Tom Chambers at t.chambers@forumforthefuture.org