September’s Sustainability Workshop
Sustainability –
What does it mean?
How do we become?
How do I help others understand?
Where are we now?
Crave Catering’s owner, Mark Lopez blogs:
Last week I got an entire day filled with sustainable answers. Not a be all and end all by any means, more like a journey or an evolution. On Thursday, September 11, 2008 I joined about 30 like-minded people interested and eager to hear what was in store for us at the Natural Step Network’s workshop entitled Sustainability Using The Natural Step Framework.
Presentations were given by Duke Castle the facilitator, Natalie Reitman-White of Organically Grown Co., Clark Brockman and Lisa Petterson, and SERA Architects. Additional Resources were provided by the Sustainability Resource Guide and Green Living.
While sustainability has been a core focus and vision for Crave Catering, we definitely still have room to grow. I was relieved to find that many of my local “heroes” in sustainability all started out just like me. I decided weeks ago when registering for this event that we would become members of the Natural Step Network. Now I know it was a great decision.
The workshop really helped us look at the big picture of sustainability and overlying strategy. We’ve been doing things to lessen our impact on the environment for many years now, but what I began to find out is that we have been doing things at the tactical level. In plain terms our approach has been simplistic, and there are ways we can be more effective.
I’m taking what I’ve learned back with me to take Crave Catering to take it to the next level of sustainability and further our journey down its path. Along the way we will discover what seems like a very simple question turn in to a variety of answers… “What does a sustainable caterer look like?” This will be the forefront of our focus, along with sharing our experiences with caterers across the nation through the Sustainable Catering Association.
ABCD Process, Sustainability Planning Process
A – Awareness, What do you know about sustainability and why it matters?
B – Baseline Mapping, What does your organization look like today?
C – Clear and Compelling Vision, What does your organization look like in a sustainable society?
D – Down to Action, How will you manage and prioritize steps to sustainability?
The natural step is not just for individuals, organizations, and is even scaleable to entire communities. I like to look at the Portland Metro-Area as my community, and how my piece of the puzzle fits in to a sustainable future.
–Mark Lopez, Crave Catering Owner