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Publications (books, articles)
Popular products: S-CORE™ assessment & S-CORE licensing training * SPaRK™ (Sustainability Planning and Reporting Kit)
Our consulting work inspires us to invent practical tools to help organizations overcome barriers to adopting sustainable practices. As interest in sustainability started to explode, we decided we could do more good in the world by teaching others how to use our methods (rather than hoarding them and just using them with our own clients). That way others can profit from our tools, and sustainable practices can spread even faster.
AXIS has developed methods and tools that can help
you implement sustainability within your organization—both in internal
operations and also in relationship to customers and suppliers. These tools are
appropriate for internal sustainability practitioners and consultants. Use the
diagnostic table below to choose the product that best meets your needs.
(If you want our consulting help, please see the home page for our typical services.)
Use the following diagnostic to help you identify where you are in your process and what tools AXIS may have to help you. These are organized by the steps many organizations follow to implement sustainability. If there is no hotlink for what you want, contact Darcy Hitchcock to find out how to get the resource.
| Need/Step in Implementation | AXIS Resources |
|---|---|
| Step 1: Understand sustainability concepts and practices | Call us if you want an in-house workshop. These tools can help you train managers and employees about sustainability:
Dragonfly's Question (discussion course/novella) Smart Growth Simulation Making Sense of Sustainability (primer) Threats and Opportunities (exercise) Global Trends cards Everyday Decisions (exercise, appropriate for kids and adults) Print Electronic |
| Step 2: Refine the strategic business case for sustainability | Business Case facilitation guide and trends database |
| Step 3: Choose credible framework(s) to define sustainability | Sustainability Buzzwords (article) |
| Step 4: Conduct an impacts assessment to identify what you must manage | SPaRK™ (Sustainability Planning
and Reporting Kit--a sustainability management system in an Excel file)
|
| Step 5: Develop metrics, targets and goals | Sustainability Circus: Getting all the indicators and frameworks under one tent (article) |
| Step 6: Mock up a sustainability report | |
| Step 7: Gather baseline data | S-CORE™ (sustainability
assessment)  |
| Step 8: Create a long-term project plan to achieve your goals | See SPaRK above Forming and Facilitating Sustainability Teams (See Sustainability Series booklets) |
| Step 9: Put in place systems to manage your effort | See SPaRK above |
| Step 10: Conduct formal reviews and push the envelope | STAR (Sustainability Team Action Review) facilitators guide Re-Visioning (a process for questionning/examining alternative business models; facilitation guide) |
| ALL STEPS |
SPaRK™ (see above) |
S-CORE™ is a sustainability assessment that measures the degree to which you've embedded sustainable practices into your organization. It's a powerful educational tool.
Click here for more information on our website about S-CORE—what it is, how to find a licensed assessor and how to become trained as a licensed assessor. Click here for a flier on S-CORE.
SCORE in the news:
Event
Marketer Magazine. It Ain't Easy Begin Green
Also see our work with the Green Spa Network to create a spa SCORE assessment
was featured in the LOHAS Journal (Spring 2009). Download a copy.
"By having 'SCORE licensee' on my resume got me another notch closer to getting the job I interviewed for today!! And I'm thrilled." — Christy Nordstom, Bainbridge Graduate Institute graduate
This class teaches you to administer S-CORE, either in your own organization or with clients. Before you register, please view the FAQs about licensing to be sure you qualify (in particular, see #2 and 3). You need a strong grounding in sustainability practices/concepts and experience implementing sustainability in organizations.
The next five-week distance learning class (live, instructor-led but all online) is scheduled for June 2013. This includes weekly webinars plus expect to do 3-5 more hours of work each week.
Register before May 22 at the early registration price. The text book is The Business Guide to Sustainability (Second Edition).
After completing the training you will be provisionally licensed until you complete your first assessment which is reviewed by the S-CORE Program Director.
“Even though we have been pursuing sustainability for several years and have a robust infrastructure to support our efforts, the SCORE process uncovered new directions and helped us refocus our energies and actions."
—Clark Brockman, SERA Architects
"I recently conducted my first assessment. It was great. From a business standpoint, I more than made up for the training in the assessment fees to just one client alone, and I'm currently working on a proposal to help them follow through that could bring in thousands of dollars. The results I got back from Darcy were super fast and the report was insightful and very useful in helping me frame the "next steps" part of my future contract.
Besides the cash side, I'm really excited about SCORE. Because of how it is structured it is easy to understand, and you get to "trick" clients into having a meaningful internal conversation about sustainability that probably wouldn't have happened on their own. The hard data results are one thing (great metric to improve upon), but the energy and commitment that folks get from the process is the real value of SCORE.
I would highly recommend SCORE to anyone who is serious about helping clients advance their sustainability goals. Not only does it provide a benchmark of where they're at today, it is the catalyst for meaningful discussion about where they want to go tomorrow."—Brad Baso, licensed SCORE assessor
"I've had a wonderful time in this class. I think you've developed a great tool that will really help spread sustainability to a LOT of organizations. I look forward to working with you in the future!"
—Eva Lucia, Environmental Management System Program Manager, EBMUD
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SPaRK™—the Sustainability Planning and Reporting Kit—is a tool for helping organizations quickly develop a sustainability plan and report:
Click here for detailed information about SPaRK.
Training: Our next distance learning class on Sustainability Planning and SPaRK will be 2011 through the International Society of Sustainability Professionals. You will get SPaRK-Lite as part of the training, some of the most useful worksheets. If you can't make this next training but instead want to be added to a notification list, click here and we'll let you know when we are doing the same training at another time. See also the companion guide, The Step by Step Guide to Sustainability Planning, under Published Work.
"This essential training helps balance the focus of your green journey by looking at the triple bottom line. It’s not just about environmental management but also promotes economic prosperity and social capital. The tools are meaningful and can be adapted to whatever your discipline."
—Tim Center, Esq.,Vice President, Sustainability Initiatives
Collins Center for Public Policy and Sustainable Florida“Thanks for an enlightened day at the Challenger Learning Center. I’ve become so much smarter in just one day. And for that I can’t thank you enough.”
—Kha Le-Huu, President, Le-Huu Partners Architects \ Urbanists
SPaRK/Sustainability Planning Training (2011)
Please register through ISSP.
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Marsha and Darcy have a background in instructional design and meeting facilitation, and they are known for creating effective and creative learning activities. We make these consulting processes and training materials available to others. We also offer webinars on how to use them. Versions of some of these are also published in Teaching Business Sustainability.
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Clarifying the business case—Many organizations still aren't clear why they should pursue sustainability. Especially in these tough economic times. AXIS has developed a process you can learn how to use to deepen the understanding of the strategic reasons to pursue sustainability. Use this in your own organization or with clients. $45
"I found the tool to be VERY helpful. You two are doing great things for this industry and I am grateful to be under your tutelage." —Andrea Green, Globally Green
After we receive your payment, we will set you up to get into the online course. You will have to create an account with CRTeacher before accessing the course.
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The Natural Step Card Game—This is a set of cards with questions (and answers) about the science behind The Natural Step and the system conditions. You can use this as an exercise where people in groups read the questions to one another and see if they can answer them. (Articulating your understanding out loud is a powerful teaching tool.) You can also use them to create a Jeopardy-like game. We'll send you instructions and the Word document so you can print the cards or modify the questions.
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Business Simulation—This is a rich exercise that helps people understand how to implement sustainable business practices. It involves four companies in an industrial park (high-tech manufacturing, light manufacturing, food processing and medical center.) It's been well tested on adult populations and has been used with children as young as middle school.
"I've used it twice and it worked really well. I had [the participants] trading [waste streams] with each other and they were able to see many, many ways to close loops. I hope to use it again for this purpose."— Jennifer Roney, faculty at Bainbridge Graduate Institute
In this kit, you get 4 simulations in one!
This kit is sold for $75 in hard copy or $55 as an electronic file. You can use the simulation repeatedly.
Purchase now. (This link will take you to Lulu to place your order.)
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Smart Growth Simulation—This simulation presents the participants with an existing urban area that is to be redeveloped. Their task is to decide how best to redevelop the area, optimizing social and economic benefits.
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