Our products are a result of asking ourselves, What's inhibiting some organizations from 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 working 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.)
What are you looking for?
...A way to assess how sustainable your organization is, educate managers on what sustainability means in their functional area, and/or track progress over time. Click the SCORE icon for more info.
(See also the related book, The Business Guide to Sustainability under Publications.)
|
Click here for the next workshop
|
...A process and tools for creating a sustainability plan and report. Click the SPaRK icon.
(See also the related book, The Step by Step Guide to Sustainability Planning.) |
Click here for the next workshop |
| ...A process to clarify the strategic business case for pursuing sustainability |
|
| ...A fun way to educate employees or citizens about sustainability principles and build a sense of community (discussion course) Click the cover for more info. |
|
| ...A primer on sustainability for employees (e.g., for use in orientation) |
|
| ...A fun way to reinforce the concepts of The Natural Step (training activity) |
|
| ...An engaging business simulation to teach how to apply sustainability to business processes (including life cycle assessment) |
|
| ...A simple simulation to teach smart growth principles (e.g., for use in an eco-charette) |
|
Product Details
SCORE™ 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 about SCORE—what it is, how to find a licensed assessor and how to become trained as a licensed assessor.
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
SCORE Licensing Training
This class teaches you to administer SCORE, either in your own organization or with clients. Before you register, please download the FAQs about licensing to be sure you qualify.
The next distance learning class is scheduled for January 2011. Webinars on on Mondays at 9am Pacific and expect to do 3-5 more hours of work each week. Register by December 1 and get a free book (The Business Guide to Sustainability; if you own that, we can substitute the Step by Step Guide to Sustainability Planning or Dragonfly's Question.)
We are experimenting with letting people take the licensing training via self-study because we only offer the training live once or twice a year. Use the Paypal button to register for either option. (The self-study option does not include a book.) Once you register and pay, we'll ask whether you want the live class or the self-study.
“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
________________________________________________________
SPaRK™—the Sustainability Planning and Reporting Kit—is a process for helping organizations quickly develop a sustainability plan and report format, with electronic files that help support that effort. The electronic files include and Excel worksbook with many of the common analyses and metrics an organization would use. This is linked to a Word template for an internal sustainability plan and report so that the charts and graphs from the Excel file automatically show up in the right places. We use SPaRK with clients and train others how to use it. Click here for detailed information about SPaRK or download a flier on SPaRK™.
Training: Our next distance learning class on Sustainability Planning and SPaRK will be Feb 2010 through the International Society of Sustainability Professionals. You will receive the full set of electronic SPaRK files. 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 (Feb 2010)
Please register through ISSP.
________________________________________________________
TOOLKIT: Consulting/Training Materials
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.
________________________________________________________
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
- Step by step instructions for how to facilitate a 1-2 hour structured meeting with executives or sustainability steering committees
- Podcast explaining the process
- A database of useful facts and resources that build a sense of urgency and inevitability to move forward.
"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
________________________________________________________
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.
________________________________________________________
Business Simulation—This is a rich exercise that helps people understand how to implement sustainability. It involves four companies in an industrial park (high-tech manufacturing, light manufacturing, food processing and medical center.)
"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
There are three phases of the exercise.
- Basic: You can just do the basic simulation, which focuses on sustainability strategies (with opportunities for industrial ecology/waste exchanges) Basic + reporting: Adds the element of creating sustainability reports
- All 3: The above plus an exercise using life cycle assessment.
________________________________________________________
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.
|