Programs
Education and Personal/Professional Development
Understanding and effectively pursuing sustainability at an organizational level and bringing about large-scale behavioral change in pursuit of a more sustainable society both require knowledge of several distinct disciplines, and integration of new perspectives and ways of doing things. In most cases, organizations pursuing this path will need to form multidisciplinary teams, the members of which may not have had occasion to work together previously, and whose formal education, on-the-job responsibilities, professional experiences, and perspectives on important business issues may differ markedly. In other cases, people, including important external stakeholders, may have significant unmet needs for a better understanding of how the sustainability issue affects them, their lives, and/or their organization or community, and few clear options for gaining the necessary background information and perspective in an efficient and cost-effective manner. In any case, to be fully successful, people often must broaden their knowledge bases, perspectives, and skill sets. SLI conducts an array of activities to address these needs, which may involve the following:
Research
An additional focus of SLI’s work is conducting original research on various aspects of the sustainability issue, with particular emphasis on the financial implications of current and alternative management of environmental and social issues in organizations. Topics of interest span a wide range. One example might be evaluating corporate environmental/sustainability policies in corporate America or other geographies or within particular sectors of the economy. Another could be reviewing and comparing the features and effectiveness of alternative public sector programs in promoting sustainable behaviors and lifestyles in the communities they serve, or delineating the range and depth of current sustainability reporting practices.
Generally, our research activities involve one or more of the following techniques:
Support Services
We work with our partners and supporters to promote the adoption and uptake of sustainable practices and lifestyles within individuals, organizations, and communities. Because these practices are still emerging and, in many cases, involve an internal cultural change to be fully implemented, we provide a number of support services to ease and accelerate this transition. Such services include but are not limited to the following:
Education and Personal/Professional Development
Understanding and effectively pursuing sustainability at an organizational level and bringing about large-scale behavioral change in pursuit of a more sustainable society both require knowledge of several distinct disciplines, and integration of new perspectives and ways of doing things. In most cases, organizations pursuing this path will need to form multidisciplinary teams, the members of which may not have had occasion to work together previously, and whose formal education, on-the-job responsibilities, professional experiences, and perspectives on important business issues may differ markedly. In other cases, people, including important external stakeholders, may have significant unmet needs for a better understanding of how the sustainability issue affects them, their lives, and/or their organization or community, and few clear options for gaining the necessary background information and perspective in an efficient and cost-effective manner. In any case, to be fully successful, people often must broaden their knowledge bases, perspectives, and skill sets. SLI conducts an array of activities to address these needs, which may involve the following:
- Sustainability curriculum development, testing, and administration
- General and/or focused sustainability-related training
- Tailored organizational or skill development workshops
- Industry, organization, community, and/or stakeholder roundtables, and
- Customized experiential learning.
Research
An additional focus of SLI’s work is conducting original research on various aspects of the sustainability issue, with particular emphasis on the financial implications of current and alternative management of environmental and social issues in organizations. Topics of interest span a wide range. One example might be evaluating corporate environmental/sustainability policies in corporate America or other geographies or within particular sectors of the economy. Another could be reviewing and comparing the features and effectiveness of alternative public sector programs in promoting sustainable behaviors and lifestyles in the communities they serve, or delineating the range and depth of current sustainability reporting practices.
Generally, our research activities involve one or more of the following techniques:
- Survey development, administration, and analysis
- Development and review of management and performance data
- Method and tool development and testing
- Financial and economic analysis
- Evaluation of environmental/sustainability claims,
standards, and reports, and
- Policy analysis and formulation of recommendations.
Support Services
We work with our partners and supporters to promote the adoption and uptake of sustainable practices and lifestyles within individuals, organizations, and communities. Because these practices are still emerging and, in many cases, involve an internal cultural change to be fully implemented, we provide a number of support services to ease and accelerate this transition. Such services include but are not limited to the following:
- Facilitation
- Environmental/sustainability, policy, programmatic, financial, and/or market analysis
-
Organizational assessment and development, and
- Development of new policies, systems, procedures, and work practices.