“PRODUCE NO WASTE”
💡 EXPLAining THE PERMACULTURE PRINCIPLE
Nature teaches us that "everything that one person throws away is food for another (...) the earthworm is a symbol of this principle, because it feeds on plant litter (i.e. waste) and converts it into humus. This humus improves the structure of the soil, and the worm, as well as the soil micro-organisms and plants, benefit from this improvement”.
Marine Simon, Everything is Going Round and Round on this Earth, We are the only ones who don't know it, page 182
Permaculture, an agricultural method that seeks to integrate human activity with natural surroundings so as to create highly efficient self-sustaining ecosystems, values this principle of zero waste. One example may be the use of animal excrements to fertilize the soil.
But it goes beyond permaculture. In our society, we also created The 5 Rs (Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Repair and Recycle) based on the zero waste ambition.
🔍 ILLUSTRATing THE permaculture PRINCIPLE APPLIED TO A MISSION OF TRANSFORMATION
This permaculture principle is also underlined by Antoine Lavoisier famous quote: "nothing is lost, nothing is created, everything is transformed.” This mantra can be very advantageous for changemakers to save time while maximizing their positive impact on nature and society.
Let me give you an example of ways to apply Antoine Lavoisier’s wisdom.
When I took over the Asia Sustainability Department of Veolia in 2012, the leader of environmental services, I discovered a distinctive manual developed by two great women previously in charge of that department.
This manual, dedicated to operational staff in the field, demystified the concept of sustainability by proposing very concrete actions that could be applied in order to move towards a plural performance of the organization.
It explained, amongst other ideas, how to calculate carbon footprint, how take care of natural species, how to reuse waste water, how to promote diversity, and how to build partnerships with schools. Basically, it revealed keys for operators to make a positive impact on the company, its customers and the local territory.
Over time, some information and tools in the manual became outdated, while other content were already well adopted. New needs emerged and the operators and managers were asking for new formats.
Our team wanted to honor the know-how shared by this valuable ressource while adapting to new expectations.
Recognizing the need for new ways to strengthen our corporate positive impact on nature, society and customers, we created a collective intelligence workshop with representatives from operations, sales, marketing, human resources, purchasing, health and safety. We also explored their constraints and expectations in terms of support, tone, bandwidth, etc.
Based on such exchanges, we launched three tools for our employees in Asia :
A podcast highlighting the human beings within their functions, their ambitions, struggles, success and concrete case studies, inspiring employees to become changemakers.
A fun online course made up of very short, concrete videos and quizzes to familiarize all players, especially those in the field, with sustainability issues that may be perceived as too abstract.
A toolbox deciphering internal know-how and its benefits. The challenge was to provide elements of language for sales people, but also to guide employees in copying and adapting these initiatives to their own context.
Here is how one tool gave birth to three tools, and how the relationship with the field was strengthened through working as co-creators.
🐝 TIPS TO GET MOVING
Sustainability project leaders put much effort and sweat into their work.
Sometimes the professionalism and quality of their work does not seem to generate the echo they expect and deserve.
If this is your case, here are a few ways to revive your work :
Review all the material created over the past 3-5 years: Are there any nuggets of wisdom to share? How can you quickly and simply give this initiatives a second life?
Identify successful and impactful partnerships over the past 3-5 years: How can you measure the positive impacts to build case studies and business references? How can you extract simple methods to inspire others ?
Listen to your ecosystem: What are challenges are being faced related to sustainable development? What do they need? In what format? How can you recycle and enrich some existing materials to support them?
“Producing no waste invites us to open our consciousness to the responsibility of our actions and the traces (dirt?) they leave behind”
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As a reminder, I am creating a series on the the parallel between the 12 operational principles of permaculture and conditions for sustainable transformations of organizational systems. Here is the 1st post, the 2nd one, the 3rd one, the 4th one, the 5th one, the 6th one, 7th one, 8th one, 9th one, and 10th one.
If you are a professional changemaker, committed to promoting a better society, these principles and insights should help you maximize your impact and inner serenity.
Hello Changemakers!
I am Nina, an impact maker coach, specializing in leadership and sustainable transformation.
I have spent the past 10+ years leading sustainable change in a Fortune 500 organization in a multicultural environment. What I like to do through my activities is to inspire organizations professionals to rethink the business and make them proud to contribute, in their own way, to a more sustainable, human, and nature-friendly world.
If you wish to be supported to progress on your journey with multiplied impact and ease, contact me!