Ecoliteracy A Transformational Sustainability Program For Business Leaders and Managers

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Ecoliteracy A Transformational Sustainability Program

For Business Leaders and Managers

Commit to ecological values Enable responsible operational practices Improve personal health and collective wellness

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OUR 21ST CENTURY CHALLENGE Fritjof Capra the Austrian-‐born American physicist, Schumacher College teacher and founding director of the Centre

for Ecoliteracy in Berkeley, California says:

‘The great challenge of our time is to build and nurture sustainable communities -‐ communities that are designed in

such a way that their ways of life, businesses, economies, physical structures, and technologies do not interfere with

nature's inherent ability to sustain life. The first step in this endeavour is to understand the principles of organization

that ecosystems have developed to sustain the web of life. This understanding is what we call ecological literacy.’

DOING BUSINESS MORE NATURALLY Committing to and executing a meaningful Sustainability strategy requires all business leaders and managers to be

ecologically literate. Without a knowledge base, value system and skillset strongly motivated by ecosystem principles,

business leaders and managers are unlikely to prioritize the necessary action in their organizations that will drive

change required to protect nature and ensure a positive future for all people.

Introduction Building sustainable communities

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Aims of the process

LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT The Ecoliteracy Program aims to address three interconnected leadership issues critical to business today:

• Commitment to Sustainability -‐ in particular ecological preservation

• State of being – physical, mental and emotional wellbeing

• Meaningful relationships -‐ to each other, work and nature

STRATEGIC SUPPORT The core objective of the program is to stimulate a process of personal transformation in a group of business leaders or

managers that deepens how sustainability is understood and thought about in their organization.

For individuals and the group as a whole the process is intended to:

• Awaken deep personal commitments to nature

• Create a positive shared vision of Sustainability

• Teach whole systems thinking and explore an ecological worldview

• Engage co-‐creative styles to build corporate Sustainability strategy

• Reduce personal stress levels and advance wellness through mindfulness practice

• Inspire meaningful dialogue between individuals and business units

• Introduce and activate the benefits of ecological intelligence

Program Outcomes Engaging an ecosystems model

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DEVELOPING AN ECOLOGICAL MINDSET Eco-‐facilitation is the method used to teach and inspire eco-‐literacy. It is designed to close the divide between the

human and natural world by coaching a new way of seeing by showing and attuning to a different mode of being.

Ecoliteracy is founded on the belief that valuable lessons about how to secure sustainable positive futures can be

learnt by looking to nature for inspiration. Exploring natural lessons makes a remarkable difference in how people

perceive their place in the world and how they live their lives. Ecosystems demonstrate the core principles of

sustainability: co-‐existence, collaboration, adaption and relationship importance. In nature sustainable and mindful

practices come alive and at the same time new sets of enabling skills are learnt. True sustainability arises from

experiencing the world and the community as an interdependent system.

Only nature best shows us these inseparable patterns of relationships.

2 DAY NATURE-‐BASED RETREAT The heart of this Ecoliteracy Program is a two-‐day residential nature based retreat where a group of no more than 15

leaders and managers are taken through a bespoke Eco-‐facilitation process. A further two half-‐day office-‐based

sessions provide follow-‐up and feedback to complete the program.

The environment or ‘place’ has an enormous influence on what we think about and how we think. A natural setting

removes one from an anthropocentric focus, changes the pace of things and attunes a person to another paradigm:

the ecological worldview. A natural environment encourages not only pro-‐environmental behaviours but also a

different way of experiencing the world. The most effective way to develop personal attachment and meaning to

sustainability issues is in a natural environment. It follows then that participants are invited to engage in a natural

setting & unplug from devices for a day or so.

Program Methodology Eco-‐facilitation process

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RESTORING HEALTH AND WELLNESS More than ever it is essential that big business take hard-‐hitting measures in both developed and developing countries

to reduce the environmental impacts of consumption, production, trade, waste and pollution. Yet at the same time the

World Health Organization (WHO) is telling us that the biggest social problem for business is stress resulting in up to 40%

increases of poor performance and absenteeism. This has lead most drivers of sustainability to include health and

wellness as an essential ingredient in their strategy.

The Ecoliteracy program recognizes that there is a mutually reciprocal relationship between the health of humans and

the health of nature. We cannot preserve the natural environment if we do not take care of ourselves, and vice versa.

An important part of the two-‐day process is to offer delegates significant opportunities for personal restoration through

natural healing practices.

LEARNING MINDFULNESS AND TOOLS FOR WELLBEING Our ability to cope with stress in our rushed modern urban lives is key to successful decision-‐making in business.

Mindfulness exercises have been shown to decrease stress. It is easier to introduce mindful practices in green spaces

where there are no distractions. A natural environment and time in nature provides high quality restorative places

where the group can socialize, relax and de-‐stress.

Research into the psychological, social and physiological benefits of green spaces is well documented. Intact natural

places increase wellbeing by raising positive feelings, increasing vitality, optimism and resilience. Good social bonds are

essential for wellbeing and relationship bonds strengthen organically.

The unique aspect of this process is that it is multi-‐dimensional and

impacts on two of the biggest issues in the work environment -‐ employee health and wellness -‐ as well as sustainability.

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Program Elements Knowledge, Compassion & Skills

The Ecoliteracy Program is tailored for an organisation, but every process weaves participants through fundamentals:

KNOWLEDGE

• Teaching the principles of organization in ecosystems, and demonstrated in nature

• Exploring the stages of Adult Human Development and the emergence of ecological worldviews

• Understanding the local and global contexts of human-‐ecosystem interaction and impact

• Activating Systems Thinking using perspectives that integrate nature and business

• Dialoguing scenarios for integrated planning and common cause futures

COMPASSION

• Drawing on right brain influence through creative expression and sensory exercises in nature

• Exploring self-‐awareness with an open mind, heart and will

• Holding conversations that matter in a space of trust

• Acknowledging and being accountable for our different roles and responsibilities

• Integrating personal, family and work constellations

SKILLS

• Dealing with complexity and uncertainty

• Practicing mindfulness, self-‐awareness and centring

• Using creative expression to integrate information with self

• Enabling ecological values in action – cooperation, collaboration, co-‐creation and emerging creativity

• Cultivating social, emotional and ecological intelligence

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Venue & Accommodation Oudebosch eco-‐cabins

KOGELBERG BIOSPHERE RESERVE The two-‐day nature-‐based program is hosted at the acclaimed Oudebosch eco-‐cabin and function venue in the

Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve near Kleinmond and Hermanus, about 100kms from Cape Town.

The glass fronted cabins afford delegates breath-‐taking views of the reserve, which is a World Heritage Site. Each cabin

consists of two bedrooms, one bathroom, one en-‐suite bathroom, and a spacious kitchen, lounge and dining area.

Amenities include a closed combustion fireplace and stylish, locally produced decor and furnishing, giving the cabins a

modern and inviting feel.

The lightweight stilted cabins are adorned with roof gardens and largely constructed of locally sourced timber and

stones. All were intentionally designed to blend in with the pristine surroundings. Boardwalks weave through the

indigenous landscaping to link the separate buildings. The Oudebosch cabins also boast an eco-‐pool in keeping with the

"green" and sustainable nature of the development. The eco-‐pool serves as a recreational facility without any harmful

chemicals and high-‐energy use associated with normal pools and as an attraction to various bird and animal life.

For more information visit: www.capenature.org.za/reserves

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Eco-‐Facilitators

Megan de Beyer

Megan is a registered psychologist and a Master in Holistic Science & Ecology. As a

change strategist and eco-‐psychologist she helps organizations and groups to discover

solutions in the human-‐environment interface. She mentors and coaches leaders

through creative thinking processes towards regenerative & sustainability

solutions. Megan is a prolific writer, has run hundreds of psycho-‐education groups and

has developed various ecological awareness programs. The mother of two young men,

she is an Ashtanga Yoga teacher and student of non-‐dualistic philosophy and

meditation.

Andrew Bennett

Andrew is an experienced Sustainability educator and facilitator. He has a higher

diploma in education and degree in Environmental & Geographical Science and

Psychology from the University of Cape Town. Andrew is a corporate Sustainability

learning and development specialist. Since 2008 he has written and facilitated

numerous training courses, bespoke workshops, awareness campaigns and

transformational environmental programs for companies such as ACSA, African Bank,

Allan Gray, Distell, Old Mutual, Sun International, and Santam. Andrew is married to Liz

and has a young son, Luke.

If we want the chance of a sustainable future then we need to think critically about what we think, how we think and

what we do that impacts on the environment and others. There are collective habits of thought and action that keep us

in a spiral of causing more harm. A new ecological paradigm is called for that believes in cooperation, collaboration, co-‐

creation and emerging creativity -‐ one in which the planet is appreciated as a living, self-‐regulating and self-‐organising

system of which we are a part.

Experienced facilitators, Andrew Bennett and Megan de Beyer, lead the Ecoliteracy Program. They facilitate individuals

and groups towards systems thinking by first helping them learn from nature and ecosystems. Secondly, applying this

relational thinking directly to our lives and to the problems of sustainability through authentic, open conversations and

dialogue. Thirdly, through the process itself they demonstrate whole systems. For example, by supporting connectivity,

participative thinking and a co-‐creative exploration to finding solutions; by staying with the process (not just

techniques); and by facilitating deep inquiry, allowing some conflict to be present and seeing what emerges from and

within the group.

In this process we examine collective values and reflect upon personal values learning to align our thinking to that which

is conducive to life, health and wellbeing. Together the group will dialogue the challenges on a local level and explore

new possibilities of action. This is called ‘ecologically aligned values in action’.

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For more information contact: Andrew Bennett Megan de Beyer 082 703 3047 083 790 3700 [email protected] [email protected]

Ecoliteracy A Transformational Sustainability Program For Business Leaders and Managers

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