• About ACSI
• Project Charter
• ACSI History
• About Sustainability
• About The Natural Step
• The Atlantic Context
• Contact Information
• Coordinating Organization
• Founding Organizations
• Network Partners
• Steering Committee
• Sustainability Partners

History of the Initiative

The idea for the Atlantic Canada Sustainability Initiative originated from thoughtful discussions and action plans generated at two events organized by Genuine Progress Index (GPI) Atlantic that took place in Nova Scotia in 2005. In co-operation with other partners, GPI Atlantic hosted a major international conference in Antigonish, Nova Scotia called Rethinking Development: Local Pathways to Global Wellbeing in June 2005. Four hundred and fifty delegates from thirty three countries, including Canada and the Atlantic Provinces, examined successful initiatives worldwide that attempt to integrate sustainable and equitable economic development with environmental conservation, social and cultural cohesion, and good governance.

Many of the Atlantic Canadian participants who attended the June conference were inspired by the exemplary global models of development presented there and were eager to apply what they had learned to their own region. As a follow-up, GPI Atlantic hosted a a workshop called Building Sustainable Development in November 2005, which was attended by over eighty business leaders, federal, provincial and municipal government officials, non-government organization (NGO) representatives, scientists, academics, members of the general public and youth from the four Atlantic provinces. Participants gathered to discuss the broad topic of transforming Atlantic Canada into a model of socially and environmentally sustainable development. The objective of the workshop was to build momentum to position the Atlantic region as a global leader in sustainable development.

Building Sustainable Development Workshop Participants

During focus-group discussions at the workshop, a collective view arose among participants that The Natural Step (TNS) should be explored as a potentially useful integrating framework and method of implementing sustainability in Atlantic Canada. This view emerged because of the relevance of The Natural Step framework to communities, businesses and governments, and due to its systematic thinking, design principles, scientific basis and proven successes. TNS was identified as having good potential as an integrating and overarching mechanism for strategically guiding and supporting the adoption of a sustainable development ethos and practice in Atlantic Canada. It was held that it could provide a practical framework that would also work with and enhance all other sustainable development initiatives currently planned and underway in the region, and that it could suggest important new initiatives that would have the potential to make this region a leader in sustainability.

Following the workshop, GPI Atlantic and the other founding organizations (The Natural Step Canada, the Nova Scotia Environmental Network and SENSE: Sustainability Education in Nova Scotia for Everyone) began to organize events to promote awareness of sustainability and The Natural Step, and to build a network of organizations interested in participating in a project together. The founding organizations hosted an introductory TNS lecture in December 2005, a TNS study circle in June 2006, and strategy sessions in June and July 2006.

The project continued to build momentum, and in September 2006 Dr. Karl-Henrik Robèrt, the founder of The Natural Step, visited Halifax. He gave presentations to a large public audience, to an audience of high-level government and business representatives, and to the Atlantic Mayors Congress.

In 2007, interested organizations (most of whom became ACSI Sustainability Partners) met several times to develop the framework for what would become the ACSI. In collaboration with the partners, GPI Atlantic and The Natural Step Canada developed the project charter and began to fundraise for what would be a year-long pilot project. The ACSI was officially launched on May 14, 2007, and the first training workshop took place May 15-16, 2007.

Originally supported and coordinated by GPI Atlantic, the Atlantic Canada Sustainability Initiative is now guided by the Centre for Rural Sustainability, a non-profit organization based in Wolfville that works at the grassroots to support the growth of sustainable communities and economies in Nova Scotia.

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