ECO: BC sustainability at home tool kit

Building on the hugely successful Sustainability at Home tool kit they created for Alberta, The Natural Step Canada, in partnership with the David Suzuki Foundation and Light House Sustainable Building Centre, has created a simple but powerful version for B.C. households.

Sarah Brooks of The Natural Step Canada — an international non-profit organization that helps communities and businesses journey toward sustainability — says that while there is a huge amount of information out there, it is not always easy to sort through it all. It is often hard to understand what actions to take first, and to know where they can make the biggest impact. It can be difficult to know how to think about sustainability in a systematic way so that when we do take action, we have the sense that we are doing the right thing.

For The Natural Step Canada, the aim is not to try to define sustainability, says Brooks. Rather, it’s to help people understand “the fundamental root causes of why we are unsustainable,” and to use this knowledge to identify the simple steps they can can take to reduce their impact.

“The idea is to try to offer a way of thinking about this stuff so that we don’t get lost in the details,” she says.

Lindsay Coulter of the David Suzuki Foundation — she’s known as the foundation’s “queen of green” — echoes these sentiments, saying it is important that people not get “mired in the tips.”

If we get stuck debating, say, whether it’s actually more ecofriendly to carry your own mug than to use a disposable one, “ you’re kind of missing the point,” she says.

Coulter stresses that it is not about being “eco-perfect.”

“People probably aren’t going to read [the guide] cover to cover. It is something you are going to keep on your desk or at home, somewhere nearby, where you can refer to it any time,” she says of the tool kit, which is funded by the Real Estate Foundation of B.C. and Vancity Credit Union.

“When someone starts talking about replacing their flooring with carpet, you are going to go look for the carpet logo and find out what it said about being sustainable.”

She talks about how things like the tool kit’s new checklist, coupled with the local success stories sprinkled throughout the kit, not only help people figure out where to start or how to improve on what they are already doing, but also understand how small steps to lead to bigger changes.

BUILDING WITH B.C. EXPERTISE

Like the Alberta guide, the B.C. Sustainability at Home tool kit offers an information-rich but easy-to-read guide for anyone looking to better understand sustainability, and to live it. In looking at the feedback received on the tool kit’s first incarnation and capitalizing on the expertise brought by the David Suzuki Foundation, by Light House, and by contributors such as Toxic Free Canada, the B.C. kit takes a more whole-systems approach to the home. It puts a greater focus on the connection between personal and environmental health, and includes a discussion on the importance of social participation, and on becoming a voice for sustainability within your community.

It is a readily accessible combination of The Natural Step’s bigpicture perspective with the David Suzuki Foundation and Light House’s very practical, “what can we do Monday morning” approach, says Brooks.

“People are so smart and so willing to do things. Our intention was to provide them with a tool that allows them to move ahead on the sustainability journey wherever they are and whatever their needs are.”

Part one of the tool kit begins with an introduction to the big picture of sustainability. This includes the benefits of living more sustainably at home, such as saving money, increasing a home’s resale value, and reducing the effects of climate change. It also looks at the four root causes of “unsustainability” — how people negatively impact the earth’s ability to sustain humankind.

Part two looks at how sustainability relates to the average person. Addressing six key household areas — utilities, transportation, shopping, waste, health, and participation — the kit looks at how they relate to the root causes of unsustainability, and at the opportunities to make more sustainable decisions for each of them. This section also offers simple actions people can take for every room in the home — from choosing “post-consumer waste” recycled toilet paper and tissue for your bathroom to sharing your backyard with someone who would like to turn it into a vegetable garden. Resources for further ideas and actions are also presented in this section.

Part three encourages people to see their homes as systems, which, like our bodies, are composed of essential, interconnected parts.

Pointing out that it is neither realistic, nor particularly sustainable, to retrofit overnight just to take advantage of green products, the authors offer ideas on how to prioritize when you do decide to renovate, and to determine where the biggest impact can be achieved.

This section also delves into how the changes people make at home can impact the world around them: whether that is helping to create a “new normal” for Canada — with sustainability becoming a way of life — or sharing new-found “green” expertise with friends and neighbours.

Part four concludes the tool kit with tips on how to be an ecosavvy consumer.

PICKING UP YOUR TOOLS

The free tool kit can be downloaded from thenaturalstep.org/canada, davidsuzuki.org, sustainablebuildingcentre.com. Hard copies can be picked up at the Light House Sustainable Building Centre at 2060 Pine Street. Have comments or suggestions for the guide? Both the David Suzuki Foundation and The Natural Step Canada encourage people to contact them.

("Tool kit helps households understand their impacts" prepared by Kim Davis/Vancouver Sun)