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Sustainability ServicesTo download brochures in PDF format, click here. AtKisson, Inc. has long been an international leader in providing strategic support to sustainability initiatives. We can help you with a small, specific project, or design and manage a comprehensive, multi-year program. Our global team of experienced associates, and our network of affiliated service providers, can assist you with virtually any need you may have regarding sustainable development. (If we can't do it ourselves, we probably know someone who can, and we will happily refer you.) Here is a profile of the services we provide: Sustainability AssessmentWe can help you thoroughly evaluate a program, policy, investment opportunity, organization, or company to determine the extent to which it contributes to sustainability -- or doesn't. We base our assessments on our Compass Index framework, to ensure that they are comprehensive regarding sustainable development. We can also, however, design and perform an assessment that is tailored to your specifications. With regard to companies, we have two special assessment programs: Our Compass Index for Investors is an assessment process specifically designed for young, fast-growing companies, to help early equity investors (also known as "venture" or "risk capital" investors) choose companies that can accelerate the sustainability transition. (For a profile of one of our clients, see Angels with Attitude) The Compass Index for Companies is a more formal assessment framework, linked to international standards such as the Global Reporting Initiative. It forms the basis of our corporate reporting program, but we can also perform assessments for specific elements of your business. Sustainability IndicatorsWhen it comes to selecting, researching, and presenting measures of sustainability, we can help you from start to finish. We are one of the world's most experienced consultancies in this field, and the processes we helped to develop -- with the first city-based sustainability indicator program, Sustainable Seattle -- have become an international standard and a model followed by hundreds of other projects. We have consulted to national governments, large corporations, and small towns. We are experts at framing a sustainability indicator selection process, which involves balancing the needs of technical rigor, generalist understanding, public participation, and popular communication. We have designed and facilitated indicator processes involving hundreds of people from every field, at scales ranging from small island communities to entire regions. And we have extensive experience in data development, analysis, and interpretation, in every key area of sustainability -- environment, economy, social and health issues. We can manage your indicators and data for you, or teach you how to manage them yourself. Most importantly, we can help you ensure that your indicators are linked to action programs, so that what you measure helps you achieve what you envision. Sustainability ReportingOur sustainability reports on cities, regions, communities and companies are distinguished by their clarity, attractiveness, and usefulness. We do not shy away from complex issues, but we write so that the general reader can both understand and respond. Our sustainability reports have been used by Boards of Directors to make funding decisions ... by regional economic development groups to make strategic planning decisions ... and by venture capitalists to make investment decisions. Our reports have also, on occasion, earned our clients prominent television and newspaper coverage. And they have served as the foundation for extensive, long-term change processes, helping to frame strategic action, and then to assess progress toward long-term goals. Because of our long experience in the field, we can produce a superior sustainability report at reasonable cost, tailored specifically -- and strategically -- to the target group you are trying to reach. Every sustainability report is unique. Please contact an AtKisson representative to discuss your reporting needs. Sustainability CommunicationsWe can support your sustainability efforts with everything you need to get the message across, from highly interactive websites -- which you can manage yourself -- to brochures, reports, and visual presentations. And because we have done so much work in this field, we can provide you with high quality product at a very reasonable cost. Our "Compass Index" websites are an excellent example: our template-based structure allows us to create a high-function website that is tailored to your content and style, while keeping costs quite low. These sites allow to present sustainability data and indicators, document community projects, get feedback from readers, and much more. You can contract with us to manage them for you, or you can manage them yourself, using basic point-and-click, cut-and-paste computer skills -- no HTML knowledge is required. Please contact us to discuss general communications support. But the best way to describe what we do on the web is to show you some examples. Please explore the following websites, where you can review individual indicators, download entire reports in PDF for later reading, and much more ... and notice how these sites reflect the different styles of the places they describe: http://sustainablepittsburgh.org Sustainable Development TrainingOur training programs in sustainable development have been selected by such widely varied groups as the United Nations Environment Program (Asia), the City of Brisbane (Australia), and the United States Army. Our methods ensure that the core of sustainability thinking remains clear, strong, and consistent, while also ensuring that the training can be tailored to the specific needs of your group. And our trainers are highly experienced teachers, who all have passion for the work of helping groups climb the learning curve quickly. Our Accelerator package of sustainability tools and methods includes several complete training courses, which means that our trainings can stand alone, or be thoroughly integrated with an implementation program using the same frameworks. We can train you and your team on the basics, and we can coach you through to advanced implementation. We can also train you to be a trainer! • Our Executive Introduction to Sustainability will thoroughly brief your team and leadership on the state of the art, including how leading frameworks like the Natural Step and Global Report Initiative work, to the current state of sustainability implementation in cities and companies, to the current wave of new sustainable technology development. • Learn about indicators and assessment with our Compass of Sustainability as your guide. We can train you in the entire indicator development process, and prepare you for leading and managing a project. • Learn about the entire sustainable development process, from basic principles to action strategies, using our Pyramid training program. Our methods build teamwork, group spirit, and motivation, while also teaching skills in cross-disciplinary cooperation, consensus-building, and creative problem-solving. The Pyramid framework can then guide your planning and implementation program. • Learn how to be a more effective and strategic "Change Agent for Sustainability" with our AMOEBA training course, planning, and decision-support tools. The AMOEBA model, grounded in cultural change theory, helps you choose the most effective new ideas, and promote them successfully. We can also provide you with training on systems thinking, dynamic systems modeling, group facilitation, and other sustainability-relevant topics, from Beginner Level to Master Class. And if you are ready to expand and deepen your skills as a professional Sustainability Change Agent, you can apply to attend one of our AtKisson Intensives. These are three-day immersion courses for developing and experienced practitioners in the work of accelerating sustainable development. Admission is by invitation or application only. Participants become eligible to join our network of licensees and affiliates. For information on our training offerings and licensing relationships, contact the AtKisson representative nearest you. Sustainable Development PlanningPlanning is thinking about action in the long-term, and we have been practicing the art of sustainability planning for more than a decade. Our ACCELERATOR package of tools offers you a comprehensive solution for sustainability planning. And our consultants have many years of planning experience in a wide variety of settings and disciplines. For cities, communities, and regions, we can help you develop new sustainability plans, or help you integrate sustainability thinking into your comprehensive plan, "Smart Growth" plan, "Livable Community" initiative, or any other planning process. For companies and other large institutions, we can help you lay out realistic goals and timelines, manage capital investments, and think through everything from logistics to cultural change. To explore how our planning services can help you, contact the AtKisson representative nearest you. Comprehensive Initiative DesignAll of services can be put to work in an integrated fashion, to help you start, accelerate, and sustain momentum, over the long term. We have worked with some of our clients for more than five years, helping them get started, and then assisting with different needs at different times. We fit our work, as best we can, to your needs and your budget. Contact us to help us determine the best way to assist you. |
SUSTAINABILITY SERVICESComprehensive Initiative Design OTHER SERVICESManagement and Decision Support Project and Program Evaluation |
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OTHER SERVICESWhile the AtKisson network is specially dedicated to making sustainable development a reality, we also provide fundamental consulting support to organizations and programs whose work aligns with sustainability goals and values. Some of our services include: Strategic Planning SupportWe can help frame your vision, your theory of your change, your goals and objectives, and the measures and targets you will use to assess your progress. Management and Decision SupportWe can help you analyze options, assess impacts and risks, and clarify possibilities. Project and Program EvaluationWe can tailor an evaluation program to your needs, and integrate it with your entire strategic planning process. We have a special practice in supporting foundations, government agencies, and others "social investors" evaluate the success of their investments. Meeting Design and FacilitationWe have many years of experience in designing effective meetings and participatory processes, for groups ranging in size from a few to several hundred. Executive CoachingWe help you be the best leader you can be, and to navigate your team or organization through difficult terrain. Professional and Personal DevelopmentWe provide specialized consulting services on request to organizations and people who are seeking to become more effective, particularly with regard to their efforts to make change happen toward sustainability. |
SUSTAINABILITY SERVICESSustainable Development Training |
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