About Us

Pioneers of the Green Economy since 1989

Founders: Dr. Brian and Dr. Mary Nattrass

While doing research dumpster diving and up to his waist in trash behind an IKEA store in Gothenburg, Sweden in the early 90s, former corporate lawyer Dr. Brian Nattrass had an epiphany: “You can really tell a lot about a company by what they throw away.” A simple insight then, it has developed into a mature, complex process of materials management throughout the supply chain.

For over 20 years, Dr. Brian and Dr. Mary Nattrass have fully immersed themselves in the details of what it takes to create a sustainable enterprise. From that immersion, comes a comprehensive knowledge of creating sustainable value at every stage of a company’s supply chain including the end stage of a product’s intended use.

Brian and Mary’s distinctive expertise in sustainable business lies in the people part of business. Both have social science doctorates relating to the principles and practices of organizational transformation as applied to corporate sustainability. Their groundbreaking book on business sustainability in 1999, The Natural Step for Business, was the first-ever book to integrate the practice and insights of organizational change with principles of sustainability based in natural science. Their second book, Dancing with the Tiger, further documented the vital importance of getting the people side right when implementing sustainability—it is a far more complex process than a series of technical fixes.