The Natural Edge Project - Economic Transformation from Whole Systems Design & Engineering

If you're a Linked In member, check out Jonathon's original post. If not, The Natural Edge Project (TNEP) is an Australian NGO dedicated to creating a new educational curriculum for whole-systems design and engineering for their partner university departments and the profession more generally.

The Natural Edge Project (TNEP) is an independent Sustainability Think-Tank based in Australia. TNEP operates as a partnership for education, research and policy development on innovation for sustainable development. [It] is a collaborative partnership for research, education, and policy development on innovation for sustainable development. TNEP's mission is to contribute to and succinctly communicate leading research, case studies, tools, policy and strategies for achieving sustainable development across government, business and civil society. Driven by a team of early career Australian engineers, the non-profit Project receives mentoring and support from a range of experts and leading organisations in Australia and internationally. Their core partners in research, education, and policy development are the Curtin University, the University of Adelaide, Queensland University of Technology, and Griffith University. In particular, check out the "Learn More About TNEP" tab.

One of their mentor organizations, RMI, also has some learning materialson this topic. In addition, Paul Hawken and the Lovins have a great anecdote about the transformational economic value of whole system design and engineering (see pages 119-120, Natural Capitalism, Oct 2000, 1st paperback). It's the Interface Corp case of whole-system big pipes/small pumps vs traditional small pipes/big pumps. Also, the entire Chapter 11, Tunneling Through the Cost Barrier, is full of the transformational effect on economics and the huge value created from retraining engineers and designers around whole systems approaches and optimization.

It is heartening to see an entire NGO and University Department actually applying these lesson AND developing the curriculum for the needed retraining, and to have been doing it since 2002!

TNEP is truly one of the rich leading-edge sustainability curriculum development and practitioner resources in the arena of strategic sustainability and embracing the quickest possible route to ultimate sustainability success.