Our Founder Karl-Henrik Robert
The founder of The Natural Step, Dr. Karl-Henrik Robert, is a Swedish cancer scientist and leader of the World Sustainable Development Campaign. In his early career in cancer research, Karl-Henrik found the main cause of cancer outbreaks was the accumulation of pollutants in the environment, which brought up his concern and thinking about environmental issues, and begun his dedication in making the world a sustainable future.
In 1987, the United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development released the Brundtland Report, which put forward the concept of "Sustainable Development" and defined sustainable development as "development that meets the needs and aspirations of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs ". Although the concept defines the content of sustainable development, it does not provide the conditions or roadmaps to realize the vision of "sustainable development", which has aroused discussion among all sectors of society.
Karl-Henrik, a cancer scientist at the time, thought that although experts come from different fields of medicine, they still have a common medical language to communicate and identify diagnostic results and treatment options for cancer patients. However, if we treat Earth as a patient, people from all friends were lacking a common language when they "consult" on the sustainable development of the Earth. Karl-Henrik was frustrated that it was difficult to reach a consensus on consultation because of different definitions and entry points people have. So he came up with an idea to define the framework of sustainable development, and used scientific research articles to exchange discussions with scientists from across fields to determine the conditions of sustainable development.
After the first draft of the article was completed, Karl-Henrik invited more than 50 scientists from different disciplines around the world to discuss and revise the article by letter. In 1989, after 22 times of revisions, the theoretical framework of sustainable development has gradually been recognized by many international scholars and developed into the Principle of Sustainable Development (Sustainability 4 Principles). In the same year, Karl-Henrik set up a non-profit organization, The Natural Step, in Stockholm. He put the Strategic Sustainable Development Framework into practice in different consulting cases, providing sustainability services to governments, institutions, communities and corporates. Since its foundation, King Carl XVI Gustav of Sweden has been the patron of the Organization.
After more than 30 years of development, The Natural Step has developed into an international institution at the forefront of sustainable development strategy research and consultation. It has established offices in 18 countries around the world, and has successful applied the framework as a planning and design principle to cases for solving sustainable development challenges.
In the year of 2000, he won the Blue Planet Prize ( “The Ecology Nobel” ) for his creation and development of The Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development, and his contribution in driving business towards sustainability. In 2017, Karl-Henrik retired with honor, but he remains passionate about sustainable development. He is currently a professor in the Sustainable Development Department of the Blekinge Institute of Science and Technology in Sweden, and continues to work on related topics.
The story of Karl-Henrik and sustainable development is far from ending, and the field of sustainable development is thriving. Around the world, there are many people like Karl who are full of love, passion and vision for the great future of sustainable development. They are embarking on their journeys one after another, striving to open up a truly sustainable future for the well-being of the present and future generations.