what we do

Our mission is to strengthen environmental nonprofit leadership. The Sustainability Network works with environmental non-profits to make them more effective and efficient. By improving management and leadership skills and fostering organizational development, we help to strengthen the environmental community.

Organizational Goals


Sustainability Network is Canada’s leading hub for convening, advising, and mobilizing the environmental not-for-profit community, its leaders, and partners.

strengthen Canadian environmental not-for-profit leadership

  • Delivering high-quality learning and training programs that address key needs of leaders in the sector.

  • Convening partners and stakeholders around key issues to achieve collective impact.

  • Serving as the trusted source for professional development opportunities and insights for Canadian ENGO leaders.

Be Canada’s premier capacity-builder FOR environmental nGOs

  • Facilitating collaborations with governments, foundations, or corporations, and their ENGO grantees and partners to launch and scale innovative programs and projects that strengthen the sector.

  • Seeking international and cross-sectoral opportunities for Canadian ENGOs to learn from and collaborate with new and non-traditional partners to advance their shared goals.

BEING a well-managed, well-governed sustainable, and respected organizatioN

  • Planning for long-term operational resilience with a sustainable financing strategy and sound governance.

  • Being the go-to organization for governments, foundations, corporations and others seeking to work with Canadian ENGOs to make a positive impact.

  • Rigorously evaluating and enhancing partner and client relationships.

  • Ensuring our events, communications, and daily operations demonstrate economic, social, and environmental sustainability.

Read our 2024 Annual Report

LEARNING NETWORKS

Regional, provincial, national or subsector ENGO leaders meet in a series of multi-day retreats over a year or two to parse a sector priority. Participants receive advanced organizational training, learn from peers and explore broader issues facing the sector.

COLLABORATION

We initiate, participate and support ENGOs working with one another and with others to achieve joint objectives. We convene partners and stakeholders around key issues to achieve collective impact and facilitate collaborations with governments, foundations, or corporations, and their ENGO grantees and partners to launch and scale innovative programs and projects that strengthen the sector.

TRAINING WORKSHOPS AND WEBINARS

Sustainability Network organizes all-day, customized workshops and shorter sessions online to help leaders of environmental nonprofits develop their management skills. Session topics range from communications, strategic planning, and evaluation to facilitation and collaboration.

E-DIGEST

Our free monthly e-newsletter is distributed to environmental leaders across Canada. The digest announces Sustainability Network events and offerings, other NGO capacity building opportunities and links subscribers to the latest nonprofit management research.

THE STORY OF US

The Story of Self, Story of Us was a storytelling project we undertook with Rani Sanderson of StoryCentre Canada in 2016 to capture the key narratives of our early years. We approached founders, directors and key ENGO leaders to tell us how they got into environmental work and how they initially connected with Sustainability Network within a ~5 minute digital story.

Digital stories of:

  • Bruce Lourie, Ivey Foundation

  • Mark Bisset, Couchiching Conservancy

  • Ranjana Mitra, Community Environment Alliance

  • Mike Morrice, formerly of Green Economy Canada

  • Kathleen Padulo, Chiefs of Ontario

  • Nidhi Tandon, Networked Intelligence for Development

  • Devon Page, Ecojustice

  • David Love, Agents of Good

© 2024 Sustainability Network

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