Waterstone Norway A/S, develops innovative and game-changing ‘green solutions’ for businesses, industries, and government entities.
In this context it means ensuring that the products or services offered by our clients are screened and developed such that they are not only economically viable, but also environmentally sustainable, and socially acceptable – along the whole value chain of the product, from inception to market delivery. Our solutions are designed both for national and international markets.
Waterstone´s mission is to inspire and assist people, companies, and governments to act in ways that strengthen, rather than disrupt or destroy our planet’s life-support systems. We do so by providing products and services, all oriented towards environmental sustainability and social justice, that transform the way in which businesses operate, governments function, and people lead their lives.
We seek and deliver transformataional change, not incremental ‘tweeking’ or cosmetic ‘touching up’ of business-as-usual practices. We aim to bring our clients to pioneering new levels of sustainability. We target and service companies, government entities and agencies, organizations, community groups, and institutions. We only partner with and service clients if they themselves are willing to commit time, knowledge, expertise and necessary resources in the search for truly sustainable, socially just, and economically viable solutions. In an African context this includes the involvement of local people and enterprises, thus also delivering job creation and poverty alleviation.
Bamboo “Forest Cover Design” is a concept developed by Waterstone Norway, to show how the diversity and utility of bamboo can benefit rural communities in Africa in terms of both environmental, social, and economic gains. We analyse a selected landscape with regards to factors such as soil and water conditions, altitude, slope, and local climate. The landscape’s potential for bamboo is then linked with the communities’ needs and plans for diversifying their agricultural and forestry output, for producing fuelwood for household use or bio-energy generation, and for industrial development, market opportunities and job creation.
We can then provide targeted advice, and development planning, on what bamboo species to plant where and at what scales, so that the communities’ needs are met, while at the same time safeguarding nature and protecting standing natural forest. We emphasize the use of indigenous, locally adapted species wherever possible, and always use non-invasive varieties.
Bamboo is a grass, but with some characteristsics similar to trees and other woody plants. Bamboo normally grows well in combination with other planted trees (horticulture) and other farm crops, using established agro-forestry practices. We combine Norwegian knowledge and expertise from forest management and forestry logistics with our unique experience of working with with bamboo in an African context.
We are convinced that it is both in the interest of people today, and in the interest of future generations, to find solutions to how we, individually and collectively, can make our communities, businesses, lifestyles, and individual everyday consumer choices more sustainable.
We believe that intact nature and functioning ecosystems hold an intrinsic, universal value that is above and beyond the monetary value that might be placed on individual components of an ecosystem.
Yet we see all around us that natural ecosystems, these enormously valuable regulators of the Earth’s water, carbon, nutrients, and solar energy, and havens of the Earth’s living species – each one invaluable in its uniqueness – are being destroyed at rapidly increasing rates. This destruction is a result of choices made every day by people – as active consumers, or as leaders of governments or corporations. Climate change, habitat destruction, over-harvesting, pollution – all are results of the choices we make.
Why do we so easily forget that we are only parts of a greater whole? Its high time to wake up and to understand our purpose and responsibilities in an interconnected world. We must realize our potential and actively change the destructive course of human society. We must do so by making new, different, innovative and forward-looking choices.
Most of us have felt the tranquillity and peace of enjoying nature, be it the magic of walking in an intact forest, gazing towards the horizon from a mountain-top, picking shells along a secluded beach, or spending a night under the stars. We believe in people. We believe humanity is in fact slowly acknowledging that Mother Earth is our shared home – that she is our only home, and that what links all of us together on both a deeper and a higher level is what – for lack of a better word – goes under the term ‘spirit’.
Waterstone’s business activities are therefore based on a quadruple bottom line: People, Planet, Profit and Spirit.
Waterstone Norway AS
Oslo
Norway
phone:
+47 909 908 10
E-mail:
kf@waterstone.no