I developed this simple framework while consulting in the late 1990s. IIT became a first step in the screening of a new opportunity or a new client relationship. Today I teach it to undergraduate students, to encourage them to understand the world and to find their professional pathway.

IIT framework is a useful shortcut to categorize and analysis problems and opportunities, and to frame discussions around business and sustainability. Each of three components gives a dimension for considering problems and solutions for companies:

Industry refers to the industrial sector in which the company operates. This broadly covers the entire economy, or it could be expressed more specifically to capture nuances between firms. Here, "industry" may include private sector companies, public sector agencies, or non-profit organizations.

Issues captures the broad list long list of sustainability challenges and problems. One reference is the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), which highlights 17 issue areas. Issues may include environmental challenges, social problems or economic considerations. The list is endless and changing. Top issues include climate change, biodiversity loss and social equity.

Tools are the methods, approaches, frameworks and strategies that organizations use to "do" sustainable development. These may be general approaches (e.g., sustainability reporting) or protocols or standards (e.g., GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard), or specific software that sits on a laptop and support analysis.

In my work and teaching I focus on the "Tools" dimension. This is because of the universality and transferability of tools across sustainability and environmental management. All industries use tools to address issues. Some issues are universal, like climate change or worker safety, other issues are specific to an industry or organization. Big tools like ISO 14001 for environmental management systems are developed to be used by any organization of any size; other tools are bespoke to an industry association or firm.

To teach on tools for sustainability management, I originally used a textbook from Dixon Thompson, from University of Calgary, but he has passed away and this his book is out of print. I have been using a UK textbook since the 2010s, however it is rather dry and getting out of date. There is a gap in the education market to fill this gap.

References

Brady, J., Ebbage, A., & Lunn, R. (2011). Environmental Management in Organizations: The IEMA Handbook (2nd edition). Routledge.

Thompson, D. (Ed.). (2002). Tools for environmental management: A practical introduction and guide. New Society Publishers.