NATURAL CAPITALISM
PAUL HAWKEN
It's no secret that our economic activity is exceeding the planet's limits. As "natural capital" is degraded by the wasteful use of resources like energy, water, fiber and soil, the value of these assets is rising. That's why a growing number of "natural capitalists" are seeking a change nothing short of an industrial revolution, toward a world in which business and environmental interests overlap.
"Natural capitalism is about making small, critical choices that can tip economic and social factors in positive ways."
PAUL HAWKEN |
The book Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution , written by Paul Hawken, Amory Lovins and L. Hunter Lovins in 1999, was praised by President Bill Clinton as one of the five most important books in the world today. While the philosophy behind natural capitalism is firmly based in science and logic, its insights are visionary.
"Somewhere along the way to free-market capitalism, the United States became the most wasteful society on the planet," Hawken said in an article he wrote for Mother Jones magazine. "Until the 1970s, the concept of natural capital was largely irrelevant to business planning, and it still is in most companies. Decades from now, we may look back at the end of the 20th century and ponder why business and society ignored these trends for so long."
Through his Natural Capital Institute, Hawken works with institutions and individuals to help them better understand principles and practices leading to social justice and environmental restoration. As interest in natural capitalism increases, he sees nothing but positive outcomes.
"Natural capitalism is not about making sudden changes, uprooting institutions, or fomenting upheaval for a new social order," Hawken says. "Natural capitalism is about making small, critical choices that can tip economic and social factors in positive ways."
Idea 15: FAIR TRADE →
