The Global Academy

Natural Capitalism Group

Enabling Natural Capitalism to become a central organizing principle of business and society around the world by providing tools for businesses and communities to reorient themselves towards a future that is both socially and environmentally sustainable and also more economically successful.

Natural Capitalism Group

Natural Capitalism is a whole-systems approach to doing business that demonstrates how companies can increase profits and gain competitive advantage by behaving responsibly towards both nature and people.

The Natural Capitalism Group (NCG) was created to provide education and consulting about Natural Capitalism as part of a larger vision of making Natural Capitalism a central organizing principle of global society and seeks to implement these principles throughout the business world. Founded by Hunter Lovins, co-creator of the Natural Capitalism concept, and Global Academy Chairman Walter Link, NCG works directly with senior decision-makers in corporations and communities around the world to develop environmentally and socially responsible strategies that also increase prosperity.

NCG develops and delivers programs designed primarily, though not exclusively, for a business audience. The goal of these programs is to demonstrate how environmentally responsible business decisions, consistent with the principles of Natural Capitalism, can benefit not only nature, but a company’s bottom line as well. These are some of the formats for which NCG is currently developing material:

The first of Natural Capitalism’s four principles shows how companies can dramatically increase the productivity of any resource they use. Four-fold increases in resource productivity are now the basis of economic development policy for the European Union and ten-fold increases or greater are possible with existing technologies. [i]

The second principle, “Biomimicry,” calls for a shift away from conventional “heat, beat and treat” manufacturing methods, which require enormous energy inputs and usually create toxic byproducts, to production based on models derived from nature. The benign productive processes of living things can guide industrial innovation and teach us how to eliminate waste and toxics. [ii]

The third principle outlines a new “cradle to cradle” [iii] approach to business that meets consumers’ needs directly. Under this business model, customers purchase the use of products, but the manufacturer retains ownership, along with responsibility for repairs, upgrades, and ultimately disposal. This gives companies incentives to design wisely, both so that products perform more efficiently and last longer, and so that when a product reaches the end of its usable life, component materials can be reused to make new products.

The fourth principle encourages businesses to behave in ways that restore the capacity of both the earth and society to sustain life by investing in natural and human capital. Together, the principles of Natural Capitalism provide the foundation for a complete rethinking of business. They show how, contrary to conventional wisdom, far greater profits are to be achieved through protecting and enhancing nature, culture, and community than by harming them.

This approach was first described in the 1999 book, Natural Capitalism (www.natcap.org), co-authored by Hunter Lovins. Business author Peter Senge called it “the Bible for the next industrial revolution.” It has been read by many corporate executives and was recently awarded the Shingo Prize for Excellence in Manufacturing Research. It is being used as a text in many university and business school courses and has been the topic of numerous conferences. Translated into a dozen languages, it has drawn praise from business and political leaders, economists, and environmentalists around the globe. President Clinton called it a “huge deal,” saying, “It basically proves beyond any argument that there are presently available technologies, and those just on the horizon, which will permit us to get richer by cleaning, not by spoiling, the environment.” The Economist said, “It will leave every reader with the hope that the old battle between business and the environment can reach a peaceful and constructive conclusion.”

An analysis of the world's ecosystems prepared by the United Nations, the World Bank and the World Resources Institute in 2000 stated, "There are considerable signs that the capacity of ecosystems, the biological engines of the planet, to produce many of the goods and services we depend on is rapidly declining." [i] A recent article in Nature warned, “Humanity's assault on the environment has left many ecosystems in such a fragile state that the slightest disturbance may push them into a catastrophic collapse. Human impacts on many of the world's ecosystems could cause them to abruptly shift with little or no warning from their apparently stable, natural condition to very different, diminished conditions far less able to support diversity of life, including human.” [ii] These ecosystems give us services worth tens of trillions of dollars each year – far more than the global economy [iii]. And yet, though every company depends directly or indirectly on these ecosystem services, their value is not reflected on any corporate balance sheet. Natural Capitalism shows how it is profitable for businesses to reverse these trends. Because most of “humanity’s assault on the environment” is carried out in the name of business, enabling competitive advantage to flow to companies that restore both ecosystems and cultural services, on which all life, and thus all economic activity depends, will convert the powerful engine of the market to work in the service of the future.

[i] WRI report: A Guide to World Resources, People and Ecosystems, the Fraying Web of Life, 2000, WRI, 10 G St., Washington DC, 20002, USA.

[ii] "Catastrophic Shifts In Ecosystems," Marten Scheffer, Steve Carpenter, Jonathan A. Foley, Carl Folke, and Brian Walker, NATURE #413, 10/11/01, pp. 591-596.

[iii] Robert Costanza, et al, “ The Value of the World’s Ecosystem Services and Natural Capital,” Nature, 387:253 – 260, May 15, 1997.

Most businesses still operate according to a world view that hasn't changed since the start of the Industrial Revolution. Then, natural resources were abundant and labor was the limiting factor of production. But now, there's a surplus of people, while natural capital--natural resources and the ecological systems that provide vital life-support services--is scarce and relatively expensive.

In this groundbreaking blueprint for a new economy, three leading business visionaries explain how the world is on the verge of a new industrial revolution. Natural Capitalism describes a future in which business and environmental interests increasingly overlap, and in which companies can improve their bottom lines, help solve environmental problems--and feel better about what they do--all at the same time.

Citing hundreds of compelling stories from a wide array of sectors, the book shows how to realize benefits both for today's shareholders and for future generations--and how, by firing the "unproductive tons, gallons, and kilowatt-hours," it's possible to keep the people who will foster the innovation that drives future improvement. "An ambitious, visionary monster of a book....the book's reach is phenomenal. It belongs to the galvanizing tradition of Frances Moore Lappe's Diet for a Small Planet and Stewart Brand's The Whole Earth Catalog."--Publishers Weekly.

To view excerpts of Natural Capitalism or to download the entire book, click here

This sequel to Natural Capitalism will be based on extensive research and consulting that Hunter Lovins conducts in the field of Natural Capitalism, as well as the deep background in corporate social responsibility, responsible investing and the humanities that Walter Link brings to the partnership. The book will address the question posed by reviewer William Greider, who said, “Natural Capitalism is so informative—and so optimistic about the future of the planet—I wonder why everyone in public life is not reading it and arguing over the implications?”

The answer is that there are many factors that influence how people make decisions. Even economically rational ideas, however appealing, do not implement themselves. They must be acted upon by people, who come in a dazzling diversity of individuals and organizations. However, individually and collectively people resist change. Even if, as a leader, you have decided to do things differently, how would you begin? What motivates this decision, and what hinders its achievement?

As Lovins worked with companies, communities and citizens to implement the ideas of Natural Capitalism, it became clear that there is a need for a sequel that would enable those initiating change to recognize the various forces acting on their decisions to move towards transformation. The Human Dimensions of Natural Capitalism will explore what makes people want to change, what motivates them, and what hinders change, at three levels, from that of key global systems, to the organization, to the level of the individual staff member.

Articles

"Insurmountable Opportunities? Steps and Barriers to Implementing Sustainable Development", by Hunter Lovins and Walter Link. This paper was presented to the UN Regional Roundtable for Europe and North America, held at Vail, Colorado, June 6-9, 2001.To download this article, click here. The event is described in more detail below. See Conferences.

"Pension Funds, Key to Capitalizing Natural Capitalism", by Hunter Lovins and Walter Link. This article was published in Sustainable Business Investor. To download this article, click here.

World Summit on Sustainable Development, Regional Roundtable for Europe and North America
In June 2001, Hunter Lovins and Walter Link were selected as delegates to the UN Regional Roundtable for Europe and North America. As part of the preparations for the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development, the United Nations organized a series of Regional Roundtable Meetings of so called ‘Eminent Persons,’ who are considered by the UN to be key specialists in their fields. Roundtable participants provided member Governments of the United Nations and the United Nations Secretariat with pragmatic and inspirational proposals to advance sustainable development in all regions of the world, as well as globally. Hunter and Walter produced the paper, "Insurmountable Opportunities?" for the Roundtable, discussing the progress on sustainable development that has been made since Rio, constraints preventing more positive action, and the new challenges that need to be addressed.

Esalen Invitational Conference on Innovative Economic Theory
In cooperation with the Esalen Institute's Center for Theory and Research (CTR), NCG convened the first and second annual private conferences on innovative economic theory, held at Esalen's facilities on the Big Sur coast of California, March 3-8, 2002. The first conference considered such topics as Nature and Natural Capitalism, Capitalism: An Open Look at Values, Equity and the Human Dimension, Models of Business in Theory and Practice, and Perspectives on Globalization. The second conference sought to identify what form of economy and governance, visionary yet practical, can meet the needs of people around the world and simultaneously preserve and enhance a livable environment for future generations.

The dialogue focused on envisioning practical reforms in economics and governance to enhance, balance and integrate all four forms of capital (natural, human, manufactured and financial) to bring about a truly sustainable form of capitalism, which might be called Natural Capitalism. It considered how to integrate the concerns of the new triad of global power: governments, corporations and civil society, and how to give each sector an appropriate voice, and how to begin to evolve new forms of governance that can practically meet the challenges and promises of our world.

(top)