The
earth's continued ability to sustain life, and future economic activity, is
threatened more than ever today by the way our industry’s continue to extract,
process, transport, and dispose of our natural resources. Much of the worlds
businesses continue to run their companies based on old business models of
wasting natural resources and not trying to boost resource productivity. By
embedding into their business strategy some very simple changes to the way they
conduct their business processes they would yield startling results for their
stakeholders but also for the earth’s climate, biosphere (natural capital) and
for all future generations to come.
Anything
less setting a business strategy that embraces the four major business
practices proposed in “The Road Map for Natural Capitalism” by; 1) Dramatically
increasing the productivity of our natural resources, 2) Shifting to a
biologically inspired production model, 3) Move to a solutions-based business
model and 4) Re-invest in Natural Capital is not true sustainability (Lovins,
Lovins and Hawken, 1999, P.146-148). I am not saying a company has to do an
immediate change in its practices but it needs to set a strategy based on these
principals and work consistently towards their implementation.
The
key to society successfully employing these practices requires our
companies and governments to start placing a value on our earth’s ecosystem services or natural capital. Simply put our economy is dependent and fed by the earths natural environment and for most of these services there are no replacements. By quantifying the costs of the ecosystem and including them in their business balance sheets, industries can begin to reduce their wasteful depletion of our resources and finally seek ways to make changes in their design and production processes that will result in stretching these resources further than ever imagined. The shift to this new paradigm will not only give them a competitive edge in their industry, but will lower expenses, increase their bottom line and help to begin to stabilize the earth’s climate while beginning to replenish the earth’s biosphere. A win win for both the human kind and our natural capital we call earth.
companies and governments to start placing a value on our earth’s ecosystem services or natural capital. Simply put our economy is dependent and fed by the earths natural environment and for most of these services there are no replacements. By quantifying the costs of the ecosystem and including them in their business balance sheets, industries can begin to reduce their wasteful depletion of our resources and finally seek ways to make changes in their design and production processes that will result in stretching these resources further than ever imagined. The shift to this new paradigm will not only give them a competitive edge in their industry, but will lower expenses, increase their bottom line and help to begin to stabilize the earth’s climate while beginning to replenish the earth’s biosphere. A win win for both the human kind and our natural capital we call earth.
Bibliography
Lovins,
Amory B., L. Hunter Lovins, and Paul Hawken. "Road Map for Natural
Capitalism (HBR Classic) - Harvard Business Review." Harvard Business Review Case Studies, Articles, Books. Web. 26 Oct.
2011. <http://hbr.org/product/a-road-map-for-natural-capitalism/an/R0707P-PDF-ENG>.
