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The first practical blueprint for a prosperous yet sustainable future.
Product Description
The world has changed in the seventeen years since the controversial initial publication of Paul Hawken's Ecology of Commerce, a stirring treatise about the perceived antagonism between ecology and business. Yet Hawken's impassioned argument—that business both causes the most egregious abuses of the environment and, crucially, holds the most potential for solving our sustainability problems—is more relevant and resonant than ever.
Containing updated and revised material for a new audience, The Ecology of Commerce presents a compelling vision of the restorative (rather than destructive) economy we must create, centered on eight imperatives:
Containing updated and revised material for a new audience, The Ecology of Commerce presents a compelling vision of the restorative (rather than destructive) economy we must create, centered on eight imperatives:
- Reduce energy carbon emissions 80 percent by 2030 and total natural resource usage 80 percent by 2050.
- Provide secure, stable, and meaningful employment to people everywhere.
- Be self-organizing rather than regulated or morally mandated.
- Honor market principles.
- Restore habitats, ecosystems, and societies to their optimum.
- Rely on current income.
- Be fun and engaging, and strive for an aesthetic outcome.
Amazon.com: Customer reviews: The Ecology of Commerce Revised Edition: A Declaration of Sustainability (Collins Business Essentials)
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Bria J
4.0 out of 5 starsCollege required textJuly 12, 2016
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
Used at Western Washington University in 2011. This book approaches the subjects of business, sustainability, the environment and our role in how those elements intertwine. It's the type of book you could read multiple times and gain new knowledge from each time. It's definitely thought-provoking and a great foundation for conversation about how we move forward as a business-minded society. I really appreciate that it doesn't just take one side of the issue - many environmental texts seem to bash business with no exceptions - but Hawken notes that business can help the environment as much as hurt it, and proposes that we find ways to improve business rather than eliminating it. A great read for anyone.
Like most people, I rely on honest product reviews to make purchase decisions. Because the experience of others has been so helpful to me, I try to provide honest, helpful reviews to assist other shoppers in selecting the right products for them. I hope my review has been helpful to you!
9 people found this helpful
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C. Schrader
5.0 out of 5 starsIn depth and fascinating explanationApril 24, 2018
Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase
Digital product was accessible and worked perfectly. The book itself is an excellent read. This is an excellent breakdown of the relationship people have with the natural world via the monetary system we have created. I truly believe this book should be required reading for anyone takes part in the economy (everyone).
2 people found this helpful
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Olivia
5.0 out of 5 starsGlobal Required ReadingJanuary 24, 2008
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
I don't even know how to begin describing how great this book is. It should be required reading for EVERYBODY on the planet. I learned about this book while watching the documentary, "The Corporation," and I'll have to admit, I wasn't expecting anything revolutionary in this book. I thought I'd be getting some interesting pictures and statistics relating to consumption, recycling, landfills, global warming...pretty much your standard environmental rhetoric (of which I'm a subscriber) to complement what I already know. What I got, however, was so much more. This book is not only about the environment, but about how the environment integrates with global business and economics. For some reason, the 'developed' world has created a disconnect between the environment and business. Hawken shows how the two are inextricably connected, and in order to guarantee a successful future for us, our children and all life on earth, business and the environment must work harmoniously and each stop being the bane of the other.
His metaphor for business IS the environment: everything in nature is cyclical, which brings maximum efficiency. Nothing is more efficient than the natural world: one organism's waste is another organism's life source. If business would approach operations and resources from this perspective, waste would not be 'waste' and the benefits of increased efficiency would permeate throughout all life and systems. His metaphor is very simple but exceedingly beautiful, and only becomes more so as Hawken goes in-depth with concrete examples and further exploration of all issues from both sides. Throughout reading this book, I was continuously floored by his analysis, his insight and his prescription for the future.
And a note about his prose: every sentence reflects structurally the economies and efficiencies it conveys ideologically. This man is concise and his style is powerful - every word packs a punch. He says so much with so little, maximizing the time spent in our reading investment. Clearly, I have nothing but the highest praise for Hawken and this book - it is truly visionary.
7 people found this helpful
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Adam F. Jewell
4.0 out of 5 starsVisions of a Better TomorrowAugust 22, 2002
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
In the current economy we seek to minimize economic costs and maximize profits while ignoring most everything else. Virtually no aspect of the economic equation factors in the true cost of anything - the toll it takes on the environment, the massive amount of energy consumed to maintain our lifestyle, or the biodiversity of the planet, which is continually diminished.
The Ecology of Commerce addresses these issues from both business and environmental points of view. It recognizes there will be immediate, sometimes substantial, economic costs during the transition to a sustainable economy. The point is made, however, that should the strain on the planets resources exceed carrying capacity, the consequences would be devastating.
We don't, and probably can't know the precise limit till we get there. At that point things are likely to get ugly. Really ugly. Paul correctly argues that we need to move toward a sustainable economy that more closely mirrors biological systems. He suggests production processes that begin with the end of the useful life of a product in mind so that waste can easily and continually be recycled into new products.
The book seems to be overly optimistic that business will see the light and move to adopt sustainable business practices. While some are moving in this direction, they are not moving fast enough. As the most powerful nation in the world and the one that uses far more resources than any other in the world, the US must lead the way. Some companies are taking positive steps, but efforts need to increase dramatically.
The Ecology of Commerce is a good start. It lays out the direction in which we need to move. The vision is an economy in which the full economic AND environmental costs are factored into the cost of goods and services. This book lays out where we need to go; now we just need to figure out how to make a smooth transition to get there.
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white cloud blue sky
5.0 out of 5 starsHome again only betterNovember 6, 2010
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
Having read the 1993 version dozens of times I can only be profusely grateful for an updated version from which to teach collge students. The revised version is like visiting a great city after a twenty year absence. The bones are there but there are new buildings that have evolved to reflect the times. Thank you Paul. You have given another generation another chance to wake up a world asleep at the wheel of a car headed for a cliff.
It still reads like a collection of keynote speeches where every sentence is designed to pack a punch. It doesn't take a lot of words to be honest and direct. Ecology of commerce is not a spectator sport; if really read it is a call to action.
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Dodd Galbreath
4.0 out of 5 starsBig on vision and motive, short on more compelling responses.December 21, 2010
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
This book did help me understand some key principles for confronting the challenges ahead. But, I couldn't help but think: "What will move us from these concepts to action?" There is hope in Mr. Hawken's case studies of heroic companies and in new technologies but something is missing. Maybe the same dynamics confronted George Washington and the Continental Congress as they were debating and trying to determine the next best course of action in confronting a formidable foe like Great Britain and a similar "clear and present" threat to freedom and the pursuit of happiness. Our founding fathers similarly articulated very clearly the concepts of risk and opportunity in that century. Then they pursued a path of unknown destiny to address it one engagement at a time on the foundation of some polarizing events (no pun intended). Maybe that is what we lack . . . a clear beginning point and a clear commitment. Let's hope and pray that this declaration of dependence on a new and improved commerce and an emphasis on heroic individual choice is the solution to global climate change and the erosion of our quality of life. Maybe what we really need is to create a "green" tea party and to see 9-11 and the BP oil spill as our modern day Boston Massacre and Bunker Hill. What will wake us up Mr. Hawken? May we all choose to say "give me liberty" from oil and coal because without that liberty, all life will be given certain "death".
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J. Bosiljevac
5.0 out of 5 starsA Good Overview with Practical SolutionsAugust 30, 2004
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Many books on the ecology of our planet tell what's wrong for most of the book then have a chapter in the end on what we can do. What I liked about Hawken's book, which many consider to be the classic on growing our economy and sustainably in terms of our environment, is that it is chock full of great examples of how companies have successfully altered their practices in light of ecological concerns. And the counter-intuitive thing is that, with creative problem solving, it can actually be more profitable to be an environmentally friendly company or society. A little dated at this point, this is still a great place to start if you're getting into books about sustainable living.
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Rob W
5.0 out of 5 starsThe insights provided by Hawken are priceless for the creating ...December 2, 2015
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The insights provided by Hawken are priceless for the creating of a sustainable future on planet Earth. It is a book about balance and solutions, not blame. It is through a unified understanding between ecologists and economists that peace may be possible between commerce and Nature. Kudos for writing such an important book! — Rob Williams, Crestone, CO
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Sonya
5.0 out of 5 starsAn eye opening read for anyone who desires a better planet for our childrenAugust 15, 2018
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Bravo Mr. Hawkin! The Ecology of Commerce puts forth the guiding principles needed to move past debate and take action to achieve balance between restoring our planet and the economic, social and spiritual growth we all desire.
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Tamsin
5.0 out of 5 starsGreatFebruary 1, 2018
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Hard to read but necessary to know. Great book
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Nov 29, 2017Rebecca McNutt rated it really liked it
Shelves: non-fiction, science, environmental, pollution, finance, industry
The idea of a truly sustainable international business in every sense of the word is something I don't think we'll be seeing anytime soon, simply because it isn't profitable and makes no real sense (other than a PR scheme) for a large corporate business to be concerned with. That being said, this book is more important than ever before, and makes some very good points. The way I see it, there's no such thing as leaving no carbon footprint if you're a business or even a single consumer, but there are small things any business can do to make itself less of a ticking time bomb looming over the world around us. (less)
A Failed Declaration?
So Far, I have read three books that cover the topic of sustainability (broadly speaking), with the intention of reading many more. The first, Endgame: The Problem of Civilisation, was written by Derrick Jensen , and came in two separate parts - the second I have not read yet - that essentially suggested a"Post Civilisation" world in which us miserable Sapiens will have to consider a complete revolutionary style takedown of our out-of-control system of rampant neoliberal capitalism, and bring about a complete reset on humanity.
I liked the book, but found Jensen rambled for far too long, and allowed his point to become diluted with over compensation into the realm of bitterness. I would still recommend this as a read though, as his extremities do bare a brutal hammer blow to the reader that should effectively shake the brains foundations.
The second book, Beyond Civilisation, by an author named Daniel Quinn, was a shorter read and suggested humanity simple move away from its current endeavours naturally. No need to make a fuss, just put down what we're doing and look for a better way of living. At least, that's what I gathered from the books slightly messy construction. My review speaks in more detail on the goodreads page that I wrote it on, but despite it's shorter length, I found Beyond Civilisation an even more confusing read than Jensens Endeavour.
What both books are missing - in my humble opinion - is a real clear look at our current system, and what detailed suggestions could be made to replace it. This is where Paul Hawken comes in.
The Ecology Of Commerce differs from the above mentioned in one majorly fundamental way. It's premise is that we need to modify and amend our current capitalistic structure from within, and embrace a nature inspired system of restorative economics. One that mimics nature in lack of waste and constant renewal. Not only this, but business should be incentivised to work harder toward treating the environment more positively (you know, such as not killing hundreds / thousands of species a year through forest clearance and what not) through taxes on waste and pollution, rewards for cleaner energy application and working toward creating jobs through new eco-friendly industries.
There's a lot more to cover, and I have to admit, I lost Hawken at times in the more economic side of things (when he does decide to go down that route of explanation), but for the most part this text was very readable, and was the best attempt I've seen yet at a genuine effort to lay out a better way of humanity handling itself.
Now for the downside.
This books over twenty. years. old.
Has much changed? No, not much at all. We could talk about the many smaller details that have arisen in terms of the rise of Veganism, eco-friendly companies and environmental awareness...
...or we could focus on the fact major corporations are more powerful than ever, and are still continuing to destroy our planet through war, resource consumption and greed.
SO many blaring alarm bells are laid out in this book that I had to remind myself that they were being delivered to the reader in 1993. A truly worrying analysis.
It would be best if you read this book. It's really quite important now more than ever. I'll leave you with a segment of the book that stood out to me:
"...Corporations are creating a second world, an environment of deadening commercial strip centers leading in and out of our towns and cities, garbage trains loaded with trash and toxins, and Bhopals where 200,000 people are sick or dead or dying. It is a world where fewer and fewer people benefit from the grosser and more swollen acts of commerce, a world in which the small things, the seemingly inconsequential forms of life, are extirpated with disdain, but to our ultimate peril..." (less)
So Far, I have read three books that cover the topic of sustainability (broadly speaking), with the intention of reading many more. The first, Endgame: The Problem of Civilisation, was written by Derrick Jensen , and came in two separate parts - the second I have not read yet - that essentially suggested a"Post Civilisation" world in which us miserable Sapiens will have to consider a complete revolutionary style takedown of our out-of-control system of rampant neoliberal capitalism, and bring about a complete reset on humanity.
I liked the book, but found Jensen rambled for far too long, and allowed his point to become diluted with over compensation into the realm of bitterness. I would still recommend this as a read though, as his extremities do bare a brutal hammer blow to the reader that should effectively shake the brains foundations.
The second book, Beyond Civilisation, by an author named Daniel Quinn, was a shorter read and suggested humanity simple move away from its current endeavours naturally. No need to make a fuss, just put down what we're doing and look for a better way of living. At least, that's what I gathered from the books slightly messy construction. My review speaks in more detail on the goodreads page that I wrote it on, but despite it's shorter length, I found Beyond Civilisation an even more confusing read than Jensens Endeavour.
What both books are missing - in my humble opinion - is a real clear look at our current system, and what detailed suggestions could be made to replace it. This is where Paul Hawken comes in.
The Ecology Of Commerce differs from the above mentioned in one majorly fundamental way. It's premise is that we need to modify and amend our current capitalistic structure from within, and embrace a nature inspired system of restorative economics. One that mimics nature in lack of waste and constant renewal. Not only this, but business should be incentivised to work harder toward treating the environment more positively (you know, such as not killing hundreds / thousands of species a year through forest clearance and what not) through taxes on waste and pollution, rewards for cleaner energy application and working toward creating jobs through new eco-friendly industries.
There's a lot more to cover, and I have to admit, I lost Hawken at times in the more economic side of things (when he does decide to go down that route of explanation), but for the most part this text was very readable, and was the best attempt I've seen yet at a genuine effort to lay out a better way of humanity handling itself.
Now for the downside.
This books over twenty. years. old.
Has much changed? No, not much at all. We could talk about the many smaller details that have arisen in terms of the rise of Veganism, eco-friendly companies and environmental awareness...
...or we could focus on the fact major corporations are more powerful than ever, and are still continuing to destroy our planet through war, resource consumption and greed.
SO many blaring alarm bells are laid out in this book that I had to remind myself that they were being delivered to the reader in 1993. A truly worrying analysis.
It would be best if you read this book. It's really quite important now more than ever. I'll leave you with a segment of the book that stood out to me:
"...Corporations are creating a second world, an environment of deadening commercial strip centers leading in and out of our towns and cities, garbage trains loaded with trash and toxins, and Bhopals where 200,000 people are sick or dead or dying. It is a world where fewer and fewer people benefit from the grosser and more swollen acts of commerce, a world in which the small things, the seemingly inconsequential forms of life, are extirpated with disdain, but to our ultimate peril..." (less)
Aug 09, 2012Mark Jones rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
In this book, Mr. Hawken sets out to - as it says on the cover - demonstrate how business can save the world, and indeed, should. In order to accomplish this, he establishes a clear twelve-chapter plan in which he discusses the problems that we face, the nature of commerce and large businesses, and potential solutions, finally concluding in the magnificent crescendo that is the final chapter. This is a powerful, evocative book, engendering (and in my case, reinforcing) dark, cynical thoughts about the large corporations to which we wilfully assign so much power. It is precisely because of this that he argues they have a duty to recognise and account for what they have and continue to do; it is foolish to deny that they are the world's most powerful institutions, but their impunity must now end.
In order to accomplish this, he proposes a 'restorative economy', in which the more damaging products are priced as they should be - to encompass (i.e. internalise) their costs to the environment as opposed to our present situation in which battery eggs are priced less than free range, and organic tomatoes are pricier than their pesticide-laced competitors. Herein lies a common misconception (which I held until reading this book) - that cost andprice are the same thing. This is not the case. 'Price' refers to what we - the consumer - pay for the final end product. 'Cost', however, refers to what damage is incurred in the creation, use and disposal of this product. Is the terrible and irreversible cost of utter annihilation of our ancient woodlands reflected in the price of cheap clear-cut timber? No, it is not. In buying products indiscriminately, in making un-informed decisions, we are endorsing the terrible behaviour in which our businesses engage - as he states - the till is the polling station of our world, and to willingly purchase battery eggs marks you as uninformed, or a wicked, worthless piece of shit.
Through the central section of his work, Hawken gives some important lessons regarding the nature of economics and this commerce-dominated world which we have wrought, demonstrating the astonishing accomplishment that businesses truly are, being the most efficient form of human endeavour ever conceived, however terribly flawed they may be. He demonstrates that the instinct to engage in commerce is just as intrinsic to our nature as is the desire to protect and nurture. Corporations are incapable of engaging in the latter, not because they are specifically wrought as institutionalised evil (though this is what they sometimes become), but because their design is intended to generate a single outcome: profits. In such an environment, a large business cannot be expected to take into consideration externalities such as environmental damage, because such things are simply irrelevant to their stated goals. Businesses are creatures of the marketplace, created and fed by its fluctuations and demands. If customers demand the cheapest possible product, a business is required to pursue whatever path is necessary to achieve this. Even if it is environmental mutilation. If, however, the market demands ethically-sourced eggs, then business shall provide.
The problem, then, is not that business must be annihilated for us to continue, but that business must be fundamentally reorganised in order for us to continue. This entails us, the human beings of the world, thus far driven into a silent serfdom, taking command of the marketplace and the world of business through the instrument of government, and making just a few fundamental changes. The most significant of these is that we must ensure that customers pay the full cost of the products that they buy, which means environmental damage is incorporated into what we pay, thus giving business the incentive to reduce the damage that they cause in order to reduce costs - and thus, prices. The end result is that the least-destructive product will always cost - and be priced - the least - a profound contrast with our present situation.
Herein lies the core of Hawkin's philosophy - that we must not try to change our very nature, but that we must employ it in better ways. My feelings regarding large corporations when I started this book were that they must be utterly annihilated in order for humanity to restore the world that has created it. My belief was that corporations are intrinsically wicked, destructive entities, and the people who engage in their management and propagation are nothing more than despicable criminals. Paul Hawken has succeeded in showing that business is just as necessary to our lives as government, and we must understand the natures of both as well as we understand our own proclivities in order to create the utopian world of a restorative economy, which is not the far-off fantasy which marketing groups, executives and corporate lawyers would like you to think. (less)
In order to accomplish this, he proposes a 'restorative economy', in which the more damaging products are priced as they should be - to encompass (i.e. internalise) their costs to the environment as opposed to our present situation in which battery eggs are priced less than free range, and organic tomatoes are pricier than their pesticide-laced competitors. Herein lies a common misconception (which I held until reading this book) - that cost andprice are the same thing. This is not the case. 'Price' refers to what we - the consumer - pay for the final end product. 'Cost', however, refers to what damage is incurred in the creation, use and disposal of this product. Is the terrible and irreversible cost of utter annihilation of our ancient woodlands reflected in the price of cheap clear-cut timber? No, it is not. In buying products indiscriminately, in making un-informed decisions, we are endorsing the terrible behaviour in which our businesses engage - as he states - the till is the polling station of our world, and to willingly purchase battery eggs marks you as uninformed, or a wicked, worthless piece of shit.
Through the central section of his work, Hawken gives some important lessons regarding the nature of economics and this commerce-dominated world which we have wrought, demonstrating the astonishing accomplishment that businesses truly are, being the most efficient form of human endeavour ever conceived, however terribly flawed they may be. He demonstrates that the instinct to engage in commerce is just as intrinsic to our nature as is the desire to protect and nurture. Corporations are incapable of engaging in the latter, not because they are specifically wrought as institutionalised evil (though this is what they sometimes become), but because their design is intended to generate a single outcome: profits. In such an environment, a large business cannot be expected to take into consideration externalities such as environmental damage, because such things are simply irrelevant to their stated goals. Businesses are creatures of the marketplace, created and fed by its fluctuations and demands. If customers demand the cheapest possible product, a business is required to pursue whatever path is necessary to achieve this. Even if it is environmental mutilation. If, however, the market demands ethically-sourced eggs, then business shall provide.
The problem, then, is not that business must be annihilated for us to continue, but that business must be fundamentally reorganised in order for us to continue. This entails us, the human beings of the world, thus far driven into a silent serfdom, taking command of the marketplace and the world of business through the instrument of government, and making just a few fundamental changes. The most significant of these is that we must ensure that customers pay the full cost of the products that they buy, which means environmental damage is incorporated into what we pay, thus giving business the incentive to reduce the damage that they cause in order to reduce costs - and thus, prices. The end result is that the least-destructive product will always cost - and be priced - the least - a profound contrast with our present situation.
Herein lies the core of Hawkin's philosophy - that we must not try to change our very nature, but that we must employ it in better ways. My feelings regarding large corporations when I started this book were that they must be utterly annihilated in order for humanity to restore the world that has created it. My belief was that corporations are intrinsically wicked, destructive entities, and the people who engage in their management and propagation are nothing more than despicable criminals. Paul Hawken has succeeded in showing that business is just as necessary to our lives as government, and we must understand the natures of both as well as we understand our own proclivities in order to create the utopian world of a restorative economy, which is not the far-off fantasy which marketing groups, executives and corporate lawyers would like you to think. (less)
Nov 15, 2007Amanda rated it really liked it
Paul Hawken states:
If capitalism has one pervasive untruth, it is the delusion that business is an open, linear system: that through resource extraction and technology, growth is always possible, given sufficient capital and will (p. 32).
If this book has one main purpose, it is to imagine and describe the ways business can act that are restorative to society and the environment. Restoration is not a business term. But then, neither is degradation (p. 58).
Mr. Hawken not only allows me to imagine the ways that business can act, but he has inspired me to become engaged in the process and to pursue a new career path: design. Why "manage" existing systems when they are broken? Let's create new ones that work. The Ecology of Commerce opened up a new way of thinking that was unavailable to me in my recently completed public health training; training that relied on learning about existing practices and partial solutions; examples include, current regulation (non)practices presented in the context environmental "health" sciences coursework, and the limits of community organizing as presented in books like "No Safe Place" (Patterson, 1998).
Mr. Hawken continues:
To restore is to make something well again. It is mending the world. People have to believe there will be a future in order to look forward. To live in that future, we require a design. To pay the bills from the past, we need a means. To act we need a way to serve. For those who say that times are tough, that we can ill afford sweeping changes because the existing system is already broke or hobbled, consider that the U.S. and the former U.S.S.R. spent over $10 trillon on the Cold War, enough money to replace the entire infrastructure of the world, every school, every hospital, every roadway, every building, and farm. In other words, we bought and sold the whole world in order to defeat a political movement. To now assert that we don't have resources to build a restorative economy is ironic, since the threats that we face today are actually happening, whereas the threats of the post-war nuclear stand-off were about the possibility of destruction (p. 58). [I wonder what Mr. Hawken would say about our current war in Iraq?]
In my next professional endeavor I hope to marry restorative social and business practices and I thank Mr. Hawken for lighting the way.(less)
If capitalism has one pervasive untruth, it is the delusion that business is an open, linear system: that through resource extraction and technology, growth is always possible, given sufficient capital and will (p. 32).
If this book has one main purpose, it is to imagine and describe the ways business can act that are restorative to society and the environment. Restoration is not a business term. But then, neither is degradation (p. 58).
Mr. Hawken not only allows me to imagine the ways that business can act, but he has inspired me to become engaged in the process and to pursue a new career path: design. Why "manage" existing systems when they are broken? Let's create new ones that work. The Ecology of Commerce opened up a new way of thinking that was unavailable to me in my recently completed public health training; training that relied on learning about existing practices and partial solutions; examples include, current regulation (non)practices presented in the context environmental "health" sciences coursework, and the limits of community organizing as presented in books like "No Safe Place" (Patterson, 1998).
Mr. Hawken continues:
To restore is to make something well again. It is mending the world. People have to believe there will be a future in order to look forward. To live in that future, we require a design. To pay the bills from the past, we need a means. To act we need a way to serve. For those who say that times are tough, that we can ill afford sweeping changes because the existing system is already broke or hobbled, consider that the U.S. and the former U.S.S.R. spent over $10 trillon on the Cold War, enough money to replace the entire infrastructure of the world, every school, every hospital, every roadway, every building, and farm. In other words, we bought and sold the whole world in order to defeat a political movement. To now assert that we don't have resources to build a restorative economy is ironic, since the threats that we face today are actually happening, whereas the threats of the post-war nuclear stand-off were about the possibility of destruction (p. 58). [I wonder what Mr. Hawken would say about our current war in Iraq?]
In my next professional endeavor I hope to marry restorative social and business practices and I thank Mr. Hawken for lighting the way.(less)
Jun 28, 2018Matt Slaven rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
An informative and well written analysis of capitalism and its future. It makes you realize the backward relationship our society has with our planet, our only source of resources. Instead of merely sounding the alarm, he also presents policy solutions that make so much sense I’m wishing they were in place already.
The fact that this book was written in 1992 and it's still not outdated secures my hopelessness for humanity. If it is possible to reconcile capitalism with ecology, this book offers a lot of insightful and well-reasoned ways to do it. I really appreciated how Hawken thinks within the languages of business and economics to describe ecological problems and propose solutions to the crisis our planet is in. My fear is that there is a built-in barrier at the very core of business, capital and economics--in which case bigger, tougher questions need to be asked. Then again, with so much at stake, doing nothing is the worst option. This book successfully shows that there are many options.
The thing that stuck the most with me was the concept of externalizing costs. A main point of Hawken's is that companies should be responsible for the real costs of their activities. For instance, a company that decimates an area, ruining it for future generations (for business use or otherwise) they are handing those costs down to others while their profits remain unaffected. Businesses have no incentive to protect ecology or long-term sustainability since it is of no cost to them.
While this is a good way to think about the relationship between ecology and business, the inherently interdependent nature of ecology leaves a lot of questions that are too big to wrap your mind around. How much should it cost to dump a chemical down the drain when we have no idea what the effect might be to complex ecosystems across unknowable spans of time and space? At the same time, if our species is smart enough to do the amount of damage we have in mere thousands of years, aren't we smart enough to do better? (less)
The thing that stuck the most with me was the concept of externalizing costs. A main point of Hawken's is that companies should be responsible for the real costs of their activities. For instance, a company that decimates an area, ruining it for future generations (for business use or otherwise) they are handing those costs down to others while their profits remain unaffected. Businesses have no incentive to protect ecology or long-term sustainability since it is of no cost to them.
While this is a good way to think about the relationship between ecology and business, the inherently interdependent nature of ecology leaves a lot of questions that are too big to wrap your mind around. How much should it cost to dump a chemical down the drain when we have no idea what the effect might be to complex ecosystems across unknowable spans of time and space? At the same time, if our species is smart enough to do the amount of damage we have in mere thousands of years, aren't we smart enough to do better? (less)
Apr 09, 2018Yaru Lin rated it it was amazing
This book formalizes those nagging little voices in the back of our heads, that "the cash register is the daily voting booth in democratic capitalism", and that one of the greatest flaws of the modern marketplace is how efficiently it has externalized the cost and losses of destroying the earth to taxpayers, away from corporate profits.
Will we ever be able to remove the incentives to continue manufacturing waste as well as the conflict between being "economic" and being "sustainable"? Can we move on to biodegradable consumer products without antagonizing minority and lower-income groups by forcing them to make sacrifices in lifestyle and income? Can we create a "cyclical, restorative economy" in which designers account for the future utility of a product and avoidance of waste from its inception?
Not much has changed since the original publication of this book in 1993. It will take collective grass root up efforts to ensure that the next 15 years are different.(less)
Will we ever be able to remove the incentives to continue manufacturing waste as well as the conflict between being "economic" and being "sustainable"? Can we move on to biodegradable consumer products without antagonizing minority and lower-income groups by forcing them to make sacrifices in lifestyle and income? Can we create a "cyclical, restorative economy" in which designers account for the future utility of a product and avoidance of waste from its inception?
Not much has changed since the original publication of this book in 1993. It will take collective grass root up efforts to ensure that the next 15 years are different.(less)
Here's a short synopsis of a very meaty book:
This was probably the most influential books that informed my basic understanding of what is wrong with the way we do business with capitalism. Hawken draws a comparison between the natural world: where everything that dies become food for something smaller; and the way of business, where materials are created in a linear fashion and end up clogging our landfills. This book is real eye opener - but a blueprint for why organic food SHOULD cost less than pesticide laced foods. He also goes into social implications of bad business practices. Well written and researched. Paul Hawken is a visionary. I have real respect for this man, and have seen him on the stage with the Dalai Lama. I have purchased multiple copies of this book in the past and given it as a gift. A MUST read! (less)
This was probably the most influential books that informed my basic understanding of what is wrong with the way we do business with capitalism. Hawken draws a comparison between the natural world: where everything that dies become food for something smaller; and the way of business, where materials are created in a linear fashion and end up clogging our landfills. This book is real eye opener - but a blueprint for why organic food SHOULD cost less than pesticide laced foods. He also goes into social implications of bad business practices. Well written and researched. Paul Hawken is a visionary. I have real respect for this man, and have seen him on the stage with the Dalai Lama. I have purchased multiple copies of this book in the past and given it as a gift. A MUST read! (less)
Nov 28, 2012Ulrich rated it really liked it
It's a sad comment on our society that twenty years later Hawkin's dreams have not come to fruition and this book is not hopelessly outdated. Written shortly after my birth this book describes technology which existed at the time and still sounds incredibly futuristic to me. He describes ways to use all industrial byproducts as fresh materials for other industries and explains why in any case where this isn't possible we must find an alternative. Throwing away trash, indeed the entire concept of trash, is suicidal. We are using up our dear planet when we should - and profitably could! - be building him up.
Much like a would be dieter our corporations are choosing short term profits over long term sustainable gain. I'm afraid telling them it's for their own good will not work. They would love to sell us gas masks after they pollute the air past breathability. It's up to us, the small business owners, to design our businesses in sustainable fashions and to educate all of our friends and customers about the human cost of cheaper chocolates and cottons. It's up to all of us, as inhabitants of this Earth to write a dozen letters, to buy sustainably made and locally grown. I personally intend to study electrical engineering so that I can help find new ways to make things people need. Ways that are totally safe for people and the planet. (less)
Much like a would be dieter our corporations are choosing short term profits over long term sustainable gain. I'm afraid telling them it's for their own good will not work. They would love to sell us gas masks after they pollute the air past breathability. It's up to us, the small business owners, to design our businesses in sustainable fashions and to educate all of our friends and customers about the human cost of cheaper chocolates and cottons. It's up to all of us, as inhabitants of this Earth to write a dozen letters, to buy sustainably made and locally grown. I personally intend to study electrical engineering so that I can help find new ways to make things people need. Ways that are totally safe for people and the planet. (less)
Jul 27, 2011The Capital Institute rated it it was amazing
Shelves: capital-institute, environment, business, real-investing, better-business, ethics
Paul Hawken, co-founder of Smith & Hawken, is an active environmentalist, entrepreneur and writer. In The Ecology of Commerce, Hawken proposes that businesses in the developed world reduce their consumption of energy and resources by 80 percent in the next 50 years. Hawken also says that business goals should include criteria such as whether or not the work is “aesthetically pleasing” or whether the employees are enjoying their work time. Hawken includes large corporations and small business in his proposal. The culture of business being promoted in this book is one in which the environment is also allowed to flourish and grow.
Reviewers suggest that while “Wall Street may not be ready” for what is a “provocative” summary of ideas, the book makes compelling arguments and introduces fresh ideas. Hawken’s rhetoric sounds overly pessimistic at times, according to reviews by Publishers Weekly and the Library Journal, and some of his suggestions assume harsher standards, that make it more difficult to “go green.” However that is what these times call for and physicist and systems theorist Fritjof Capra called the book the first “extensive, truly ecological analysis of business,” and an “essential” read.(less)
Reviewers suggest that while “Wall Street may not be ready” for what is a “provocative” summary of ideas, the book makes compelling arguments and introduces fresh ideas. Hawken’s rhetoric sounds overly pessimistic at times, according to reviews by Publishers Weekly and the Library Journal, and some of his suggestions assume harsher standards, that make it more difficult to “go green.” However that is what these times call for and physicist and systems theorist Fritjof Capra called the book the first “extensive, truly ecological analysis of business,” and an “essential” read.(less)
Apr 01, 2009Ed Arnold-berkovits rated it it was amazing
An outstanding book that is still very relevant today. Unfortunately, as in it's been 15 years and we're more or less in the same place ecologically. It was written in 1993-1994 after/during (I'm not sure exactly) the last big recession. So how about that, people need jobs and there's a chance for environmentally-sound ones that also will be economically sound. It's always about choices and making them with actual knowledge of the real costs.
The problem is, then-current and now-current business still have the same philosopy - make money at all costs. Then, society (the taxpayers as well as the non-taxpayers) end up bearing the brunt of the REAL costs to society and the environment.
Hawkin lays out a semi-theoretical framework for ecologically restorative businesses that at the time had a few examples in the real world. His call is for ALL businesses to follow that framework where the money is made through restoring the environment and through that society, respectful work and being true to our true natures, rather than destroying them because we haven't calculated what modern business and products are really costing us.(less)
The problem is, then-current and now-current business still have the same philosopy - make money at all costs. Then, society (the taxpayers as well as the non-taxpayers) end up bearing the brunt of the REAL costs to society and the environment.
Hawkin lays out a semi-theoretical framework for ecologically restorative businesses that at the time had a few examples in the real world. His call is for ALL businesses to follow that framework where the money is made through restoring the environment and through that society, respectful work and being true to our true natures, rather than destroying them because we haven't calculated what modern business and products are really costing us.(less)
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