Natural Capitalism (Summary from Apertura Magazine)

This is a brief summary of the principles of natural capitalism with case studies illustrating how natural capitalism can be implemented in business environments to save energy and money. The principles discussed are biomimicry, reinvestment in natural capital, radical resource productivity, and service and flow economy. This article describes companies that are increasing profits without increasing energy use. Lovins argues that natural capitalism will subsume industrial capitalism into its new paradigm much as industrial capitalism subsumed agrarianism and that natural capitalism can help reverse the decline in jobs, security, hope, and satisfaction.

El Capitalismo Natural

This is a Spanish language version of a brief summary of the principles of natural capitalism with case studies illustrating how natural capitalism can be implemented in business environments to save energy and money. The principles discussed are biomimicry, reinvestment in natural capital, radical resource productivity, and service and flow economy. This article describes companies that are increasing profits without increasing energy use. Lovins argues that natural capitalism will subsume industrial capitalism into its new paradigm much as industrial capitalism subsumed agrarianism and that natural capitalism can help reverse the decline in jobs, security, hope, and satisfaction. [In Spanish]

Harnessing Corporate Power to Heal the Planet

This article is a primer on the concepts of natural capitalism. The authors explain the four principles of natural capitalism: increase resource productivity, eliminate waste, create service and flow, and invest in natural capital. The article explains each of the principles and provides examples of how corporations can apply them to their business models and make a profit. The authors argue that natural capitalism implemented in a company creates an extraordinary outpouring of energy, initiative, and enthusiasm at all levels. It removes the contradiction between what people do at work and what they want for their families when they go home.

Roadmap for Natural Capitalism

This synopsis of Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution was published in Harvard Business Review. It describes the natural capitalism approach to improving profits, competitiveness, and the environment. The book lays out an approach not only for protecting the biosphere but also for improving profits and competitiveness. Very simple changes to the way we run our businesses, built on advanced techniques for making resources more productive, can yield impressive benefits for shareholders and future generations. Natural capitalism involves four major shifts in business practices with are all vitally interlinked: dramatic increase in the productivity of natural resources, shift to biologically inspired production models, a move to a solutions-based business model, and reinvestment in natural capital. While systematic barriers exists in business motivation and implementation, resources scarcity is beginning to motivate both policy and practice.