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The Ecology of Commerce: A Declaration of Sustainability
 
 
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The Ecology of Commerce: A Declaration of Sustainability [Paperback]

Paul Hawken (Author)
4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)

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Paperback, Jun 2 1994 --   -- --
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The Ecology Of Commerce Revised Edition: A Declaration of Sustainability The Ecology Of Commerce Revised Edition: A Declaration of Sustainability 4.7 out of 5 stars (23)
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Paul Hawken, the entrepreneur behind the Smith & Hawken gardening supplies empire, is no ordinary capitalist. Drawing as much on Baba Ram Dass and Vaclav Havel as he does on Peter Drucker and WalMart for his case studies, Hawken is on a one-man crusade to reform our economic system by demanding that First World businesses reduce their consumption of energy and resources by 80 percent in the next 50 years. As if that weren't enough, Hawken argues that business goals should be redefined to embrace such fuzzy categories as whether the work is aesthetically pleasing and the employees are having fun; this applies to corporate giants and mom-and-pop operations alike. He proposes a culture of business in which the real world, the natural world, is allowed to flourish as well, and in which the planet's needs are addressed. Wall Street may not be ready for Hawken's provocative brand of environmental awareness, but this fine book is full of captivating ideas.

From Publishers Weekly

Hawken ( Growing a Business ) touches on a raw nerve here. How might millions of people live and work in a complex business environment while causing "as little suffering as possible to all and everything around us?" Hawken, no Luddite, believes that "we need a design for business that will ensure that the industrial world as it is presently constituted ceases and is replaced with human-centered enterprises that are sustainable producers." Avoiding stormy rhetoric, Hawken thoughtfully reviews ecological theories and disasters and insists that "ecology offers a way to examine all present economic and resource activities from a biological rather than a monetary point of view." Calling for a restorative economy, he proposes rational, achievable goals: stop "accelerating the rate that we draw down capacity"; refrain from "buying or degrading other people's environment"; and avoid displacing "other species by taking over their habitats." This noteworthy study should kindle debates within the business community.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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First Sentence
I have come to believe that we in America and in the rest of the industrialized West do not know what business really is, or, therefore, what it can become. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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23 Reviews
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4.7 out of 5 stars (23 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, especially the second time around, April 22 2003
This review is from: The Ecology of Commerce: A Declaration of Sustainability (Paperback)
When I first tried to read this book, I didn't even get past the first chapter. But when I picked it up again almost a year later, I absorbed it like a sponge. Even when I interviewed the president of a sustainable business for my website, SustainableWays.com, I found that the same thing happened to him. The fact of the matter is, this is an excellent book, but it's also somewhat of a pragmatic call to arms. It wasn't till I'd explored and developed my ideas about the environment and resolved to do something about it that I could fully appreciate this book. For someone who's still exploring their position on these issues, Paul Hawken's prescriptions for action will probably seem irrelevant and premature. But if your ideas are ripe and you're ready to put them to work, The Ecology of Commerce is an invaluable resource.

Before I read this book, I used to think that business and the environment were inherently at odds. But then I realized that this doesn't have to be the case. According to Hawken, the problem lies in our economic system's design, and no amount of management or programs is going to change that. In order to make things better, we're going to have to rethink our economic structure, and in that possibility is where Mr. Hawken finds hope. As he so eloquently put it:

"To create an enduring society, we will need a system of commerce and production where each and every act is inherently sustainable and restorative...Just as every action in an industrial society leads to environmental degradation, regardless of intention, we must design a system where the opposite is true, where doing good is like falling off a log, where the natural, everyday acts of work and life accumulate into a better world as a matter of course, not as a matter of conscious altruism." (Hawken, p. xiv)

The Ecology of Commerce is dedicated to envisioning such a system, and discussing how we can get from here to there. The restorative economy contemplated by Hawken may seem like a long shot, but he demonstrates that it IS possible because his approach is to work WITH natural processes, not against them. That not only includes those processes existing in ecosystems, but also the ones present in ourselves, like our unique ability to innovate. You see, what makes these ideas inspiringly hopeful, and what I love most about this book, is the author's willingness not just to acknowledge the way things really are, but also to use them to our advantage. For example, he's smart enough to know that any system, program, or law that asks people to sacrifice happiness, comfort, or convenience ISN'T sustainable because ultimately, it just won't work. "Humans want to flourish and prosper," he explains, "and they will eventually reject any system of conservation that interferes with these desires...[A sustainable society] will only come about through the accumulated effects of daily acts of billions of eager participants" (Hawken, p. xv).

This is the kind of book I'd encourage you to buy if you are even remotely concerned about the state of our environment, which is intimately tangled with our own. On a personal level, it's one of the most motivating books I've ever read--in fact, its concepts form the foundation for my website, SustainableWays.com. My copy is now riddled with highlighter marks, astericks, and dog ears. It's just one of those books you come back to again and again and again, every time learning something new.

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5.0 out of 5 stars encourage everyone to give it a read if you want to change your environmental outlook, April 10 2012
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This review is from: The Ecology of Commerce: A Declaration of Sustainability (Paperback)
I have yet to finish the book but it has been a fantastic read thus far. I heard about it on a documentary called The Corporation... give this documentary a watch it is free. And it will change your outlook on the future and give you a stead fast warning on how to change our methodoloy and the issues our globe faces each day we continue to pollute.

[...]
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book - Challenges you to think differently, July 9 2009
This review is from: The Ecology of Commerce: A Declaration of Sustainability (Paperback)
I really enjoyed this book. As someone with two business degrees, you get used to hearing a fairly narrow perspective on the economy, the environment, and the way businesses are meant to operate. I was initially drawn to the book by a documentary in which the CEO of a rather large organization talked about how it had impacted his life. On reading it, I found that it challenged me to think differently about the way that I live and the way that I think about the role of businesses in modern society. Overall, it was quite an impactful book and I'd recommend it to others.
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