Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution

This book is part of SME's Lean Gold Certification book package.

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 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 is possible to keep the people who will foster the innovation that drives future improvement.