The world has changed in the seventeen years since the controversial initial publication of Paul Hawkens Ecology of Commerce, a stirring treatise about the perceived antagonism between ecology and business. Yet Hawkens impassioned argumentthat business both causes the most egregious abuses of the environment and, crucially, holds the most potential for solving our sustainability problemsis 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: 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.
17 years after its original release, Paul Hawken's The Ecology of Commerce Revised Edition: A Declaration of Sustainability comes around at a most important time. While the world today is admittedly different from the text's original release date in 1993, the message is still (if not more) resonant. The text calls for businesses to work towards increased sustainability and decreased abuses of the environment as a shortcut to economic gains.
Complete with a new introduction and up to date statistics, The Ecology of Commerce continues the mission Hawken started 17 years ago in the hopes that, with a whole new audience of readers, his vision can move closer to being achieved.
