November Book: Toronto Ladies Sustainability Book Club - Natural Capitalism

October's book is an oldie but a goodie. This book covers key concepts in sustainability and the "value" of nature that are getting a lot of airtime again today.

Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution (1999) by Paul Hawken, Amory Lovins, and L. Hunter Lovins proposes a new economic model that treats natural resources as valuable capital rather than free goods to be consumed.

The authors argue for four key strategies: dramatically increasing resource productivity, shifting to biologically-inspired closed-loop production systems, moving from selling products to selling services, and reinvesting in natural capital to restore ecosystems.

They demonstrate how companies can increase profits while reducing environmental impact through examples like Interface Inc.'s Mission Zero and innovative approaches like leasing carpets instead of selling them. The book shows that environmental sustainability and economic prosperity can be mutually reinforcing rather than competing goals. Natural Capitalism became influential in corporate sustainability circles by proving that "doing well by doing good" isn't just idealistic rhetoric but practical business strategy.

Other pre-reading/reading **Cradle to Cradle: I highly recommend that anyone attending the book club also read or start reading Cradle to Cradle. We often discuss lifecycle analysis and other impacts of changes in our personal life on the environment and society and this book gives a helpful foundation for thinking about these changes.