book data
197 ratings, 4.23 average rating, 33 reviews
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published
August 3rd 1994
by Collins
binding
Paperback, 272 pages
isbn
0887307043
(isbn13: 9780887307041)
description
Paul Hawken, the entrepreneur behind the Smith & Hawken gardening supplies empire, is no ordinary capitalist. Drawing as much on Baba Ram Dass and...more
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 397)
Read in December, 2007
Paul Hawken states:
If capitalism has one pervasive untruth, it is the delusion that business is an open, linear system: that through resource extraction and technology, growth is always possible, given sufficient capital and will (p. 32).
If this book has one main purpose, it is to imagine and describe the ways business can act that are restorative to society and the environment. Restoration is not a business term. But then, neither is degradation (p. 58).
Mr. Hawken not only allows...more
If capitalism has one pervasive untruth, it is the delusion that business is an open, linear system: that through resource extraction and technology, growth is always possible, given sufficient capital and will (p. 32).
If this book has one main purpose, it is to imagine and describe the ways business can act that are restorative to society and the environment. Restoration is not a business term. But then, neither is degradation (p. 58).
Mr. Hawken not only allows...more
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Read in January, 2003
recommends it for:
Joshua Frank
Here's a short synopsis of a very meaty book:
This was probably the most influential books that informed my basic understanding of what is wrong with the way we do business with capitalism. Hawken draws a comparison between the natural world: where everything that dies become food for something smaller; and the way of business, where materials are created in a linear fashion and end up clogging our landfills. This book is real eye opener - but a blueprint for why organic food SHOULD cost le...more
This was probably the most influential books that informed my basic understanding of what is wrong with the way we do business with capitalism. Hawken draws a comparison between the natural world: where everything that dies become food for something smaller; and the way of business, where materials are created in a linear fashion and end up clogging our landfills. This book is real eye opener - but a blueprint for why organic food SHOULD cost le...more
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Read in May, 2008
If it weren't for the overly businesslike writing style of this book, I would have probably really enjoyed it. I don't consider myself a "dummy" at all, but I think I would have prefered a "...for dummies" version of this particular book.
The author makes some good points about how business & society in general needs to make more fundamental changes in order to right the environmental situation we face.... & that minor efforts (recycling, hybrid cars, etc) are not...more
The author makes some good points about how business & society in general needs to make more fundamental changes in order to right the environmental situation we face.... & that minor efforts (recycling, hybrid cars, etc) are not...more
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Just through the first twenty pages so far. And already the Author has intelligently provide a general synopsis of what will be yet to come throughout the rest of the book. In discussing the impact of corporate America's effect on the evnironment Hawken describes through basic issues that corporations face: what it takes, waht it make and what it wastes. Coprorations take alot more from the environemnt than they give back, what they make is more harful to the environemnt than ever and its waste...more
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Read in July, 1997
Everything you need to know about sustainable business models but are afraid to ask. Really great read. It actually left me a little optimistic, strangely enough, just to know that sustainability is possible. Hawken argues that businesses should mimic ecosystems, right down to every last detail. i.e, waste equals food, all costs factored into the bookkeeping, including, especially, environmental costs. He actually argues convincingly that this not only makes for a more "eco-conscious&q...more
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Read in May, 2007
recommends it for:
anyone interested in business, economics and environmentalism
This book opened my eyes to the necessity of changing the global economy to reflect true cost and human reality. Well-written and full of practical and achievable goals, this book really brings the idealogical debate over environmentalism down to earth. Hawken effectively demonstrates that not only can capitalism be re-invented, but that it MUST be reinvented. He makes the case for businesses to pave the way to a renewable future, and we would do well to listen. Corporations and the drive to pro...more
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Read in June, 2007
The Ecology of Commerce is often billed as one of the breakthrough books regarding business models, growth, and environment in the 1990s. That said, it is such a pain in the butt just to slough through the writing that it's hard to understand what the author is talking about. It's not that his prose is overly jargonistic or technical -- instead, he meanders a lot and spends a good portion of the book explaining why this topic is necessary. All that said, I think it's useful to read when t...more
Read in September, 2007
This was probably an important book at the time, but it's pretty outdated now. Although his ideas can be thought-provoking, they are not well-developed -- it devolves at times into a kind of rambling discourse on big, bad corporations and consumer culture. That's what you get for being a pioneer, I suppose -- the field (industrial ecology, green business, sustainability, whatever you want to call it) has come a long way since then, and there are much better introductions and calls to action ou...more
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3 comments
Read in January, 2006
This is a great book that follows the consumption of goods in our society and the overall impact from the externalized costs to the way almost all commerce has a global impact.
A great read especially in these times. A good video I saw recently that would compliment this is at www.thestoryofstuff.com - check it out!
A great read especially in these times. A good video I saw recently that would compliment this is at www.thestoryofstuff.com - check it out!
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Has a copy to sell/swap
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Read in May, 2008
This book is referenced all the time in the environment/business discussion, so I thought I should read it. It is good, but... at 15 years old it feels outdated. If you've seen the Corporation, or other similar films, you've already gotten most of the arguments already.
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recommends it for:
everyone
Scientifically comprehensive and poetically written. Kind of like the bible.
Highly recommend. Paul Hawken is prophetic in his approach to ecology and creating an industry that mimics the cycle of nature instead of going against it.
Highly recommend. Paul Hawken is prophetic in his approach to ecology and creating an industry that mimics the cycle of nature instead of going against it.
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Read in August, 2007
still working on this one. it's not really that heavy, but it's implications are. i find myself a little glum after just a few pages, but i know it lightens up once the problem is outlined. it does make recycling my soda can obsolete though.
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I'm almost done with this one ... a wonderful explanation of how modern business got us into this environmental mess along with a practical blueprint for getting out of it. I highly recommend this to every person on the planet.
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the point: we are generating exponential waste in a finite world. it can't go on. and it won't. so we best start doing something about it. it proposes a real way to have capitalism and a sustainable future at the same time.
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Read in January, 2008
this book was extremely relevant and very inspiring. the title doesn't sound too much like a page turner, but it was for me. this topic, of sustainability, environment, and business, is very important. please read!
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An amazing redefinition of business in the 20th century. Sustainable business is the key subject area along with incredible insights into contemporary examples of sustainable practices.
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Read in January, 2007
Hawkins understands the great danger our world is under as we rape and pillage the earth. He also understands business and has a reasoned practical approach to "saving the planet."
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Read in May, 2007
recommends it for:
businesspeople and environmentalists
Interesting (and reasonable) theories on how the economy can be changed and improved upon in order to ensure the environment is protected and maintained. Its depressing yet optimistic.
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Read in July, 2008
i couldn't get through this, there's more interesting things to read when i'm reading for fun, since i have such dry reading when i'm working on my masters.
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Read in May, 2007
Moving writing on the ecology of the world and how we interact in it. Thought leading book in the 90s that still is amoung the most relevant today.
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