Book Review: The Ecology of Commerce

Book Title: The Ecology of Commerce: A Declaration of Sustainability (Revised Edition)

Author: Paul Hawken

ISBN: 978-0061252792

Last week I received a recommendation to read this book, originally published in 1993. Eighteen years later, this book contains a timeless message that is even more urgent in today's world. I finished the 2010 revised edition yesterday, and I highly recommend it.

The Ecology of Commerce is both a condemnation of our society's unsustainable trajectory and a call for the business and industrial world to lead us toward a truly sustainable path.  As the author states, "If this book has one purpose, it is to imagine and describe how businesses can act in ways that are restorative to society and the environment."

Through his "Take, Make, Waste" classification of industry functions, Hawken clearly explains how the industrial revolution started us on a path of rapid exploitation of finite resources and the world's inability to absorb all the toxins that we are dumping into the environment. With regards to the fundamental decline in biological development that we've failed to comprehend, Hawken states "recycling aluminum cans in the cafeteria and ceremonial tree plantings are as effective as bailing out the Titanic with teacups."  In the telling of the true story of the reindeer on St. Matthew Island, Hawken provides a wonderful metaphor of the potential tragic effects of an unsustainable path.

These are messages many of us have heard before and are eloquently communicated in this book. The apparent incompatibility of business and ecological goals are acknowledged by the author - "Business believes that if it does not continue to grow, it will harm itself. Ecologists believe that if business continues its unabated expansion, it will destroy the world around it." But Hawken rejects that notion of incompatibility and puts forth an intriguing argument for a path to sustainability with business leading the way toward a "restorative economy" where production and distribution processes are transformed to mimic cyclical systems found in nature. He summarizes this concept well - "Rather than argue about where to put our wastes, who will pay for it, and how long it will be before toxins leak into the groundwater, we should be trying to design systems that are elegantly imitative of ecosystems found in nature. Companies must re-envision and reimagine themselves as cyclical corporations whose products either literally disappear into harmless components or are so specific and targeted to a specific function that there is no spillover effect, no waste, no random molecules dancing in the cells of wildlife. In short, no forms of life must be adversely affected."

The author outlines a three-part approach to becoming more sustainable: 1) Eliminate waste (entirely) from industrial production, 2) Change from an economy based on carbon fuels to one based on current sunshine (e.g. photovoltaics, solar thermal, wind, waves), and 3) Create a system of accountability and response that support and strengthen restorative behavior.

On the policy front, Hawken argues that our current "market system" is somewhat backwards in that it can reward the businesses who have the greatest externalities in its business model. He outlines some policies that we might enact to account for some of these externalities and reflect a more accurate market economy. For example, the government could enact a carbon tax that is equally offset by the repeal of payroll taxes. That makes it cheaper for companies to hire employees, puts more money in employees pockets, and provides a clear incentive for companies to lower their tax bill by reducing their use of carbon-based fuels. This is something that both sides of the political spectrum could embrace because it helps the environment without a net increase in taxes, promotes job-creation, and could actually lower taxes over time as companies switch to renewable fuels.  Other examples are equally compelling, such as fertilizer & pesticide taxes offset by reduced income taxes and farm subsidies; a gas tax as a form of "pay-at-the-pump" auto insurance; wildlife and traffic congestion utilities; UN weapons tax; and others.

In summary, the Ecology of Commerce is a great read for both novices and subject matter experts of industrial ecology. It is well written, well organized, and contains great ideas for which industry leaders and policy makers can embrace and take action.