Books That Shook the Business World: The Ecology of Commerce by Paul Hawken

Paul Hawken’s The Ecology of Commerce is reviewed by Professor Denise Baden, Professor of Sustainable Business at the University of Southampton.

Business and economics books have influenced business managers, CEOs and, in some cases, entire political economies. But they have also propelled us forward blindly at an ever-increasing pace towards ecological destruction.

The Ecology of Commerce by Paul Hawken tips the scales the other way. The environmentalist and entrepreneur joins the dots between our production and consumption activities and the destruction of the natural environment that enables them. I chose it partly because its influence on CEOs of large corporations is well documented, but also because of a personal connection.

The Ecology of Commerce was originally published in 1993, and a revised edition was published by Harper Business in 2010. Its easy-to-read and non-judgemental style makes it accessible to business students and managers.

Hawken sets out the facts about our planet, the climate and the precious ecosystems that every human activity depends upon, whether we realise it or not. He also shows how business-as-usual is destroying the very foundation of our success. Then, and most importantly, he suggests ways we can turn this around and make business part of the solution and not part of the problem.

Welcome to our new series on key titles that have helped shape business and the economy – as suggested by Conversation writers. We have avoided the Marxes and Smiths, since you’ll know plenty about them already. The series covers everything from demographics to cutting-edge tech, so stand by for some ideal holiday reading.

The take-home points are that the “make money and waste” mode of business, which places no value on the environmental costs of production, is leading to the destruction of our planet. Hawken promotes the idea of regenerative business and advocates mimicking nature by adopting circular economy principles, whereby all energy is renewable energy and waste can be reused.

He also suggests we use the power of the market to internalise environmental costs of production. While he suggests we make use of market dynamics, he is against unbridled capitalism. In the recent UK election, economic growth was the mantra across all main parties. Hawken was one of the first of a growing cohort of scientists and academics to point out, in the first chapter, the unpalatable truth that ever-increasing growth on a finite system will destroy its host.

A spear to the heart

Ray Anderson, the CEO of Interface, a multinational carpet company, read the book when it first came out and proclaimed it to be a “spear to the heart”. Following his epiphany, Anderson was one of the first to adopt a net zero strategy, building sustainability and zero waste into every aspect of the business.

Anderson went on to write his own book, Mid-Course Correction (1999), which in turn influenced many others. It was certainly a book I included on the reading list for my sustainable business module. Another famous convert is Rick Fedrizzi, who quit his executive position at UTC’s air conditioning company Carrier Corporation to found the US Green Building Council.

Not every convert is a famous CEO. Kevin Bryan, from Southampton UK, saw Hawken speak at an event in London back in the 1990s and was inspired to do what he could to make a difference. Bryan was a co-supervisor to TV presenter and nature champion Chris Packham at the University of Southampton, where they shared their concern about nature’s destruction.

He set up a green garden consultancy in 2019 and I was one of his first clients. His frustration that, as one person, he could only rewild a few gardens inspired me to write the eco-themed rom com Habitat Man. Like Bryan, the protagonist retires early to help people make their gardens wildlife friendly, except in the fictional version he falls in love and digs up a body.

Research I conducted on 50 readers of Habitat Man showed that almost all had adopted at least one green alternative one month after reading the book, for example by choosing pollinator-friendly plants, home composting and avoiding pesticides. Several, inspired by a natural burial scene, even changed their will to ensure a natural burial.

The big changes never happened

The Ecology of Commerce sets out what we need to do, and there’s no way we can know how many others it inspired. However, sadly, the big changes needed on a governmental level have not yet happened. For example, Hawken advocates Pigovian taxes that tax the producer of harmful externalities, such as pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, to incentivise more environmentally-friendly practices.

This isn’t something governments have chosen to do in any significant way, possibly due to business lobbying. “Green taxes” can also be politically dangerous if costs are passed downstream, and are often retracted after strikes.

Another proposal is to ration what is scarce (carbon) and allocate personal carbon allowances, also known as personal carbon trading. This is a more egalitarian solution and would drive innovation into low-carbon products and services. But such concepts are also politically hazardous.

Like Hawken, I write books to raise awareness of the solutions that will work. Unlike him, I write them as fiction to reach a wider audience.

I’m hoping my upcoming book, also adapted as a play, Murder in the Climate Assembly, will raise awareness of solutions politicians don’t talk about, such as citizens’ assemblies. These assembles would be better able to think long term and avoid vested interests than governments tied to electoral cycles and businesses driven by quarterly earnings.

I await with anticipation Hawken’s next book, Carbon: the Book of Life, coming early 2025. The book draws on indigenous worldviews that see humankind as part of nature and the carbon cycle, not separate from it. What that means for business and economics, I look forward to finding out.

Denise Baden is a member of the Green Party