It is a design manifesto to save the biosphere. The popular environmental slogan of the last century—Reduce, Reuse and Recycle—is no longer useful as a strategy. Being eco-efficient is no longer viable; rather eco-effectiveness is what we should be striving for in any development. Our present system of design needs to be changed. Instead of wasting nearly all of the raw materials that go into a product design, we should be cognizant of what Braungart calls the biological and technical nutrients that comprise the manufacture of any new product. If we plan what goes into a product, we don’t have to be concerned with how to dispose of it or how to protect ourselves from its toxicity later when it is no longer useful.

McDonough and Braungart want to eliminate the cradle to grave syndrome that everything in our society suffers from presently, and replace it with a cradle-to-cradle system. Just like in the natural world where nothing goes to waste, every component is useful as a nutrient for something else. The authors call for a second Industrial Revolution to redesign everything in this manner, but if the Industrial Revolution gave us the current set of problems why, even in name only, would we want a second one? McDonough utilizes language quite effectively, and this book is filled with a very descriptive nomenclature to describe various elements of the concept. We need more of this kind of informed terminology to help begin the transition toward a new, wiser design methodology.

Buy now: Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things
By William McDonough and Michael Braungart
We Make Things © 2002
North Point Press, 193 pages

The most recent thinking on the evolution of homo sapiens is that we shared the planet with as many as 15 to 20 other hominid species for four million years. This is in contrast to the single line evolution theory that was gospel. Until recently, scientists had believed that there wasn’t enough ecological space on earth for more than one culture-bearing species, so they postulated that the species could only have come down through one line. While the evolutionary pathway portion of the theory has been proven wrong, the space aspect of the theory still appears to be quite valid.

Buy from Amazon: You Can’t Eat Gnp: Economics As If Ecology Mattered (Merloyd Lawrence Book)

Concerning the well-being of ecological space, the essential thought of Eric A. Davidson’s recent book, You Can’t Eat GNP: Economics as if Ecology Mattered, is just that—we can’t eat GNP. Davidson is a senior scientist at the Woods Hole Research Center and the value of his recent book lies in his explanation of economics, cost benefit analysis and discounting, and how these tools don’t work well when evaluating natural resources. This book covers some well-cultivated ground, but it serves as a good primer for the topic because it is written in an accessible, concise style. Its short length, 216 pages, makes it the prefect companion for your next business flight.

If we understand that all our wealth ultimately emanates from the natural world—the soil, the air, the water, the forests and the oceans, then it becomes apparent that our current system of economics is not serving the environment very well. Davidson tells the story of one economist who “argued that we need not worry much about the effects of global warming on the economy, because the only sector of the economy that he considered strongly influenced by the climate is agriculture, which contributes only three percent of the United States’ GNP. This view of how the world works seems to suggest that if the crops fail, the people could eat the 97 percent of the GNP
that remains.”

It seems that a change is slowly occurring in the discussion of the environment, and I’m glad to see scientists like Davidson entering the arena. He states that the problem with moral arguments is that you either accept them or reject them. Although it is apparent that he has bought in to the concept of saving the environment as a moral argument, the author also proposes that we begin to make our decisions on rational criteria that are based on the true value of the environment. However, I wish he would have gone one step further and talked about the need for and application of measurement techniques for the entire ecological debate.

The need persists for the formulation of metrics, a set of standard measurements that are understood by everyone so that the natural world comes to be properly valued. We generally discount the future value of nature so that it is never worth more than at the present moment. Its future value isn’t worth as much to future generations as it is to us today. Davidson writes, “Our current system values the growth of gross national product over conservation of essential natural resources, and it falsely separates the economic system from the ecological system upon which our well-being depends.”

When the author goes in search of sustainability he discusses the differences between the cowboy economy and the spaceship economy. The cowboy economy describes our country when there were very few people and a lot of open space. It did not matter how many resources were used or how much trash was created because the ecological space was much larger than the economic activities and it could absorb any localized detrimental effects. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the spaceship economy understands that economic activity has a critical impact on our natural limited biological life
support system.

The issues of sustainability and equality have become inextricably linked. Architect William McDonough has often said that the issue of over-population will be resolved when women achieve true equality. I would take that thought one step further and say it will happen when all species are equally valued. Davidson offers eight suggestions, most of which depend upon government to institute, that would begin to address the sustainability issue.

We can no longer be cowboys and future population growth will dictate that we recycle everything and waste nothing. In fact, the author states, “If the increasingly difficult challenges of consuming nonsubstitutable resources, providing food and disposing of garbage for a rapidly expanding population leaves us and future generations with fewer options and more problems to resolve—then we already have too many people on the earth.”

It is interesting that in the 25,000 years since we have emerged as the sole survivors of all the hominid species that once existed, we have always thought there were no limits on either our activities or on our numbers. Can the earth continue to support us? Now that there are six billion of us and resources are dwindling, Davidson’s book reminds us that we will have to redirect our economies to reflect the true basis of our prosperity. He is convinced we can continue our culture if we begin to make the necessary adjustments to the way we go about our business. The author even recommends that you lend this book to someone so that its ideas can go beyond preaching to the choir. So lend it to someone who usually does not read scientific, economic or environmental books.

Buy from Amazon: You Can’t Eat Gnp: Economics As If Ecology Mattered (Merloyd Lawrence Book)

From green@work magazine archives.

Self-sufficiency in Britain was abandoned in the early 1980s. Now 90% of fresh fruit is imported - Photo source flickr duncande150

Experts estimate that close to half of the human impact on the environment is directly or indirectly related to food production and consumption.

This I pulled from the back cover of a book called “System Innovation for Sustainability 3“, case studies in sustainable consumption and production – food and agriculture. At first glance the book looks like a text book, something that will help me get to sleep quickly. The cover and title seem boring. But once inside I found many interesting and worthwhile reasons to recommend this to others.

System Innovation for Sustainability 3

Sustainability issues are now clearly on the agenda for food producers and market actors, politicians and regulators, as well as being increasingly important in the decisions consumers make about food. A large number and variety of efforts to stimulate sustainability have been instigated and numerous studies, research programmes and publications have addressed such issues. Agri-food issues have also been prominent in the evolving definition of what sustainability means.

This book focuses largely on providing answers to the question of how food production and consumption systems can stay within the limits of the carrying capacity of our natural environment. But it also considers the challenges of food security and nutrition in the context of sustainability and a growing world population.

Case studies by chapter number

3. Facilitating a more sustainable food and farming sector in the UK
Paul Dewick and Chris Foster, Manchester Institute of Innovation Research, UK, and Steve Webster, Delta-innovation Ltd, UK

4. Self-sufficiency or localisation? Sustainability and ambiguity in Britain’s food policy
Tim Cooper, Nottingham Trent University, UK

5. Transition towards sustainable consumption and production? The case of organic food in Denmark
Michael Søgaard Jørgensen, DTU Management Engineering, Technical University of Denmark

In Sweden John Higson started the farmers market concept in 2000 following the examples found in the UK and USA - Photo source flickr nataliemaynor

6. Socioeconomic aspects of farmers’ markets in Sweden
Helen Nilsson and Oksana Mont, International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics, Lund University, Sweden

7. Open Garden: a local organic producer–consumer network in Hungary, going through various levels of system innovation
Edina Vadovics, Central European University, Department of Environmental Sciences and Policy, Hungary, and Matthew Hayes, Institute for Environmental Management, Szent István University and Nyitott Kert Alapitvány (Open Garden Foundation), Hungary

A movement that started in Italy in the 1980s. Slow Food: counteracting fast food and fast living - Photo source flickr slowlysheturned

8. Slow food: counteracting fast food and fast living
Ingrid Kjørstad, National Institute for Consumer Research (SIFO), Norway

9. Sambazon: creating environmental and social value through marketing the açai berry; sustainable agro-forestry practices in the Brazilian Amazon
Burcu Tunçer and Patrick Schroeder, UNEP/Wuppertal Institute Centre for Sustainable Consumption and Production (CSCP), Germany

10. Fairtrade Max Havelaar Norway: the Norwegian labelling organisation for fair trade
Ingri Osmundsvåg, National Institute for Consumer Research (SIFO), Norway

11. Verified sustainable agriculture: a practical experience and a significant contribution to sustainable consumption and production
Chris Wille and Joke Aerts, Rainforest Alliance, and Bernward Geier, Colabora

12. Life events as turning points for sustainable nutrition
Martina Schäfer and Adina Herde, Technische Universität Berlin, Germany, and Cordula Kropp, University of Applied Sciences, Germany

Go to greenleaf-publishing.com to buy this book at a 20% discount.

Gil Friend

The Truth About series, is a comprehensive guidebook for executives and professionals wanting to set pro-active priorities for all aspects of their business, including operations, marketing, design, finance, and management, with triple bottom line focus.

Authored by Gil Friend, a pioneer of the “green business” trend since the 1970s, the book helps readers to work toward the ultimate business goal for the 21st century: making money while making sense –- by combining astute business and environmental choices.

The Truth About Green Business

* The Truth About Green Business offers 52 proven “green” strategies and bite-size, easy-to-use techniques that get results.
* The book is filled with numerous real-world examples of green innovation from leading companies such as Wal-Mart, Patagonia, IKEA, and Hewlett-Packard.
* The Truth About Green Business was printed on paper made with 30% post-consumer recycled fiber.
* The suggested retail price for the book is $18.99 U.S.

“In a world where green business advice is rampant, this is the one resource you need: a field guide that combines insight and inspiration with a solid, actionable path forward.” — Joel Makower, Executive Editor, GreenBiz.com

About the Author

Gil Friend is Founder, President and CEO of Natural Logic, Inc., which consults on strategy, design, operations and information systems to help clients build economic advantage through superior environmental performance. His clients have included General Mills, Green Mountain Energy, Hewlett-Packard, Levi Strauss & Co., Nike, Pacific Gas & Electric, Sun Microsystems, and Williams-Sonoma. He is a founding board member of the Sustainable Business Alliance, Sustainable Berkeley, and the California Sustainable Business Council. Friend co-founded and co-directed the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, where he pioneered the now popular “green roof” trend 35 years ago. He lectures widely on business strategy and environmental policy.

The Truth About series offers in each book the collected and distilled knowledge on a topic and shows readers how to use this knowledge in their daily lives. With an “aha” on every page, information is presented in a clear, accessible, and easily referenced style.

The Truth About Green Business – Purchase Online