Natural capitalism is a set of trends and economic reforms to reward energy and material efficiency - and remove professional standards and accounting conventions that prevent such efficiencies. It emerged in the 1990s as a coherent theory of how to exploit market systems and mechanisms of neoclassical economics to save energy, discourage waste, mimic ecology (biomimicry), and in general to support the goals of environmentalism by reframing commodity and product relations as a strictly service economy - extending the services of natural capital. The 1990s decade refers to the years from 1990 to 1999, inclusive, the last decade of the 20th Century. ... Neoclassical economics refers to a general approach (a metatheory) to economics based on supply and demand which depends on individuals (or any economic agent) operating rationally, each seeking to maximize their individual utility or profit by making choices based on available information. ... (Ecology is sometimes used incorrectly as a synonym for the natural environment or environmentalism. ... Biomimicry (also biomimickry) is the conscious copying of examples and mechanisms from natural organisms and ecologies. ... Environmentalism is the support or involvement with the environmental movement by environmentalists. ... Service economy can refer to one or both of two recent economic developments. ... Natural capital is a metaphor for the mineral, plant, and animal formations of the Earths biosphere when viewed as a means of production of oxygen, water filter, erosion preventer, or provider of other natural services. ...

When capitalized as Natural Capitalism, the term usually refers to the specific set of reforms described in 1999 by Paul Hawken, Amory Lovins, and Hunter Lovins in the book of the same name. There is a well-developed theory of natural capital that predates this work, and some generic use of the phrase to apply to environmental economics. The book and additional material are available online at the book's promotion site: http://www.natcap.org/ 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... I dont like that damn Paulie Hawken. ... Amory Bloch Lovins (born November 13, 1947 in Washington, DC) was trained in physics and has worked professionally as an environmentalist. ... L. Hunter Lovins is the founder of Natural Capitalism, Inc. ... Natural capital is a metaphor for the mineral, plant, and animal formations of the Earths biosphere when viewed as a means of production of oxygen, water filter, erosion preventer, or provider of other natural services. ... Environmental economics is a subfield of economics concerned with environmental issues (other usages of the term are not uncommon). ...

A related, sometimes overlapping movement believes that networks are inefficient ways to provide services, and advocates autonomous buildings. An autonomous building is a building designed to be operated independently from infrastructual support services such as the electric power power grid, municipal water systems, sewage treatment systems, storm drains, communication services, and (in some cases) public roads. ...

External links

• Natural Capitalism - Mother Jones article on book of the same title by Paul Hawken
• NaturalCapitalism.org - Published by The Rocky Mountain Institute
• A Roadmap to Natural Capitalism - from The Harvard Business Review