ABSTRACT
All models for sustainable business practice have borrowed their inspiration from nature. In this chapter we ask how valid their biological basis is. Many of the models are based on ecological studies from the last century, yet our understanding of ecosystem functioning has altered significantly since then. This chapter will provide students with an understanding of the biological context of sustainable thinking, allowing a critical assessment of the use of biology as an analogy, a model and a blueprint for sustainable economic practice. We demonstrate how our understanding of nature has changed dramatically over the last 40 years, yet this new understanding has not been incorporated into sustainability models. Thus, all current models are based on outdated and incorrect theory. We examine how new theory differs from the old ecology, and what differences this makes to models of sustainable economics.
