ABSTRACT
Chapter 3 begins the exploration of the narrative supporting a sustainable society by introducing an economic model known as Natural Capitalism. This model is constituted of four principles that operate as constraints on economic systems that effectively make system sustainability rigorous and operational. The model emphasizes maximization of resource utilization (maximizing the functional use we get from every bit of resource used); the elimination of waste (a closed-loop economy that reconceives waste as the input to some other system or purpose); a new business model that replaces consumption of goods with consumption of services (which has the effect of aligning the interests of consumers and service providers and aligns the interests of both with genuine sustainability) and the restoration of natural capital (intervening to reverse environmental degradation and restore the extent and functional capacity of nature).
Chapter 3 concludes by considering what may be the fullest implementation of the principles and spirit of Natural Capitalism. Assessed in relation to our definition of sustainability from Chapter 2, we establish that this business is an existential proof that Natural Capitalism is genuinely sustainable and, thus, an existential proof of the claim that we can achieve sustainability without abandoning Capitalism as such.
