Inside the Book Resource Revolution

The document describes a shift from the first Industrial Revolution's focus on labor productivity to a new 'Resource Revolution' focused on decoupling economic growth from resource consumption. It details five key strategies—substitution, optimization, virtualization, circularity, and waste elimination—supported by examples from companies such as Tesla, UPS, and Nest Labs, to create a mutually supportive relationship between business and the environment.

• The 'Resource Revolution' proposes that companies can dramatically improve resource productivity through five specific approaches: substitution, optimization, virtualization, circularity, and waste elimination.
• Substitution involves replacing materials with higher-performing, less expensive, or less scarce alternatives; for instance, using carbon fiber in automotive manufacturing can reduce investment by 80 percent compared to steel-based vehicles.
• Optimization focuses on increasing the productivity of natural resources like energy and water through technology and design. Examples include UPS reducing fuel consumption by avoiding left turns and OPower using behavioral science to lower consumer energy use by two to four percent annually.
• Virtualization shifts processes from the physical world to digital platforms or automated services. Examples include Nest Labs transforming the thermostat into a digital platform for energy and security services, and telecommuting replacing physical travel with digital connectivity.
• Circularity and waste elimination aim for closed-loop systems where waste is designed out of the process. Tesla implements this by recycling battery packs to recapture cobalt and lithium, while 3-D printing reduces waste by using material only where needed.
• The document notes a significant global inefficiency in material use, stating that of the nearly half trillion tons of material processed worldwide annually, only 1 percent ends up in durable products, while 99 percent is waste.

APA

RMI (2014). Inside the Book Resource Revolution. https://rmi.org/resources/inside-book-resource-revolution/

Chicago

RMI. Inside the Book Resource Revolution. 2014. https://rmi.org/resources/inside-book-resource-revolution/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=Inside the Book Resource Revolution |date=3 June 2014 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/inside-book-resource-revolution/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmi2014inside, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{Inside the Book Resource Revolution}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2014}, month = jun, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/inside-book-resource-revolution/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }