NATURAL CAPITALISM

The text examines the ideological divide in environmental debates and proposes 'natural capitalism' as a synthesis that integrates economic viability with ecological health. It argues that businesses must shift from incremental improvements to systemic innovations in resource productivity to avoid catastrophic environmental failures. The author highlights a growing global movement of organizations and a shift in corporate strategy—exemplified by companies like OK Petroleum—that view environmental sustainability as a competitive advantage rather than a regulatory burden. Ultimately, it calls for a fundamental reevaluation of how society values natural and social capital to ensure long-term stability.

• Environmental debates are often trapped in a cycle of compartmentalized issues and conflicting worldviews—categorized as 'Blues' (free-marketers), 'Reds' (socialists), 'Greens' (ecosystem-focused), and 'Whites' (synthesists)—which prevents the development of shared frameworks for solutions.
• The concept of 'overshoot' explains how humanity can achieve temporary improvements in standards of living and life expectancy while simultaneously causing a decline in natural capital.
• Human impact on the planet has reached an unprecedented scale, with material flows exceeding natural planetary flows; for example, lead is introduced into the environment at over 300 times the natural dissipation rate, and atmospheric CO2 is at its highest level in 420,000 years.
• Natural capitalism requires a shift from incremental technological improvements to 'economic discontinuities' where businesses leapfrog existing technologies, such as moving beyond the internal combustion engine.
• Some forward-thinking companies are actively lobbying for stricter environmental regulations, such as carbon taxes, to create competitive advantages for clean energy and resource-productive firms over laggards.
• Transitioning to a natural capitalism model requires reversing two centuries of policies that encouraged extraction and disposal, and reforming financial systems so that natural and social capital are included on balance sheets.
• A vast, largely uncoordinated global movement of tens of thousands of organizations is emerging to establish a shared 'operating manual' for the planet based on sustainability and whole-system thinking.

APA

RMI (n.d.). NATURAL CAPITALISM. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_NCchapter15.pdf

Chicago

RMI. NATURAL CAPITALISM. n.d. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_NCchapter15.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=NATURAL CAPITALISM |url=https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_NCchapter15.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmindnatural, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{NATURAL CAPITALISM}}, institution = {RMI}, url = {https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2017/05/RMI_Document_Repository_Public-Reprts_NCchapter15.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }