Natural Capitalism

Creating Business Value with Environmental Values

Noam Gressel

Natural Capitalism

Natural Capitalism - outline

� Driving Forces

� Theory & Toolbox

� Examples

� Simulation & Discussion

Natural Capitalism

Assif-Strategies – in a nutshell

Mission

Creating business value with environmental values

Founded: 2001 Employees: 11

Activities

� Strategic Environmental Consulting

� Environmental Analysis Tools

� Integrated Carbon Services

� Cleantech Initiatives

Natural Capitalism

Select Client List

Industry Financial , Retail& Services

Energy, Transport & Infrastructure

Government& Nonprofit

Hollandia

Natural Capitalism

Global Driving Forces

� Resource Limitations & Energy Dependence

� Environmental Damage

� Accumulating Knowledge

� Increasing Awareness & Consumer Choices

� Trend-Setting Regulation

� Life-Cycle (strategic) Cost of Fossil Fuels

� Venture Capital & Private Equity Investment

Natural Capitalism

Driving forces – Consumer “Priority List”

� Food & Water

� Household Chemicals

� Cookware, Smoke & Air Pollution

� Cosmetics, Clothing & Toys

� Construction, Furniture & Electronics

� Energy & Climate Change

� Ingestion

� Ingestion & Inhalation

� Inhalation

� Skin contact

� Living surroundings

� Comfort

Natural Capitalism

� Biosphere II (1991) –

$200 million fail to provide 8 scientists in a dome

an ecosystem with adequate air, water, food

Driving forces – Resource Limitation

The value of natural resources, when missing,

far exceeds their allocated market value

Natural Capitalism

� “The new limits to prosperity are natural systems:

not boats, but fisheries;

not sawmills, but forests.”

� In Israel:

not water pipes, but water;

not cars & roads, but available land.

Driving forces – Resource Limitation

Natural Capitalism

Theory – the Problem

“Natural Capital as a Limiting Factor”

Natural Capitalism: the next Industrial Revolution (1999) Amory Lovins, Hunter Lovins and Paul Hawken

Natural Capitalism

Theory – the Next Industrial Revolution

Natural Capitalism

Theory - Solutions

� Dramatically increase productivity & efficient use of natural resources

� Shift to biologically-inspired production models

� Move to a solutions-based business model

� Reinvest in natural capital

Natural Capitalism

Natural Capitalism Toolbox

1. Buy time by radically increasing resource

productivity (“sustainability”)

2. Design for environment: biomimicry, closed

loops, no waste, no toxicity

3. Replace products with services

4. Manage for restoration of human and

natural capital

Natural Capitalism

Radical Resource Efficiency Improvement

� Incredible savings from re-thinking your assumptions:

– Bus routes

– Pipe layout

– Pollution control

– Waste-heat reuse in plastics industry

� Remember – There is no Waste – only poorly used Resources

Natural Capitalism

Using Resource Efficiency Improvement

� Methodology

– Detail Inputs (energy & material)

– Understand Imbedded Inputs

– Detail Outputs

– Check your balance

– identify significant imbalances.

What is their cost?

– Examine alternative

procedures/materials/technologies/paths

Natural Capitalism

Biomimicry

� Learn from nature – it has more experience than the rest of us!

� Close the loop – make the waste of one process the raw material for another

Natural Capitalism

Natural Capitalism

Natural Capitalism

Biomimicry – Sewage Treatment

Natural Capitalism

Biomimicry – Sewage Treatment

Natural Capitalism

Biomimicry (2)

� Choose/develop materials that mimic nature

– Lotus Leaf

– Velcro

Natural Capitalism

Using Biomimicry

� Methodology

– Close the Loop – Look upstream, downstream, and “sidestream”

– Material Selection – look for environmentally friendly materials

Natural Capitalism

Replace Products with Services

� Sell Services instead of the products

– It’s what people want anyway!

� Pay-per-use, lease

– Computers – computing services

– Carpets – attractive/protective floor coverings

– Stereos – beautiful sound

– Lighting – useful/beautiful light

� Manufacturers – design for this to reap the benefits (modularize your product)

Natural Capitalism

Replace Products with Services

� Interface Carpet Tiles

� Xerox recycling programs

� Cradle to Cradle book

� Auto Directive in EU

Natural Capitalism

Reinvest in Natural Capital

� Most Natural Capital is taken for granted –

we give them an economic value of zero.

� Value the services performed in nature

– Clean air

– Flood protection

– Clean water (and enough of it)

– Land protection

� Maintain the equilibrium

(often, there is no $$ value that makes sense)

Natural Capitalism

תוחלת חיים בערי

1820-1900צרפת

שיפורי ם ב מ ערכות ה מים וה בי וב

ליא ו ן - פריס -

מרס יי

ם ייח ת

ל חתו

Do we stand a chance? 2 examples

Natural Capitalism

1570-2000זי ה ום א ו ו יר בל ונד ו ן בשנים

ק”למג ”מ

חמצ ני ת -גופרי ת דו

עשן

Do we stand a chance? 2 examples

Natural Capitalism

Ride the Waves or Tumble Below

Thank you

Natural Capitalism

Simulation – Closing the Loop

The Setting – a local community with:

1. Restaurant/fast-food chain

2. High School

3. Car dealership

4. Your company (choose)

Natural Capitalism

Simulation – Closing the Loop

Ask yourself and Plan:

– What are the inputs of each franchise?

– What are the outputs?

– Which inputs could be brought from elsewhere?

– Which waste outputs could be diverted to resources?