This section focuses on the relationship between the environment and the economy and on the benefits and methods of sustainable business management. It includes articles, reports, interviews, book and anthology excerpts, PowerPoint presentations, and presentation transcripts.

Broader topics include environmental economics, sustainable development, globalization, industrial ecology, pollution and carbon markets, restructuring taxes to strengthen incentives for sustainable technologies and practices, and green investing. Topics related to sustainable business management include green strategic planning, sustainability as a strategy to build profits and market share, business leadership, engaging stakeholders, employees, and managers, new business opportunities, green marketing, green product design, greening supply chains, green purchasing and printing, green property management, and corporate social and environmental responsibility reporting.

Chasing Molecules: Poisonous Products, Human Health, And The Promise Of Green Chemistry. Book excerpt by Elizabeth Grossman. In Chasing Molecules, Grossman shows that for the sake of convenience, efficiency, and short-term safety, we have created synthetic chemicals that fundamentally change the way our bodies work. The consequences range from diabetes to cancer, reproductive and neurological disorders. However, Grossman argues that a new "green" scientific revolution is introducing products that are “benign by design” and that will allow us our creature comforts without the side effects. Book Excerpt >>

Core Concepts of Sustainability Advocacy. Article by Dennis Church. Just as with democracy, we're likely to get the future that we deserve. Nobody else will save us. We must save ourselves. This follows directly from the near total dysfunctionality of our institutions and the failure of our elites to take responsibility for the general welfare of society. Perhaps, more carefully stated, the only way to return our institutions to the functionality we need is to fix them ourselves. Article >>

The Economy Vs The Environment: Is There A Conflict? Presentation by Dennis Church. It is a deeply held view that protecting the environment constitutes a net expense to our economy. To the extent that environmental concerns have faded in economic hard times, and they have, it is a reflection of the fact that most of the public and most of the leadership still believes that protecting the environment represents spending money rather than saving it, represents consumption rather than investment. Presentation >>

The Endangered Species Act At Thirty, Vol. 2: Conserving Biodiversity In Human-Dominated Landscapes. Book excerpt by Adam Davis. In this chapter on "Conservation Banking," market-based systems for protecting habit and species are discussed. The ability to purchase conservation credits allows developers to mitigate project impacts and landowners to benefit from protected species on their property. Book Excerpt >>

Environmental Stewardship Vs. Economic Development. Article by Walter McGuire. In the long term, the economy and the environment are inextricably linked. Our problems are that today's economy depends heavily on the availability and cost of resources, and that we have built an economy that values resource consumption rather than stewardship. Article >>

From Walden To Wall Street: Frontiers Of Conservation Finance. Book excerpt by Adam Davis. "Imagine a marketplace where each unit of improvement in environmental quality was worth real money and competition managed cost so that the greatest amount of improvement per dollar could be purchased. In fact, this kind of market activity is already under way." Book Excerpt >>

Getting Down To Business. Article by L. Hunter Lovins. The failure of the world's governments to implement sustainable development is no surprise, says Lovins. They no longer run the world. Article >>

Green Jobs Growing In Your Home Town Government. Article by Melissa Everett. June Holte gets paid to do exactly what she loves: helping people redesign their own lifestyles to use fewer resources, free up time, and add spark to their daily existence. Sustainable consumption and voluntary simplicity are on many people's minds these days, but... getting paid to work on it? Article >>

Jobs Our Parents Never Heard Of. Article by Melissa Everett. Here's one more reason to dread the infamous party question, "What do you do for a living?" When you're talking about a fair number of the positions connected with protecting and restoring the environment, it is not easy to answer that question in less than 1000 words. Does Thanksgiving dinner, with family questions, send you into performance anxiety? That's because so many new environmental jobs come in such unorthodox packages. Article >>

Living Beyond Our Means. Article by Dennis Church. The idea that we humans may be growing beyond – or overshooting – the capacity of the natural resources we depend upon to sustain us has a long history. It has proven premature when previously asserted, but now appears increasingly realistic. Article >>

A Matter Of Balance. Article by Dave Wann. "An 'affordable' economy means cutting away the destructive, polluting practices of the past and embracing the 'three P's' of intelligent growth... prevention, precision, and participation." Wann explains how we can achieve a balanced future. Article >>

Mother Earth News: A Talk On Natural Capitalism. Interview with L. Hunter Lovins. Lovins discusses the problem with short-term economic thinking, the logic of natural capitalism, hydrogen fuel cell technology, trade with China, and more. Interview >>

No Need To Go Solo To Innovate: Try Intrapreneurship. Article by Melissa Everett. Maybe it's the economy, and maybe a lot of us are feeling the pressure to perform while we're still at our peak, but lately I've been hearing a lot of people struggling with the dilemma: get a job or start a business? Both can seem soooo compelling. Both can seem sooooo risky. If you're an enterprising soul, but you're wishing for a supportive structure around you, consider a third path: creating something new within an established workplace. Article >>

Restructuring The Global Economy. Presentation excerpt by Lester Brown. In a speech to a Commonwealth Club event at Hewlett Packard in Palo Alto, California, Brown describes the need to restructure the global economy to cope with the challenges ahead. Presentation Excerpt >>

What We Learned In The Rainforest: Business Lessons From Nature. Book excerpt by Bill Shireman and Tachi Kiuchi. From What We Learned In The Rainforest, this book excerpt shows that the old model of business - the machine model that pitted business against nature - is growing obsolete. In the emerging economy, businesses excel when they emulate what they once sought to conquer. They maximize performance as they become like nature, like a complex living system. Book Excerpt >>