18 November 2005

These are unsettling times. White House officials are under indictment. The War in Iraq is, to say it charitably, going badly. The news on the climate change front, and indeed about the environment as a whole, is grim. Happy Holidays . . .

People ask how, in the face of all the challenges, I remain optimistic. Teilhard de Chardin said, “The future belongs to those who give hope to the next generation.” My work at Presidio School of Management, and the speeches I give at universities and conferences around the world convince me this is true. The excitement in audiences who hear of the explosion of activity in the field of Natural Capitalism and corporate social responsibility, reassures me that while the outcome is far from certain, human kind has a fighting chance at survival.

This sense was reinforced when, against all odds, the House of Representatives refused to pass the Budget bill that would have sacrificed the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve. Many organizations contributed to this welcome surprise. But our Treasure America Project made the economic arguments that detailed why increased drilling in the Arctic is less likely than energy efficiency and renewables to ensure prosperity and security for Americans. This clearly carried weight with members of a Republican-controlled House. The team, comprised in part of Presidio students, labored down to the wire to produce a film on their results and distribute it widely, including to every member of Congress (you can see the video by clicking here). Our team’s refusal to give up was an inspiration to me. In the face of rising oil prices, however many pundits wrote off the Arctic. I contributed my money and time, but still waited for the “inevitable” defeat. I hope that you will take a moment and reflect on the victory that your support helped make possible. Thank you.

Much of my year goes to roaming the planet (you can read more about my travels by clicking here). From Australia to Austria, to Canada and Serbia, and from Afghanistan to dozens of cities across the United States, I have lectured and consulted, cajoled and testified. Whether seeking to convince the business leaders and government ministers attending the Afghan Cluster Competitiveness Council to promote organic, fair trade products as the best way to increase export revenues while supporting a sustainable economy at home, or delivering the nationally televised Telstra lecture at the National Press Club in Australia, or addressing the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco, I am humbled by the intense interest that our message elicits. We hope to reach even more audiences in 2006. If you know a venue that would welcome a speaker from Natural Capitalism please contact Stephen Self, our Operations Director.

This year Christopher Juniper has taken on some of the speaking load, bringing the message to audiences at the Pacific Islands Environmental Conference in Guam, City College of New York, Tennessee Technological University, Colorado College, and more. He serves Ft. Carson Mountain Post's leading-edge sustainability implementation team where he leads training, community partnerships, procurement systems and production of its annual community sustainability conference, which attracted over 300 people this year. Christopher continues to help the Post implement its ambitious sustainability goals. As they prepare to increase their population by as many as 10,000 soldiers beginning in 2006, their commitment to construct green buildings, derive all of their energy from renewables, reduce solid and hazardous waste to zero, purchase sustainable products and partner with surrounding communities to collaboratively integrate regional sustainability makes Ft. Carson a national example of leadership.

Ultimately, though, we can only be in a limited number of places in any year. So Paul Sheldon and Pablo Päster of our new California office developed the Sustainable Business Management Training, teaching change agents inside businesses and communities how to use our Management Helix to implement sustainability. This work dramatically expands the original Sustainability Helix started with The Natural Edge Project (TNEP) and The Global Academy. It can be delivered to a company or a community, or customized for your particular needs. (See www.sustainabilitytraining.org for more information.) I presented this approach to the senior management at DuPont. And Christopher and Hunter are partnering with the Chicago Manufacturing Center to help PortionPac, a national cleaning solutions company headquartered in Chicago, to help them implement the Helix in their operations.

When asked what we do, I say we implement the concepts of Natural Capitalism by consulting for countries, communities and companies. But the truth is that we work for a wide array of organizations. I welcomed 2005 from the Fort in Afghanistan, and hope to be there again for the 2006 New Year. We are helping an orphanage implement sustainable solutions to serve more than 700 children in Kabul and over 10,000 throughout the country. In Canada, we worked with ministers, NGOs and academics in Regina, Saskatoon, Edmonton and Banff. It is inspiring to see Canadian provinces and municipalities taking sustainability issues seriously and implementing solutions on such a large scale.

We also premiered our new curriculum in sustainability for engineers at CU Boulder’s semester-in-a-month course, called “Maymester.” With the help of Janet Graff of CU’s Business School and Robyn Sandekian of CU’s Engineering for Developing Countries Program, Charlie Hargroves and I combined TNEP’s engineering curriculum with our Natural Capitalism work. The high marks we received on the student evaluations have convinced us to codify the material and make it more widely available.

Natural Capitalism helped persuade the City of Boulder to join the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX). We are now working with them to identify funding to implement their plan to evaluate and then mitigate their carbon emissions. I will be attending the world climate gathering in Montreal with CCX to encourage others to join this pioneering effort.

We also conduct research and deliver our results through a wide array of media. The Treasure America film was only one of over a dozen film efforts in which we participated, including Through Line Production’s Transforming Energy. NCS staff members were interviewed on television shows in the U.S., Canada, and Australia, and on radio shows from Germany to China. Articles we wrote or that were published about us appeared in several dozen magazines and newspapers. I have made it a point to write for publications in developing countries, such as World Affairs Journal, and Effective Executive—both from India. January saw the release of the Australian book Natural Advantage of Nations, edited by Charlie Hargroves and Michael Smith of TNEP, for which I wrote a foreword and a chapter. I also wrote the foreword in The Next Sustainability Wave by Bob Willard. I am currently finishing a chapter for a European book called World Future. And as some of you have noted, I am writing web logs (blogs) for our web site.

As the year closes, we look forward to working this December in Serbia, in partnership with our friend Gwen Hallsmith (author of Key to Sustainable Cities) and America’s Development Foundation. We will combine our community economic development work, our approach of using world best-practice in sustainable technologies for rebuilding post-conflict and post-natural disaster regions, with Gwen’s needs-based approach to economic development. The result will be a manual for how to do real economic development. Most of what passes for that around the world is either a welfare scheme for U.S. contractors or simply a process to talk about what might improve peoples’ lives. The approach we use now results in the creation of real jobs and real businesses in the communities in which we work. It also transfers capacity to the people. When I was in Kabul, I met with a woman who runs a small construction company and helped her develop a business plan that has enabled her to get foreign investments. Last week Pablo Päster and I sent drawings of a simple wind pump to an Army Major who is working with the Provisional Reconstruction Team in the Panjshir Valley, so that they can deliver water to a village in Afghanistan.

Of course none of this work would be possible without the diligent support of our staff: Stephen Self, Nancy Johnston and Brianna Buntje in Eldorado Springs, Colorado, The Treasure America team, our new California office, and our ever-changing intern crew.

Natural Capitalism Solutions was launched in the most uncertain economy in my memory. In a year that has seen far too many non-profits close their doors, we have survived and grown. We have the best team we’ve ever had, working creatively and productively on a wide array of projects (see www.natcapsolutions.org). We are making good on our promise to implement Natural Capitalism in countries, communities and companies. And we’ve no lack of exciting opportunities before us.

That’s not to say that it’s been easy or that there haven’t been difficult times. My mentor Dave Brower once said that if you have a positive bank balance you haven’t realized the urgency of the situation. That’s a bit further than my risk-taking extends, but between my personal credit card and some fine luck on the timing of your generous donations we have made it through. Never doubt, however, that your support remains critical to our ability to make a difference. And I am deeply grateful for it.

There are many priorities competing for your donation dollars this year. Some may seem more urgent, and indeed they may be. But I hope we have demonstrated that we deserve your support, that we are making productive use of your donations and that we achieve the sorts of results that you are seeking.

In partnership,

Hunter Lovins and the Nat Cap Staff

P.S. Your continuing support will sponsor our ongoing work in Afghanistan, transforming American businesses, and the dramatic increase in outreach through speeches, workshops, seminars and curriculum development. Please feel free to contact me personally if you have a special project you would like to support through Nat Cap Solutions.

P.P.S. Please also consider becoming a “full circle” donor. Through a monthly contribution, no matter how small, anyone can make a difference. The process is simple—you decide how much you'd like to contribute and we take care of a monthly credit card donation or electronic funds transfer. Just call 1-866-554-6550 to get started.