Paul Hawken Quotes

Good management is the art of making problems so interesting and their solutions so constructive that everyone wants to get to work and deal with them.

Most floods are caused by man, not weather; deforestation, levee construction, erosion, and overgrazing all result in the loss of ecosystem services.

All is connected ... no one thing can change by itself.

What I see everywhere in the world are ordinary people willing to confront despair, power, and incalculable odds in order to restore some semblance of grace, justice, and beauty to this world.

Business is the only mechanism on the planet today powerful enough to produce the changes necessary to reverse global environments and social degradation.

The future belongs to those who understand that doing more with less is compassionate, prosperous, and enduring, and thus more intelligent, even competitive.

The first rule of sustainability is to align with natural forces, or at least not try to defy them

Always leave enough time in your life to do something that makes you happy, satisfied, even joyous. That has more of an effect on economic well-being than any other single factor.

Don't be put off by people who know what is not possible. Do what needs to be done, and check to see if it was impossible only after you are done.

Only caring individuals can restore the places we inhabit. The 'simple act of planting a tree' not only restores the places we live, but makes us whole and powerful again.

The most unrealistic person in the world is the cynic, not the dreamer.

Healing the wounds of the earth and its people does not require saintliness or a political party, only gumption and persistence. It is not a liberal or conservative activity; it is a sacred act.

I'd rather fail at something important than succeed at something trivial.

The bottom line is down where it belongs - at the bottom.

Being a good human being is good business.

Interestingly, the oil companies know very well that in less than 30 years they will not only be charging very high prices, but that they will be uncompetitive with renewables.

A local company has more accountability.

The promise of business is to increase the general well-being of humankind through service, a creative invention and ethical philosophy.

Being in business is not about making money. It is a way to become who you are.

We are losing our living systems, social systems, cultural systems, governing systems, stability, and our constitutional health, and we're surrendering it all at the same time.

What we are missing, utterly and completely, in this government is accountability.

We are now heading down a centuries-long path toward increasing the productivity of our natural capital - the resource systems upon which we depend to live - instead of our human capital.

It costs the same to send a person to prison or to Harvard. The difference is the curriculum.

When the planes still swoop down and aerial spray a field in order to kill a predator insect with pesticides, we are in the Dark Ages of commerce.

We are the only species on this planet without full employment.

Wrong is an addictive, repetitive story; Right is where the movement is.

If there is to be an ecologically sound society, it will have to come the grass roots up, not from the top down.

Inspiration is not garnered from the litanies of what may befall us; it resides in humanity's willingness to restore, redress, reform, rebuild, recover, reimagine, and reconsider.

We can no longer prosper by increasing human productivity. The more we try to do, the more poverty we will create.

You are Brilliant and the Earth is Hiring.

First we need to decide what needs to be done. Then we do it. And then we ask if it is possible.

Working for the earth is not a way to get rich, it is a way to be rich.

Luck is earned. Luck is working so hard at your craft, service or enterprise that sooner or later you get a break.

At present we are stealing the future, selling it in the present, and calling it gross domestic product.

The bottom line is down where it belongs – at the bottom. Far above it in importance are the infinite number of events that produce the profit or loss.

If everyone thinks you have a good idea, you´re too late

What a great time to be born! What a great time to be alive! Because this generation gets to essentially completely change the world.

Capitalism, as practiced, is a financially profitable, non-sustainable aberration in human development.

You can blame people who knock things over in the dark or you can begin to light candles. You're only at fault if you know about the problem and choose to do nothing.

We are speeding up our lives and working harder in a futile attempt to buy the time to slow down and enjoy it.

Don't go to business school.

What we already know frames what we see, and what we see frames what we understand.

Green business is not about tie-dyed T-shirts. It's about transforming the industrial system itself into one that looks at all the connections.

In short, industrialism is over.

Mother's milk would be banned by the food safety laws of industrialized nations if it were sold as a packaged good.

How much harm does a company have to do before we question its right to exist?

Sustainability, ensuring the future of life on Earth, is an infinite game, the endless expression of generosity on behalf of all.

All is connected... no one thing can change by itself.