Identify — Source — Sustain — Realize
The Lead Indicator of 21st Century Productivity
In the 18th Century, Adam Smith explained that land, labor, and financial capital comprised the means of production necessary to create wealth. In the 19th, Mark Twain gave a word to the wise to "buy land, they're not making any more." As population grew in tandem with regulatory rationing throughout the 20th century, enterprise operations had to cope with unique, finite, and increasingly scarce natural capital supply—whether land or its equal partners air and water. The 21st century reminder that "There is no Planet B" provides the new watchwords for 21st century productivity.
Natural Asset Capacity is Enterprise Capability
Usable air, land, and water is the first and foremost design basis component of any scaled enterprise. Operational air, land, and water asset capacity must be identified, sourced, and sustained according to production or throughput requirements to assure enterprise capability can maximize output, avoid material risk, and prevent business interruption and loss.
Productivity is Natural Asset Dependent
How much production or throughput does an enterprise air permit generate? The water supply? Discharge capacity? Is an enterprise carrying underutilized natural asset capacity that could sustain production increases or be transferable or salable as credits? Unless these questions can be answered, an Enterprise may be squandering its shareholder and customer value. Or giving it away to the competition.
From Greenwash to GreenYield℠
Public relations, social capital, good will, compliance—these are typically the reasons enterprise addresses air, land, and water use, along with other issues such as endangered species or climate change. Unfortunately, in the quest for good graces, natural capital efficient products and services are conceding return on investment and market share earned by their shareholders (GreenYield℠), sometimes to the point of subsidizing the competition.