It has been translated into a dozen languages and was the subject of a Harvard Business Review summary.

[3] The authors argue that only through recognizing this essential relationship with the Earth's valuable resources can businesses, and the people they support, continue to exist.

The authors of Natural Capitalism claim that these choices are possible and "such an economy would offer a stunning new set of opportunities for all of society, amounting to no less than the next industrial revolution.

He stated that it was intended to be a pun on "natural capital", a term originally coined by E. F. Schumacher in 1973.

[6] Hawken endorsed the underlying concept of natural capital, and its implications for society, so added an "-ism" at the end of that word as a double entendre.