Book excerpt: The depletion of South Africa’s (and in some cases the world’s) natural resources and the degradation of environmental sinks (including the atmosphere, lakes and rivers, and land) are continuing at such a rate that natural resource prices are climbing and many critical ecosystem services that underpin human welfare are increasingly threatened. The concept of the ‘green economy’ has gained increasing traction in South African policy discourses over the past few years. However, in much of this discourse it is viewed in a piecemeal way as one part or sector of the economy (e.g. an industrial sector dealing with manufacture and installation of renewable energy technologies and energy-efficient equipment and appliances). In the view of the authors, ‘greening the South African economy’ requires an application of sustainability principles and practices across the full range of primary, secondary and tertiary sectors of the economy in an integrated manner. The aim of this book is therefore to apply principles of sustainability and ‘green economics’ to the entire South African socio-economic system and its major elements in an integrated and comprehensive manner.