MUNCIE, Ind. -- Award-winning futurist and best-selling author Paul Hawken shares his vision for environmentally friendly business in a Sept. 23 talk at Ball State University.

Hawken discusses "Natural Capitalism" in the Inaugural Bracken Environmental Series Lecture at 8 p.m. in Emens Auditorium. Admission is free.

The talk is presented by Ball State's Bracken Environmental Fund and the Office of the Provost. Business-minded people seeking ways to address environmental issues are encouraged to attend.

Hawken is a respected businessman, environmentalist and author whose books include the best sellers "Growing a Business" and "The Ecology of Commerce," plus "Seven Tomorrows" and "The Next Economy." His books have been published in more than 50 countries and 27 languages.

"Growing a Business" became the basis of a 17-part Public Broadcasting Service television series that Hawken produced and hosted. The program has been shown nationwide and in more than 100 other countries.

Today he is writing "Natural Capitalism: The Coming Efficiency Revolution" with Amory and Hunter Lovins and "The Natural Step" with Karl-Henrik Robert.

Hawken chairs The Natural Step, U.S., and co-chairs The Natural Step, International. He has served on the boards of the Point Foundation, which publishes the "Whole Earth Catalog"; Center for Plant Conservation; Friends of the Earth; Trust for Public Land; Ecology Action; and National Audubon Society.

He also co-founded Smith & Hawken, a mail-order gardening supply company known for its environmental initiatives.

Hawken has received the Environmental Stewardship Award from the Council on Economic Priorities, the Creative Visionary Award from the International Society of Industrial Design, and the Design in Business Award for environmental responsibility from the American Center for Design. He also was the Small Business Administration's Entrepreneur of the Year in 1990.

Other honors include the Utne Reader 100 ("100 Visionaries Who Could Change Our Lives"), Esquire Magazine's "Best of a Generation," Inc. Magazine's Dream Team ("12 Best Entrepreneurs of the 1980s") and the Metropolitan Home 100 (100 best people, products and ideas that shape our lives).

Ball State's Bracken Environmental Fund was established in 1997 with a $500,000 gift from the estate of Rosemary Bracken, the late daughter of Frank C. Ball, one of the five brothers who founded Ball Corp. in Muncie and donated the land and buildings for Ball State in 1918. Bracken's husband, the late Alexander M. Bracken, was president of Ball State's Board of Trustees for 22 years and chairman of Ball Corp. Their son Frank Bracken currently serves on the Ball State Board of Trustees and was U.S. undersecretary of the interior under former President Bush.

The endowment will help Ball State take the next step in promoting environmental education and awareness by enhancing the university's academic environmental programs. The funds will be used to bring visiting scholars to campus, provide faculty research grants and help students work on environmental projects with faculty members.

For more information on the endowment or the lecture, contact the Provost's Office at (765) 285-1333.