Papers

Regenerative Investing for the Climate  (Dec 2023)

“We still do not know one thousandth of one percent of what nature has revealed to us.”  ~ Albert Einstein

Summary

Climate related work is venturing into new territory; we have not been here before. This work will require humility from all of us.

A shift from a mechanistic to a living-systems paradigm is critical, but this is not a small shift. It will mean learning to work with regenerative design practices, keeping in-hand not just the conclusions upon which decisions are based, but also the logic pathways by which they were reached in order to be able to adapt our collective learnings accurately. Furthermore, it will mean learning from the wisdom traditions that have always looked at Nature and humans as an integrated whole. There are also powerful technology tools available these days, which can hopefully be used wisely.

The planet’s climate challenges are symptoms of its ill health. Bringing it back to health will require a ‘supporting action’ that enhances/ revives/ restores the planet’s innate healing capacity. Unfortunately, most climate action is designed for ‘direct action’ which attempts to eliminate the symptoms directly, and too narrowly, without attending to their root causes.

Furthermore, despite business being recognised as one of the key factors in the climate challenges that we are facing because of its incessant pursuit of profit and growth, very few climate solutions seek to change the business paradigm itself. RII has developed an investing framework with a set of guidelines that can take a business towards regeneration, thereby enabling shifting of the business paradigm.

The result of an impact project should not just be project success (financial and non-financial) but also an integrated, thriving, regenerative system. Regenerative Investing, by enabling the conditions for regeneration, and addressing the necessary paradigm shift in business, has the required basis to increase the probability of success for impact projects, while also reducing negative side-effects and supporting a healthy planet.

This thought-piece urges us to see the planet as a whole – which is only possible if we present ourselves as a whole being: in unity and harmony in mind, body and spirit. This is when we are truly Being The Change.

"The goal of life is to make your heartbeat match the beat of the universe, to match your nature with Nature."  ~ Joseph Campbell

Regenerative Business: Business as a Living System 

(Presented at the BAM2023, Sep 2023)

Abstract

Business has become an instrument of socio-ecological-economic disparity and destruction. Largely, this is caused by an erroneous understanding of how the universe functions. With regenerative business, we propose that business can play an active role in bringing about socio-ecological-economic well-being.

In this paper, we will:

• Look at an emerging understanding of how the universe functions : as an interconnected, interdependent, networked, ever-evolving living system

• Propose a way for humans to interact with, and be embedded in the universe: regeneration

• Present key properties and principles of living systems, and the emerging science of complexity

• Present how regenerative business is different from ‘business as usual’

• Propose 6 guidelines for regenerative business to be in a successful relationship with its socio-ecological-economic context: citizenship

• Point to our ongoing and future work