What's Regenerative Business?
Here's a little introduction to the emerging world of regeneration
So you may be wondering what regeneration means.
Simply put, natural systems are really good at regenerating, as long as they have the space to do it.
Just look at what happened when the world went into lockdown, or in the aftermath of the Chernobyl disaster - life comes back at great speed.
For business it means designing an economy that uses resources no faster than they can regenerate and creating wastes no faster than they can be absorbed.
But more than that, regeneration means…
…asking “how many benefits can we generate in the way we design an enterprise?
...not just reducing emissions but actively restoring ecosystems
...asking “what would nature do?”
...putting life at the centre of every action and decision,
so that we can seek to create the conditions conducive to life in all that we do.
Do this long enough and you start seeing yourself differently.
Not something made and put here.
Not something separate from nature but something enmeshed in nature.
Seeing ourselves, our work, our economy, as a part of nature.
As nature.
One huge self-regulating, self-creating living system as James Lovelock suggests.
Working with this view of the world in mind means getting good at:
Systems thinking, circular design, biomimicry, collaboration & symbiosis, empathy and taking responsibility, among many other skills and abilities.
It means re-connection, humility, awe and reverence for what we are a part of.
And alongside that vision and view of ourselves we have to work with what we’ve got.
We don’t have time to break the system down and start again. We have to take an active role in its evolution.
We create a new system with the remains of the old, a new system that makes the old one obsolete.
And that takes courage, determination and bravery.
The first step for capitalism to evolve is for new ways of creating value to flourish so that we can make the greening of capitalism profitable.
This is where entrepreneurs come in.
Government regulation would help no end with this but we don’t have time to wait.
So as business owners it’s on us to step up and take responsibility as best we can.
It’s up to us to self-regulate and do so profitably, de-risking it for others and for governments.
We have to show them how it’s done.
We have to map the new terrain so that others can follow.
Because business as usual is simply not an option.
We need more Pathfinders ;)
With gratitude,
Rob
PS if you don’t already, give us a follow on Instagram, where we post daily with tips on regeneration and mindset https://www.instagram.com/thepathfindersco/