Within the association we explore approaches and tools to trigger the ecological transition in companies in response to the exceeding of planetary limits and the disappearance of life. Our approach to bringing the Ecological transition to companies is regeneration. "Our only meaningful pathway forward is to regenerate. And to regenerate means to prioritize life. To place life at the very centre of our governance, our economics and our education. To prioritize life is to prioritize love and care for each other, and for the natural world. Nothing less will be enough." Damon Gameau
Only living systems regenerate. Their resilience requires specific capacities to maintain their potential for vitality and life. Thus, the regenerative approach aims to develop the unique capacities of the living (humans - non humans and/or environment / nature) to continue its evolution. Its purpose is to allow a collective to contribute to an ecosystem service.
The word 'regenerative' means creating the conditions conducive for life to continuously renew itself, to flourish amid ever-changing life-conditions. Therefore regenerative corporations help rather than hinder the logic of life. Regenerative design and development positions humans as co-creative and mutually-evolving participants in an ecosystem—not just a built environment. Regenerative design upgrades the old mantra of “recycle, reduce and reuse” to “restore, renew and replenish.”
Our approach of regeneration for companies is aligned with regenerative agriculture practices. The name "regenerative agriculture" emerged in the 80's (here) however there is a consensus that regenerative agriculture practices are "ancient practices". The scientific reference often used is "What Is Regenerative Agriculture?" Newton https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2020.577723/full
Regenerative agriculture is a subdivision of organic agriculture. It takes the best of organic farming, and expands on its principles by looking at what are the best practices to promote the health of soil, animals, labor and farmers. In other words, it takes into account the agricultural ecosystem as a whole and brings it all together in a single standard to create a sustainable world. Regenerative agriculture seeks to return to ancestral ways of producing with one and the same goal: soil regeneration. Regenerative agriculture is better than organic. Unlike organic farming, regenerative farming is not geared towards conservation, but rather towards improvement, especially for future generations. Regenerative development improves rather than degrades. Instead of fixing problems, Regenerate Life investors focus on generating new potential. Investing in regeneration is investing in local capabilities.
Regenerative agriculture has been proposed as an alternative means of producing food that may have lower—or even net positive—environmental and/or social impacts (Rhodes, 2017). A range of claims have been made by different parties about the potential for regenerative agriculture to enhance the sustainability of food production, including for the possibility that regenerative agriculture could form part of a climate change mitigation strategy.
The benefits of regenerative agriculture include:
- Increased soil organic matter and biodiversity.
- Healthier and more productive soil that is drought- and flood-resilient.
- Decreased use of chemical inputs and subsequent pollution.
- Cleaner air and water. Enhanced wildlife habitat.
- Carbon captured in the soil to combat climate variability.
Project Drawdown claims that “regenerative agriculture enhances and sustains the health of the soil by restoring its carbon content, which in turn improves productivity—just the opposite of conventional agriculture,” and estimates that regenerative annual cropping could reduce or sequester 14.5–22 gigatons of CO2 by 2050 (Project Drawdown, 2020). Bolder claims include those that “regenerative agriculture… has the potential to reverse climate change” (Kastner, 2016) and that “we could sequester more than 100% of current annual CO2 emissions with a switch to widely available and inexpensive organic management practices, which we term ‘regenerative organic agriculture”' (Rodale Institute, 2014).
The regenerative economy allows humans to co-evolve with the natural systems around them and reverse degenerative systems (Mang & Reed, 2013). Indeed its purpose is to allow a collective to contribute to an ecosystem service to assist nature in its ability to regenerate. Thus, the regenerative economy goes further than the functional economy and the circular economy, which do not regenerate the resources essential to the health of ecosystems.
According to Guilbert del Marmol (2014), “the future of the circular economy will be alive, reconnected with nature of course; but above all, it will be human” (understand: humans will no longer be excluded from nature and integrated into ecosystems as living beings like any other). “Deep ecology does not separate humans from the natural environment. Deep ecology views the world not as a collection of isolated objects, but as a network of fundamentally interconnected and interdependent phenomena. Deep ecology recognizes the intrinsic value of all living beings and considers man as a simple element in the web of life. The Systems View of Life, Capra and Luisi (2014).
Only living systems regenerate. Their resilience requires specific capacities to maintain their potential for vitality and life. Thus, the regenerative approach aims to develop the unique capacities of living beings to continue their evolution for the benefit of all living beings: humans - social and/or environment - nature.
Thus the regenerative economy is based on life principles (Hutchins & Storm, 2019)
1) Waste is food. It's cradle-to-cradle thinking "waste = food
2) Smarter “living” shapes and structures. To identify patterns in nature that have been proven
3) Regenerative materials. To use materials and products that are regenerative in design.
4) Biophilic design. To enable people to reconnect with nature within and around them.
5) Ecosystem design thinking. To understand the global ecosystem impact of stakeholders and forge the best collaborations.
The management of tomorrow's organizations will also be built on regenerative leadership through which organizations thrive in their environment.
Consumers are shifting their spending toward products with ESG-related claims This study did broadly reveal, in many categories, a clear and material link between ESG-related claims and consumer spending. Claims range from climate change to biodiversity preservation. A good portion of these products are sourced from regenerative agriculture source
The product innovations regenerative agriculture brings to our societies are already available for Americans, Australians.... Do you want to know which brands have invested in regenerative agriculture ? What products they have launched ? What claims have they made ? The level of transparency from farm to fork ? What are the certifications ? What about companies - consumers impacts ? Can we hope for biodiversity regeneration ?
You can read Part 1 on regenerative brands. A regenerative business renders an ecosystem service, so Part 1 on regenerative brands focuses on CLIMATE and SOIL at the international level - Anglo-Saxon countries (USA - Australia) https://www.slideshare.net/jeremydumont/regenerative-brands-part-1-the-climate-soil-story-noussommesvivants Next will come NUTRITION / HEALTH (Part 2), new relationships at the LOCAL level (part 3) and a LIFESTYLE part in contact with nature (part 4).
We have developed a simple and structured Regenerative Business Model Canvas - (REGEN)BMC - that identifies regeneration potential of a business by crossing projects/initiatives with regeneration targets and their outcomes on the value proposition carried by extended stakeholders. A selection of initiatives with the highest potential for regeneration is then made. Stakeholders need to be clear about the ecosystemic services they deliver and the ways - economical and non economical to deliver them.
REGENERATIVE BUSINESS MODELS #NOUSSOMMESVIVANTS
Brilliant. Well done, all.
Rédigé par : Nicola | 12/05/2023 à 11:54