Regenerative Organisations

How could beautiful business look like in a time when most practices are focused on extraction?
How can we co-create beautiful organisations?

I believe beautiful organisations are ‘regenerative’ - contributing to life in various forms. From the way they design products and services, to a healthy culture, to creating and circulating (financial) value.

Characteristics of beautiful, regenerative organisations

purpose-led, serving a purpose aligned with life-friendliness
cultivate a healthy culture of life-friendliness and care. Unleashing life force by empathising with the needs of the team, the customer and the surrounding ecosystem. Contributing to aliveness and joy
empower people on all levels to see themselves as stewards through organisational structure and governance
understand strategy in a collaborative and systemic way. Regenerative organisations understand their own role and key relationships in the ecosystem. This enables them to create win-win relationships with other collaborative actors (symbioses). This benefits them as well as the overall ecosystem. To thrive in an environment of extractive business practices, it is key to test the motives of others through low-commitment experiments and to identify trustworthy and collaborative partners. Equally important for strategy in the regenerative paradigm is thinking and acting in systems
create and circulate (financial) value. Regenerative organisations create financial abundance by providing a valuable service to the ecosystem - free from an extractive paradigm and the ambition of ‘infinite growth’ for its own sake. Rather than creating lock-ins for customers and extracting as much as possible or applying shady sales tactics, the beauty and value of services lead to naturally returning customers and word-of-mouth recommendations. The focus is on income from (actively) contributing rather than income from (passively) possessing land, organisations, etc. Innovation and a healthy culture are key ingredients of sustained value creation, in contrast to focusing on control, exploitation and scarcity (for example represented by the traditional VRIO framework).
embrace circular principles in the product design and material/physical dimension of their activities: Their emphasis is on the bio-cycle¹ and a small range of monomaterials that are compatible with the local ecosystem and infrastructure
self-moderated: Finding an appropriate role and size in the ecosystem (no cancer-like growth, ambition to do it all & have it all, or single-mindedness on ‘taking’)
soulful - authentically adding their own spirit and essence to the bouquet of the ecosystem.

This is an evolving section on traits along key organisational dimensions. Co-creation and feedback is welcome. Get in touch here.

What is regeneration?

For me regeneration is

creating the conditions conducive to the thriving of life
place-based: Finding our place & ecosystem where we plant ourselves and can contribute
building on all layers of knowing. It is about deep sensing the (local) ecosystem beyond the intellectual and cerebral. It is about depth, embodiment and quality (e.g. Theory U) rather than jumping quickly to solutionism and reactivity (the ‘solutions’ of today might be the problems of tomorrow)
about generosity
starting with me and you

Therefore we derived five principles of regeneration²:

Interconnectedness
Place-based. Ortsspezifische Verwurzelung
Co-evolution. (Ko-)Evolution
Salutogenese. Förderung von Gesundheit
Circularity. Zirkularität

Inspiring resources

Designing Regenerative Cultures, a book by Daniel Christian Wahl
Sustainability is not enough: We need regenerative cultures, an article by Daniel Christian Wahl
Regenerative Futures - from sustaining to thriving together, a report by Josie Warden and the RSA
Talk by Ellen, Janine and Kate on how regeneration is about generosity
Shifting from sustainability to regeneration, an article by Bill Reed
Flourish, a book by Sarah Ichioka and Michael Pawlyn
Leading by Nature, a book by Giles Hutchins
Regenerative Development and Design: A Framework for Evolving Sustainability, a book by Regenesis Group, Pamela Mang, Ben Haggard
8 Principles of a Regenerative Economy, a book by John Fullerton
Towards a Regenerative Civilization: Reconnecting our Economics with Harmony Principles Capital Institute, a book by John Fullerton
The Regenerative Business, a book by Carol Sanford
Der Stellar Approach, a book by Simon Berkler and Ella Lagé
Your2040: A blog post and the 2023 gathering report about regeneration
Braiding Sweetgrass, a book by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Regenerative Triangulation, by John Willshire, Smithery
Finding the Mother Tree, by Suzanne Simard

Honorable harvest in the book ‘Braiding Sweetgrass’, by Robin Wall Kimmerer

Know the ways of the ones that take care of you so you may take care of them
Introduce yourself, be accountable as the one that comes for taking life
Ask for permission before taking. Abide by the answer
Never take the first, never take the last
Take only what you need
Take only what is given
Never take more than half
Leave some for others
Harvest in a way that minimises harm
Use it respectfully. Never waste what you have taken
Share
Give thanks for what you have been given
Give a gift in reciprocity for what you have taken
Sustain the ones who sustain you

Regeneration and qualitative growth

Summarised by Raz Godelnik in ‘The myth of the regenerative business model’³, Raz Godelnik

“Regenerative thinking requires a very radical shift when it comes to growth, moving away from thinking about quantitative growth to thinking about qualitative growth”
“What’s qualitative Growth? In their 2008 piece Outside insights — qualitative growth Fritjof Capra and Hazel Henderson explain that “qualitative economic growth, by contrast, can be sustainable if it involves a dynamic balance between growth, decline, and recycling, and if it also includes development in terms of learning and maturing.”
“buying less but buying better”
“Having a regenerative mindset means seeing the world as a living system, built around reciprocal and co-evolutionary relationships and wholes, where humans, other living beings and ecosystems rely on one another for health”, building on the RSA’s report by Josie Warden
“First, let’s clarify what degenerative stands for. Ethan Soloviev suggests that these are “processes, practices and protocols that decrease the health and wellbeing of a place, person or entity.” “Ecological and social degradation results from fragmentation, over-simplification, homogeneity, and destructive reactivity. There is a loss of possibility, opportunity, and individual agency,” he writes. Similarly, Lüdeke-Freund points out that degenerative business behavior concerns “decreasing values of economic, social and natural capital stocks.”

‘Plant Path Initiation‘ and indigenous cosmovision

With gratitude and credit to Ramona Laich

Everything has its natural place and role in the ecosystem

In mythology as well as their natural ecosystem, every plant and every tree has a particular role.
Just like all of us in this life, and every organisation.

Everything is related and connected

This reminded me of the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh on interbeing: all is connected and interwoven. The rose and the garbage. The things we label ‘good’ and ‘bad’.
Everything in the universe can be seen in a flower in front of us.

‘Peace is Every Step’. I particularly love the audio version at the start of ‘Part 3’.

Reciprocity & balance

In the indigenous cosmovision it is natural to reciprocate and give back whenever we receive something.⁴
Conscious harvesting and tending the land.

At least as important as which plant we pick, is the way we pick it.

Everything lives, communicates and has soul

Increasingly, science provides evidence of entanglement and communication between ‘things’.
This has been a core tenet of many indigenous cultures for aeons.

Reality is multidimensional

While we place particular focus on the physical/material and the intellectual dimensions, the indigenous cosmovision acknowledges all that is, including layers such as the energetic and emotional body.

People have different views and definitions of regeneration: What does it mean for you?

For ChatGPT it means⁵:
The term "regenerative paradigm" refers to a holistic and transformative approach that seeks to restore, renew, and revitalize systems, whether they are ecological, social, economic, or cultural. It goes beyond a focus on sustainability and aims to create conditions that enable the continuous renewal and improvement of systems rather than merely maintaining or slowing down degradation.

In the context of various fields such as ecology, agriculture, economics, and design, the regenerative paradigm involves embracing principles that mimic and work in harmony with natural cycles, fostering resilience, and promoting positive feedback loops. The goal is to create systems that not only sustain themselves but actively contribute to the enhancement of the surrounding environment.

Key characteristics of the regenerative paradigm include:

Restoration and Renewal: Emphasizes the restoration of ecosystems, social structures, or economies, aiming to bring them back to a healthier and more vibrant state. It involves actively repairing and replenishing rather than simply conserving.
Holistic Thinking: Takes a comprehensive and interconnected approach, considering the relationships and interdependencies within systems. It recognizes that different elements within a system are interlinked, and changes in one area can have ripple effects throughout the entire system.
Biomimicry: Draws inspiration from nature and natural processes, seeking to emulate the efficiency, resilience, and regenerative capacity found in ecosystems. Biomimicry principles guide the design of human systems to align with the patterns and strategies observed in the natural world.
Positive Impact: Focuses on generating positive outcomes and contributions rather than just minimizing negative impacts. The regenerative paradigm seeks to create value, improve well-being, and enhance the overall health and vitality of systems.
Adaptability and Resilience: Values systems that are adaptable to change and resilient in the face of disturbances. It recognizes that change is inevitable and seeks to design systems that can evolve and thrive in dynamic environments.
Community and Collaboration: Often involves a community-based approach, emphasizing collaboration and engagement among stakeholders. The regenerative paradigm recognizes the importance of collective action in achieving sustainable and regenerative outcomes.
Circular Economy Principles: Aligns with the principles of the circular economy, emphasizing the reduction of waste, the continuous use of resources, and the regeneration of materials in economic and industrial systems.

In summary, the regenerative paradigm represents a shift from a linear and extractive mindset to a circular and restorative one. It seeks to create systems that not only sustain themselves but actively contribute to the well-being and regeneration of the larger systems within which they operate.

Footnotes

1 Biological cycle in the circular economy means all materials that are biodegradable and can safely return to the earth. All materials that can naturally decompose within meaningful timescales (e.g. food, wood, plant fibres like cotton, in contrast to materials in the ‘technical cycle’ that need to be kept in closed-loop systems such as plastics). https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/circular-economy-diagram. While the Ellen MacArthur Foundation doesn’t emphasize that the biological cycle should be prioritised, I would argue that closed-loop systems in the technical cycle aren’t perfect, and using biological materials is favourable from a long-term systemic perspective. A few underlying beliefs: Recycling is imperfect and not as clean as we often hope for, leakage of materials in the technical cycle happens and is harmful, and performance of technical materials is not always needed (e.g. do we need equipment suitable for climbing Mount Everest when going for a stroll).
2 Summary of a shared research and collaboration with Sarra Ganouchi at Reform
3 The myth of the regenerative business model, by Raz Godelnik, accessed on 22 March 2025: https://medium.com/@razgo/the-myth-of-the-regenerative-business-model-2ed20c6ede54
4 An interesting article about symbiosis and thriving together on National Geographic: https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/symbiosis-art-living-together/
5 Accessed ChatGPT on 18 January 2024: What is the definition of 'the regenerative paradigm'?