The REGENERATION of THE COMMON GOOD
Here’s a small mystery, the sort that hides in plain sight until some fact stops the observer cold on the sidewalk: heat, unlike almost every other catastrophe on offer at present, does not announce itself. A hurricane has the decency to spin on the weather map for a week before it arrives, like a guest … Read more
Rock Against Racism (RAR) was born in 1976 at a moment of moral urgency in the United Kingdom—when racist violence was rising on the streets and the far-right National Front was gaining ground at the ballot box. What began as a cultural response quickly became a movement: between 1976 and 1982, RAR activists organized carnivals, … Read more
Mikio Shishido founded the Kamakura Mindfulness Lab to bring the spirit of Zen and mindfulness to corporate management, organizational development and human resource development. He also co-founded Zen 2.0, an international forum on Zen and mindfulness, which is held annually at Kenchoji Temple in Kamakura. He is a co-author of Marketing ZEN. Kamakura is not … Read more
Les Szabo is Chief Strategy & Impact Officer at Dr. Bronner’s, the top-selling natural brand of soap in North America. He joined Dr. Bronner’s in 2013. In his current role, Les guides company-wide strategic planning and leads initiatives that strengthen organizational capabilities and drive sustainable growth. He oversees four core functions: Organizational Planning & Project Management, Philanthropy, … Read more
After a decade devoted to vintage and years of global travel, Elio Ferraro turned his attention to the realm he considers the pinnacle of craftsmanship: Haute Couture. Guided by a philosophy that celebrates uniqueness and artistic lineage, he returned to Sicily and established his headquarters in Palermo. His goal? To design one-of-a-kind pieces which are the … Read more
Across many dryland and Mediterranean landscapes, long periods of agricultural pressure, deforestation, and climatic variability have gradually reduced soil fertility, water infiltration, and ecological resilience. As vegetation cover declines, rainfall is increasingly lost to runoff and evaporation rather than absorbed into living soils. Over time, this weakens local ecosystems, reduces biodiversity, and places growing pressure … Read more
Christian Felber is an Austrian activist, book writer, university lecturer, international speaker and contemporary dancer. He initiated the Economy for the Common Good movement and the project Bank for the Common Good. The Economy for the Common Good is a young social movement and a concrete model for a new economy that started five years ago in Austria. … Read more
We met Lucia Lauro a little over four years ago when she was blazing a trail of social-entrepreneurship in the heart of Palermo’s Ballaro neighborhood – with Al Fresco Bistrot, Cotti in Fragranza, and Casa San Francesco Rooms. Now, she’s helping other social entrepreneurs improve their game as a strategic adviser and project manager with … Read more
Human interaction has long been considered the ‘backdrop’ to social, economic and legal relations. However, with the advent of digital technologies and, more recently, artificial intelligence, human interaction has become an ‘at-risk’ asset and, therefore, ‘visible’ as an absolute value, thus taking on the clear consistency of an interest worthy of legal protection. But what … Read more
The Future Teenager Imagine a young teenager born twenty years from now walking through a supermarket. They pick up a loaf of bread and turn the package in their hands. The label does not list only calories or price, or a nutrition score, it tells how much soil was replenished, how much water was returned, … Read more
Leoluca Orlando is a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) and the former long-serving Mayor of Palermo, widely celebrated for his transformative leadership in revitalizing the Sicilian capital. During his tenure, Orlando spearheaded a comprehensive regeneration of the city, pulling it out of the dark shadow of Mafia dominance and systemic corruption that had plagued … Read more
Watch: Jaz Brisack is the bestselling author of Get on the Job and Organize: Standing Up for a Better Workplace and a Better World – a riveting “how-to” guide for the new Union movement sweeping the US. A few reviews of the book: “Here’s the light to illuminate these dark times — an account of … Read more
Victoria Hurth works globally at the intersect of academia and hands-on business to help companies transition to be drivers of long-term wellbeing for all (sustainability). This includes advising executives across a wide range of sectors on the intersect between purpose, sustainability, ESG and reporting and how to lead the transformative change needed. Her forthcoming book … Read more
Daniel Erasmus explains how ClimateGPT can make a difference at this late stage of the game. Watch: NOTE: we used ClimateGPT to dig deeper into the seven wicked problems for our book: Wicked Problems: What can we do in this Time of Collapse?
Jaz Brisack, nationally known as a co-founder of Starbucks Workers United, is a practitioner in residence at the UC Berkeley Labor Center. During their year-long residency, Brisack developed the “Inside Organizer School,” which they co-founded in 2018 to train non-union workers and “salts” to unionize their workplaces. Brisack is the author of the bestseller Get on … Read more
Filip Geuens is a seasoned business transformation consultant and manager. With over three decades of experience, he specializes in developing revenue strategies, leading sales and marketing operations, solving complex business challenges and change management. Living in Vienna and working in CEE and CIS in the 1990s showed him that large-scale societal change is possible. Filip … Read more
In this time of permacrisis—where climate breakdown, economic inequality, democratic erosion, cultural fragmentation, and war crimes converge—we recognize that the systems and leaders governing our lives are failing to serve people and planet. The pursuit of narrow, extractive self-interest has corrupted our institutions, deepened divisions, and eroded trust. We stand at a crossroads: continue down the … Read more
In their book Regeneration: The Future of Community in a Permacrisis World, Christian Sarkar, Philip Kotler, and Enrico Foglia discuss the critical importance of cultural regeneration as one of the nine domains of the Common Good requiring urgent transformation. The other domains—social, economics, nature, work, media, law, technology, and politics—each play vital roles in shaping our … Read more
On the occasion of an approaching publication of arkH3’s latest systemic projections and a resource for business leaders, we sat down with some of its authors and contributions – Alice Kalro (lead author), Dr Claudia Gasparovic, and Dr Julio Campos, to discuss the implications of their findings for strategy and business leaders in charge of organisations … Read more
Jonathon Porritt is an eminent writer and campaigner on sustainable development. For the last 30 years, Jonathon has provided strategic advice to leading UK and international companies to deepen their understanding of today’s converging environmental and climate crises. He is also focused on intergenerational justice, supporting young people in their activities around sustainable development issues … Read more
David Cobb is a “people’s lawyer” who has sued corporate polluters, lobbied elected officials, run for political office himself, and been arrested for non-violent civil disobedience. He believes we must provoke—and win– a peaceful revolution for a peaceful, just, sustainable and cooperative society if we are to survive. In 2004, he ran for President of … Read more
We learned about Fujitsu’s regeneration strategy in development – see The Regenerative Enterprise: A New Sustainable Enterprise – and decided to follow up. This interview was conducted with Hiroshi Nishikawa, senior director of technology vision, and Cristiano Bellucci, technology vision strategist. How does Fujitsu define its regeneration strategy, and what are its core objectives? We live in a time which … Read more
The need for collective action on a global scale has never been more urgent, especially in the face of interconnected crises like climate change, pandemics, economic inequality, and geopolitical tensions. However, the existing global governance structures, largely shaped by the Bretton Woods framework established in the 1940s, are increasingly out of sync with the demands of today’s … Read more
All the world’s spiritual traditions have deeply embedded regenerative principles – especially in relation to leadership, stewardship, and sustainability. So why is it that our economic system doesn’t recognize these traditions? DOWNLOAD the PDF >> The late David Graeber warned us about why the corporate world is not fit-for-purpose if we want a future worth … Read more
In this accelerating Age of Collapse, we are witnessing the wholesale destruction of the Common Good. Our misleaders have abandoned their responsibility to creating a society where human dignity and ecological balance are as important as profit-making. We are left to ask: How did we get here? What caused this destruction? We identified thirteen “weapons … Read more
When business leaders talk about ecosystems, they often conjure up images of sprawling supply chains, digital platforms or interconnected industries. But in the rush to draw parallels, the term has become little more than corporate jargon – another way of describing complex business networks without recognizing the underlying systems that determine their success or failure. True … Read more
Marcus Feldthus and Oscar Haumann created the Post Growth Business 101 course to help us explore how businesses can align with the leading science on planetary and social boundaries. It offers explainers, case studies, online courses, books and public talks. We interviewed Marcus Feldhus to better understand what the planetary boundaries mean for business, and … Read more
Politics holds no meaning if our planet dies. We have poisoned the air, the water, the land, and our thoughts. Toxic leaders guide us to extinction. Our understanding of the world comes from our stories—truths, lies, and cherished beliefs. What is ideology if not a story? Politicians are storytellers – they tell us what we … Read more
Understand community strengths and assets is a key part of developing regenerative projects for the Common Good. As usual, it’s all about deep listening. And, as we explore pathways to value creation in yet another community in Southern Italy, we wanted to share some insights gleaned from our workshops. The former mayor of Palermo Leoluca … Read more
James Godfrey-Faussett is lead forester at SUGi, with 28 years of horticultural, landscaping and garden design experience. He integrates organic and biodynamic methods to design and implement practical, local solutions to help our planet and heal precious forest ecosystems. Wildfires are everywhere. The Planet is on fire across all continents… can you start by telling … Read more
Rahul Basu works on implementing intergenerational equity, beginning with minerals in Goa. With a background in the world of finance and economics, Rahul proposals have resulted in the creation of the Goa Iron Ore Permanent Fund. He spearheads the campaign to modify the treatment of mining in the IMF’s Government Finance Statistics Manual and the … Read more
George Tsakraklides has a diverse background in the sciences, having trained in molecular biology, chemistry, food science, and Earth sciences. He has also worked in data analytics and marketing sciences for some of the world’s largest corporations, giving him a front-row seat to some of the most profit-driven and exploitative aspects of human society. After … Read more
It’s time to stand for the seven generations. We can all see the Earth is heating up, that polar ice and glaciers are melting, and that ever more fires, floods and droughts are screaming at us that our climate is unraveling. Our societies are also showing signs of unraveling. But the legendary, world-renowned Native American … Read more
We had the privilege of listening to this over lunch. Michel Bauwens describes the “emergence of a new type of ‘fourth sector’ organization, i.e. networks with commons, and a convergence of the old geographic model of rule by ‘states’ and empires, with the new forms of trans-local forms of self-organization and value creation.” Thanks for … Read more
Andrew Winston is a globally-recognized expert on megatrends, sustainable business, and how to build companies that profit by contributing to a thriving world. He is currently ranked #3 on the Thinkers50 list of the most influential management thinkers in the world. Andrew’s best-selling books on strategy and sustainability — including Green to Gold, The Big Pivot, and Net Positive — have … Read more
BY GREG SATELL When we’re passionate about an idea, we want others to see it the same way we do, with all its beautiful complexity and nuance. We want to believe that if others can just understand it, they will embrace it. That’s why most change management practices focus on persuasion, explaining the need for change and … Read more
Erin Remblance is a Sydney-based writer and co-creator of (re)Biz. Can you tell us how you began the journey to become an advocate for degrowth and regeneration? I was already quite active in the climate space when I read Jason Hickel’s Less is More: How Degrowth Will Save the World just over two years ago. For … Read more
Salvatore Di Dio is an Associate Professor of Design at the University of Palermo. He was also the co-founder and former managing director of PUSH, a Lab for social innovation and sustainability, founded in Palermo in 2013. Its research activities intersect design, social sciences and digital technologies with the aim of developing solutions to enhance … Read more
Marjorie Kelly is Distinguished Senior Fellow at The Democracy Collaborative (TDC), a nonprofit working to catalyze the creation of a democratic economy, where people reclaim control from extractive capital, and where all economic institutions are designed for justice. She is a leading theorist in democratic economy design, including next generation enterprise, place-based impact investing, and a next system of … Read more
Alice Kalro is an emerging global thought leader in science-based corporate sustainability, providing practical guidance on science-aligned business transformations and urging corporations to take on a systems leadership role in order to help secure a just and liveable future for all. We caught up with her in the midst of her hectic schedule – with this interview. Thomas … Read more
At a certain point, this fight for the Planet becomes personal. ASK: Who or what is stopping us from addressing the most urgent challenges we face as a human family? What’s in this interview? 00:03 Introductions 01:05 Outlining the planetary boundary & tipping points framework 05:14 How long before we see tipping points occurring? 10:00 … Read more
BY STEVEN DAY If you’re a reasonably young person who is opposing measures to address climate change for reasons of financial or political gain, be afraid. Be very afraid. Largely out of public view, there is a growing advocacy for treating certain forms of climate change denial as a crime. The political will to do this doesn’t exist … Read more
The story of the Birrificio Messina cooperative is a positive example of “regeneration,” where workers rescue struggling companies through the cooperative formula. The local community has played a pivotal role in this success, supported by the Messina Community Foundation. This experience represents a ray of hope in the industry, challenging large multinational corporations. The new … Read more
Guido Palazzo is a professor of business ethics at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland. His research analyzes the conditions and causes of corporate scandal. With his colleague Ulrich Hoffrage, he is currently finalizing a book on ethical failures in organizations. Each scandal comes with thousands of pages of court documents, whistle blower reports, articles, … Read more
Adapted from the book REGENERATION: The Future of Community in a Permacrisis World IDEA BITE PRESS (May, 2023) The USA, and increasingly the rest of the world, is becoming more and more fragmented – with COVID being blamed[1], in part, for the death of the Common Good. If we cannot agree – as nations, as institutions, and as … Read more
One explanation for the fires in Hawaii is the “flash drought.” We wanted to understand what that means, so we republished this article with permission. BY Antonia Hadjimichael, Penn State Many people are familiar with flash floods – torrents that develop quickly after heavy rainfall. But there’s also such a thing as a flash drought, … Read more
One of the biggest problems is that the public, especially in the United States, doesn’t even comprehend the extent of the problem. Silence kills. In this case, it kills us all. How do you talk to someone who doesn’t believe in climate change? Not by rehashing the same data and facts we’ve been discussing for … Read more
Robert Costanza is Professor of Ecological Economics at the Institute for Global Prosperity (IGP) at University College London (UCL). He is also currently a Senior Fellow at the Stockholm Resilience Centre in Stockholm, Sweden, and Honorary Professor at the Australian National University, an Affiliate Fellow at the Gund Institute at the University of Vermont, and … Read more
BY Alan Pears, RMIT University It made headlines around the world when the much-hyped Barbie movie contributed to a world shortage of fluorescent pink paint. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. When movies or TV shows become cultural phenomena, toymakers jump on board. And that comes with a surprisingly large amount of plastic … Read more
Joachim H. Spangenberg is Vice-President of the Sustainable Europe Research Institute(SERI) in Cologne, Germany. With a PhD in economics, but an academic background in biology and ecology, he is an inter- and trans-disciplinary researcher by education and dedication. He works on sustainable development strategies, environmental conflicts, sustainable consumption, biodiversity conservation by pressure reduction, ecosystem services … Read more
John Elkington, Co-Founder & Chief Pollinator at Volans, is one of the founders of the global sustainability movement, an experienced advisor to business, and a highly regarded keynote speaker and contributor, from conferences to advisory boards. In 2008, The Evening Standard named John among the ‘1000 Most Influential People’ in London, describing him as “a … Read more
Francesco Bellina is an artist and photojournalist based in Palermo, Sicily. His work focuses primarily on contemporary socio-political issues, with a particular emphasis on the topic of migration. He attended the Faculty of Law in Palermo while simultaneously dedicating himself to photography. His work has been published in The Financial Times, The Guardian, Al Jazeera, … Read more
Pia Heidenmark Cook is a Senior Advisor with Teneo, working with the ESG and Sustainability team to advise clients on how to develop and operationalise sustainability strategies and the implications for reputation strategies. Prior to Teneo, Pia was the Chief Sustainability Officer for IKEA, where she led the development and implementation of the IKEA People … Read more
Tensie Whelan (NYU ‘80), Clinical Professor for Business and Society, is the Director of the NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business, where she is bringing her 25 years of experience working on local, national and international sustainability issues to engage businesses in proactive and innovative mainstreaming of sustainability. As the former President of the Rainforest Alliance, she transformed the … Read more
Dr. Stanislav Edward Shmelev is the founder and CEO of Environment Europe Foundation and Director of Environment Europe Limited. He is the founder of the Oxford Summer School in Ecological Economics, which has been running since 2012. What is Ecological Economics?Ecological Economics is a new interdisciplinary field focused on economy-environment interactions and aimed at finding … Read more
“Net Zero is Latin for Kick the Can down the road.” Climate scientist Kevin Anderson warns us about the delay tactics and obfuscation preventing us from addressing the planetary collapse ahead. He cautions against believing the political rhetoric about progress in the fight against climate change and calls on us to push for bold policy … Read more
Do you ask – what kind of organization have we become? And – what are we going to be in the future? Better even: what does the future require from us? Thinking this way is the first step to moving beyond business as usual. In our book Regeneration: The Future of Community in a Permacrisis World, … Read more
In our book Regeneration: The Future of Community in a Permacrisis World, we describe the various methods available for a community and community leaders to come together to help create value for the community – centered around the Common Good. To help practitioners put it all together, we created the Regeneration Exploration Guidelines for Communities … Read more
Carbon colonialism is the unequal distribution of the burdens and benefits associated with addressing climate change and the transition to a low-carbon economy. A parallel to historical colonialism, where power imbalances and exploitation were prevalent, carbon colonialism suggests that developed countries, primarily responsible for historical greenhouse gas emissions, continue to exercise economic and political dominance … Read more
Regeneration operates at five levels of impact – the 5 nested worlds or lifespaces we live in: Total regeneration integrates all 5 worlds: It is the world of work and business that has dominated our economic and social lives – with the absurd measure of shareholder value-creation used as a yardstick for societal wellbeing. Most of all, we must learn to view regeneration … Read more
Post COVID, there is a clear shift in how businesses and governments are looking at Sustainability. There’s an argument to made for Resilience. And that makes sense until we ask – wait, who is going to be more resilient? And where does that leave Regeneration? Let’s break it down: The Problem of Sustainability Sustainability is … Read more
This is a list from our book titled “Regeneration: The Future of Community in a Permacrisis World.” As we continue our exploration at the institute, and on this site, we will add to these tests. Using our definition of regeneration, we compiled this list. We called it The 22 Tests for Regeneration. What have we left … Read more
Our book, “Regeneration: The Future of Community in a Permacrisis World,” is an exploration. We don’t have the answers, but we started with these questions – The etymology of the word regeneration is traced to the mid-14 century, regeneracioun, “act of regenerating or producing anew,” originally spiritual, also of the Resurrection, from Old French regeneracion (Modern French regénération) and directly from … Read more
The Regeneration Journal is the official journal of the Regenerative Marketing Institute. The articles and interviews on this site begin where we left off with our book – “Regeneration: The Future of Community in a Permacrisis World.” We’ll explore the themes in the book in more detail, and then venture beyond – to add details … Read more