How do we Regenerate the Common Good?

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

Community Regeneration: Where to Begin

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

“Beyond the Petri Dish” – An Interview with George Tsakraklides

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

Oren Lyons: “Nature’s the Boss.”

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

Michel Bauwens on Cosmo-Localism

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

“What Next for Sustainability?” – An interview with Andrew Winston

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

“Degrowth: The Quest for a Social Tipping Point” – An Interview with Erin Remblance

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

“Community Living Labs: A Place-Based Approach to Regeneration” – An Interview with Salvatore Di Dio

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

“Wealth Supremacy – An Interview with Marjorie Kelly

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

“Minding the Sustainability Gap: From Unsustainable Core to Business-as-the-World-Needs” – An Interview with Alice Kalro

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

“Planetary Boundaries” – Kevin Anderson interviews Johan Rockström

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

The Regeneration of Birra Messina: From “shout down” to agreement with Heineken

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

The Destruction of the Common Good: Laying the Foundation of a Zero-Trust Society

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

“Beyond Growth, to Wellbeing” – An Interview with Robert Costanza

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

“Beyond the Worst” – An Interview with John Elkington

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

“Witness to the Collapse” – An Interview with Francesco Bellina

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

“The Time Horizon of Sustainability” – An Interview with Pia Heidenmark Cook

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

Guidelines for Community Regeneration

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

The Problem of Carbon Colonialism

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

The 5 Worlds of Regeneration

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

Sustainability, Resilience, Regeneration – What’s the Difference?

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

22 Tests for Regeneration

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

What is Regeneration?

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

Our Purpose

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