“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.” ~ Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities
The world is going through a major re-evaluation.
There are a great many challenges facing us today. Severe weather events (floods, fires, hurricanes) are appearing in regions with magnitudes that had not been seen before. Broken food systems and declining natural resources combined with increased global demand are threatening food security and global peace. Large population movements driven by poverty and declining agricultural output are continuing despite decades of directed aid. And the list goes on...
How did we get here?
Without a doubt, a major contributor has been our "way of thinking". We have been using models and theories that did not recognize interconnections - we saw the parts but forgot to look at the whole. Thereby we ‘lost’ our connection to each other, to Nature, and our responsibility to future generations.
A New Way of Being and Doing
We can choose to inhabit our natural world as citizens rather than dominators of it. For this, we need to understand the underlying principles that govern the natural world (living systems), then learn to live according to them.
We hold the following points as a foundation for our new way of Being:
The universe, of which this planet is a part, is an integrated whole. The ‘parts’ within it are interconnected, thereby creating a ‘Web of Life’
Every living entity has a role and a purpose in the well-functioning of this integrated whole.
The impulse of the universe, including humans, moves towards evolution through the manifestation of creative potential.
The Practice of Regenerative Investing
Regeneration is about ensuring that today’s structures will support Life -- in all its vitality and diversity -- tomorrow; because today’s structures will become tomorrow’s infrastructures.
We believe “business” and “investing” can play a critical role in helping create a better future for all. To enable this, business must recognize its interconnections and embrace its responsibilities. And, investing must become an active tool of this enabling.
Our journey into developing the practice of regenerative investing started with the following animating question:
How would I respond if my daughter were to start a business?
Which led us to write a perspective paper (available here!) and start a community of practice to co-learn and to further develop the theory and the practitioners of the future.
