Regenerative transformation (Moving beyond the sustainability mirage)
Conventional sustainability strategies haven’t stopped the “permacrisis”; too often, they’ve amounted to mere damage control without changing the rules. For you, this is no longer about image but economic survival: a company that thrives on degraded ecosystems, fragile communities, or social mistrust exposes itself to violent shocks.
Based on
Regeneration : The future of Community in a Permacrisis World, by Christian Sarkar, Philip Kotler and Enrico Foglia, Idea Bite Press 2023.
Regeneration offers a different logic: not to slow decline, but to restore what makes the economy possible—the commons. Fertile soil, clean water, a stable community, a baseline of social trust: that’s vital capital. A regenerative company is defined by its ability to strengthen these foundations. This is a strategic project, not a feel-good add-on. Leaders who adopt it build more resilient value chains, attract talent, and earn the “social license” to operate that’s essential in an unstable world.
1 . Structure your strategic thinking (to break free from the extractive model)
The first shift is acknowledging that the dominant model—maximizing shareholder return while externalizing social and ecological costs—has hit its limit. How do we move from an extractive logic to a generative one, creating value while making ecosystems stronger?
Refocus value creation. A regenerative company doesn’t just optimize EBITDA; it also measures the community wealth it leaves behind.
Dutch insurer Achmea, for example, is relocalizing services and investing in preventive health to diminish accidents and social costs.
Internalize hidden costs. Carbon pricing isn’t enough; you need to build the true value of water, soil, and human labor into internal prices.
Finnish textile group Spinnova bills its internal units using near-zero-impact fibers as the benchmark, forcing real economic trade-offs.
Relocalize smartly. Shortening certain supply chains secures raw materials and know-how.
The chocolatier Original Beans, based in Europe, pays cocoa-growing communities directly by funding reforestation that stabilizes its supply chains.
Support regenerative innovation.
Iceland’s Carbfix mineralizes CO₂ in basalt; France’s Ÿnsect industrializes insect protein to avoid soy-linked deforestation; energy group Iberdrola co-develops renewable microgrids with local communities.
Measure differently. Measuring performance differently is now critical. It’s not just about tracking carbon: you need tools that make social impact, ecosystem health, and local trust visible—such as a Net Regenerative Score or Impact-Weighted Accounts—to track not only carbon but also ecosystem restoration and social cohesion.
Italy’s Chiesi Farmaceutici already publishes an integrated carbon-plus-social report.
Cooperate beyond competition. Denmark’s Ørsted and several rival utilities share offshore infrastructure to boost offshore wind production; automakers are shifting to recyclable-battery consortia (Northvolt, ACC) instead of investing solo.
She spent 12 years in industry, working for Bolloré Technologies, among others. She co-founded Business Digest in 1992 and has been running the company since 1998. And she took the Internet plunge in 1996, even before coming on board as part of the BD team.
To keep informed in trends in management and leadership
I would like to receive the Business Digest newsletter
Nous utilisons des cookies sur ce site. Avec votre consentement, nous les utiliserons pour mesurer et analyser l'utilisation du site. Visitez notre page sur la politique cookie pour en savoir plus.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
