My guest this week is Fritjof Capra, living systems theorist and bestselling author of The Systems View of Life. He discusses how: Systems thinking represents a shift from a mechanistic to an organic or network worldviewComplexity theory brought a breakthrough in our understanding of living systemsLiving systems are self-organising networks with processes of creativity and regenerationSocial systems are enabled by communities of practice, informal communication and cultureChange agency...

My guest this week is Sarah Langford, author of Rooted: Stories of Life, Land and a Farming Revolution. She discusses how: The UK’s policy of “public money for public good” is helping farmers to reclaim their role as stewards of the landWe can learn lessons for transforming the food sector from farmers struggling with the transition to regenerative agricultureReforming the agricultural system needs to simultaneously tackle public health, biodiversity loss and food securityLivestock farming...

My guest this week is Jed Emerson, Chief Impact Officer, AlTi Tiedemann Global and author of The Purpose of Capital. He discusses how: Impact investing, social return on investment, venture philanthropy, and blended value are related, reinforcing concepts and practicesESG investing is not a new idea or practice, going back at least to the Mennonite shareholder activism in relation to the Dutch East India CompanyThe ethical investment movement has evolved from screened socially responsible...

My guest this week is Robbin Jorgensen, Founder and CEO of Women Igniting Change. She discusses how: “Listening tours” in Rwanda reveal inspiring women with resilience, innovation and creativityWe need to work with men and change societal norms to create the opportunities for womenChanging behaviours in companies is a systemic change that takes time and commitmentImposter syndrome is common among women and can be countered by solidary groupsMen may need to “pipe down” sometimes to ensure that...

My guest this week is Erinch Sahan, Business & Enterprise Lead at Doughnut Economics Action Lab (DEAL). In this episode, he discusses how:  Incentives in business are working against planetary boundaries and social foundationsGrowth as a core driver of business is incompatible with doughnut economicsWe need to make the deep design of business regenerative and distributiveRedesign must be at the level of purpose, networks, governance, ownership and financeNew models of business (beyond...

My guest this week is Nicole Masters, Director of Integrity Soils and author of For the Love of Soil. In this episode, she discusses how:  Farmers feel connected to the land, yet are destroying the living soil“Feeding the world” is a distribution problem, not a production problemRegenerative agriculture is a philosophy or paradigm, not a set of techniquesThe science of soil health and the movement of regeneration is still youngOur inner and outer landscape need to be more connectedKey...

My guest this week is David Harland, until recently the CEO (International) of the Eden Project, with its two biomes with a million plants and the world’s largest indoor rainforest. In this episode, he discusses how: The Eden Project shows “the art of the possible” in turning ecosystem degradation into restorationBuckminster Fuller’s “spaceship earth” concept and geodesic domes served as an inspiration for the Eden ProjectThe Eden Project showcases the positive impacts of regeneration of...

My guest this week is Tamara Makoni, Founder and CEO of Kazuri Consulting. In this episode, she discusses how:  Equality and equity are different – and why equity is more important for creating fair outcomesDiscrimination often emerges unconsciously, for example through “micro-aggressions”Diversity and inclusion require investment of time and resources in order to make progressDE&I creates value for organisations and society, but this is not often quantifiedWe need to learn the lessons of...

My guest this week is Aneel Kumar Ambavaram is the Founder Director of the Raddis (Radically Disruptive) Cotton Program. In this episode, he discusses how:  He made the transition from selling agricultural chemicals to leading regenerative agricultureRegenerative agriculture increases the resilience for small farmers in a climate damaged worldTransformation is a process of linking back to the traditional wisdom of older generationsBringing diversity of crops and techniques back to farming is...

My guest this week is Hanan Challouki, the Founder of Inclusified. In this episode, she discusses why:  Inclusion goes beyond having the right processes to having the right cultureListening is as important as giving people a seat at the tableDiverse teams are more productive and more creativeDiversity is most needed – and hardest to embrace – in times of uncertaintyCreating time and space for courageous conversations is needed in the workplaceKey links Hanan Challouki (LinkedIn) Inclusified...

My guest this week is Ludvig Liljekvist, Global Strategy, Development & Innovation Insight and Foresight leader for Ingka Group (largest IKEA retailer). In this episode, he discusses: What “positive” means in IKEA’s People and Planet Positive strategyWhy circularity remains challenging for a retail business focused on affordabilityHow three “wicked” (entangled) problems are shaping possible, projected and preferable futuresWhy world building is a useful foresight technique for strategyHow...

My guest this week is Audrey-Flore Ngomsik, CEO & Co-Founder of Trianon Scientific Communication and President of The Brussels Binder. In this episode, she discusses how: A more complex and dynamic world makes diversity more necessary to survive and thriveIncorporating diversity into targets and incentives is needed to make change happenRole models are important for breaking barriers and inspiring those that followDiversity can drive better stakeholder engagement and commercial...

My guest this week is Tino Chibebe, author of The Black Opportunity, Founders’ Associate at Azteq and Investment Committee member at Impact Shakers Microfund. In this episode, he discusses how: Impact investing can make a critical difference in tackling social and environmental challengesAfropeans are underrepresented in the venture capital and technology space in BelgiumThere is a bias against Black entrepreneurs, in part due to a lack of visibility and role modelsThe “daughter effect” in...

My guest this week is Valérie Trouet, a palaeoclimatologist, Professor of Dendrochronology at the University of Arizona and Scientific Director of the Belgian Climate Centre. In this episode, she discusses how: Studying tree rings can give insights into climate change over the past 2,000 yearsThere is evidence that climate change was a contributing factor to the fall of RomeScience needs the support of enabling government policy to turn insight into actionCommunicating scientific findings...

My guest this week is Bhupinder Bhullar, CEO and Co-Founder of Swiss Vault. In this episode, he discusses how: Data storage represents around 4% of global carbon emissions and $66 billion of e-wasteEnergy footprints and cybersecurity risk are especially high for genetic data storageInnovation has led to more than 10X reductions in energy consumption in data storageLack of protection individual genetic data can compromise others who share hereditary genesUsing DNA as a data storage technology...

My guest this week is Nuria Chinchilla, the IESE Business School Professor of Leadership and Head of the IESE Chair on Women in Leadership. In this episode, she discusses how: Waste and pollution occur not only in the natural environment, but also in societyValues are different from value, help us to go beyond a new mindset to a new heartsetWe need to challenge the view of employees as machines, resources or economic agentsParticipative purpose is key to changing the tyranny of management by...

My guest this week is Jason Walters, Director of GlobeScan, who has overseen research among 11,000 people from 11 countries on biodiversity and business. In this episode he talks about: Why action on biodiversity is so far behind action on climate change – yet starting to gain traction in the past 2 yearsHow only 2% of people believe nature is in a good or satisfactory condition, and 88% of experts find the situation alarming or catastrophicHow most people are somewhat optimistic that we can...

My guest this week is Lucy Siegle, a British journalist, broadcaster and author of books on ethical living, including most recently Be the Ultimate Friend of the Earth.  In this episode, she talks about: What the role of the media is in educating people on social and environmental issues – and how requirements for “balanced” reporting can be a barrierHow the politicisation of media is slowing progress, while the public (and often business) is ahead of politicians on issues like climate...

My guest this week is Paul Hawken, environmentalist, entrepreneur, activist and author of the bestselling books The Ecology of Commerce, Drawdown and Regeneration. In this episode, he talks about:  Why sustainability has become a “weasel word” and limited practice that we may be better off avoiding altogetherHow regeneration is different to sustainability – and is necessary to move beyond an extractive economyWhy climate change will never be “solved” unless we protect and restoring life...

My guest week is Francoise Chombar, Chairwoman at MELEXIS and STEM Platform, and board member at AMS and Umicore. In this episode, she talks about: How technology can be a force for positive impact, but only if it is inclusive – and how inclusion is a driver for innovationWhy diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) needs to become a societal and organisational habit to be effectiveWhat being a Steminist – a STEM feminist – means and why it is a crucial solution to economic and societal...

My guest week is Jon Khoo, Head of Sustainability (EAAA) at Interface. In this episode, he talks about: Why doing “less bad” is no longer a credible option and what becoming a restorative enterprise means in practice, in terms of ambitious strategy and regenerative designHow Interface is learning to live zero, love carbon, let nature cool and lead the industrial revolution (the four elements of the Climate Takeback mission)Why changing the narrative on sustainability and climate action is...

My guest week is Claudia Lee, a journalist and podcaster on sustainable food systems. In this episode, she talks about: How the food system needs to navigate the challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss, plastic and chemical pollution and food securityWhy tackling food waste is critical, with pioneering cases like Rice Inc in China; I also share my revolutionary idea to radically cut restaurant and hotel food wasteThe health benefits of plant-based diets and the environmental...

My guest this week is Kumi Naidoo, Founding Chair at Africans Rising and former Secretary General at Amnesty International and Executive Director at Greenpeace. In this episode, he talks about why: Thriving requires a can-do attitude and intergenerational mentality that accepts that social and environmental justice is a struggle of a lifetimeFraming climate change as an environmental issue was a strategic and tactical blunder of major proportionsEnvironmental decline is not from lack of...

My guest this week is Peggy Van Casteren, Head of SDG & Community Impact at J&J Benelux. In this episode, she talks about how:  Sustainability is like a set of muscles in business, which need to be connected, exercised and strengthenedThe healthcare industry is evolving from a focus on curing sickness to early interception and prevention of diseaseAccess to medicines relies on education, partnerships and technology (like drone delivery) to tackle global unmet needs for healthClosing...