My guest this week is Andrew Winston, co-author of Net Positive (with Paul Polman) and a globally recognized expert on megatrends and how to build companies that thrive by serving the world. How net positive – which means thriving by solving the world’s problems, not causing them – is different from what came beforeWhat the outside-in perspective – including the science-based targets movement – means for business strategyWhat companies like Unilever, IKEA, Patagonia, Mars, Microsoft, Google,...

My guest this week is Kelly Price, who is Co-Founder and CEO of Agreed Earth. Kelly talks about how: Our current economic model looks a lot like cancer – and why systems thinking is a way to change our metabolism as a speciesFood security is a challenge of distribution rather than production – and how regenerative agriculture can “feed the world”We need to change the farmer’s business model – and get them out of the “weapons of agricultural war” businessChemical fertilisers – with the energy...

My guest this week is Eddy Annys, who is Managing Director of Randstad Belgium and a former Olympic athlete. Listen to Eddy talk about:  His experience as a world class high jumper, and how peak performance by world class athletes is only possible by having an enabling systemWhy ensuring that everyone has an opportunity for meaningful work remains a challenge – even in times and places of economic prosperityHow we need to challenge historical stereotypes of difference – such as gender and...

My guest this week is Charlie Curtis, who is Founder and Director of Progressive Agriculture Services and Head of Agriculture and Environment for the Cool Agriculture Alliance. Listen to Charlie talk about: How in developing countries offer many lessons on regenerative farming practices that can help to transform our food system in the global northWhy our farms are like drug addicts that we need to wean off chemicals in the transition to regenerative agricultureHow challenging the waste and...

My guest this week is Antony Yousefian, who is the Founding Partner of ReFi Ventures and Advisor to Tech Nation. Listen to Antony talk about how: Conventional intensive agriculture is extractive, while regenerative agriculture is better for food security, resilience and healthInnovation through regenerative agriculture can turn farming into a “hero industry” that reverses the destruction of nature’s ecoservicesEarly-stage investment and financial innovation (such as soil carbon credits) needs...

My guest this week is Virginie Helias, who is Chief Sustainability Officer at Procter & Gamble. Listen to Virginie talk about: Why the goal of thriving must be thriving for all people, not only for the few – and how innovation and collaboration are the keyHow licensing technology – such as digital watermarks to enable increased and improved plastic recycling – can help sustainable innovations to scaleWhy it is essential that employees are part of the thriving movement, most of whom now...

My guest this week is Douglas Tallamy, who is the T. A. Baker Professor of Agriculture at the University of Delaware, where he has authored over 100 research publications and has taught insect-related courses for more than 40 years. His bestselling books include book Bringing Nature Home, The Living Landscape, Nature’s Best Hope and The Nature of Oaks. Listen to Douglas talk about: How biodiversity loss is a silent catastrophe – and why you, me and everybody are nature’s best hopeWhy it’s...

My guest his week is Micaela Rizo Patrón, who is general manager of Perú Sostenible, a network of over 80 companies, which represents the World Business Council for Sustainable Development in Peru. Listen to Micaela speak about: What the more chaotic conditions and informal systems of developing countries can teach us about creativity and resilienceHow disruption can highlight the importance of purpose, the power of interconnection and the necessity for clear metrics of progressBest practices...

My guest this week is Mark Kramer, a Harvard lecturer and leading researcher, writer, speaker and consultant on strategies for social impact. He is best known as the co-author of seminal articles on creating shared value, collective impact, and catalytic philanthropy. Listen to Mark speak about:  Why there is a synergy between successful companies and healthy societies, a message that is at the heart of creating shared valueHow start-ups, rather than large incumbent companies, are better...

My guests this week are Claire Maxwell, John North and Anders Aspling, who make up the leadership team of the Globally Responsible Leadership Initiative (GRLI). They speak about: The critical importance of building trust and holding courageous conversations that help us navigate the liminal space between extinction and hopeWhy freedom, stability, regulation and imagination are some of the prerequisites for creating fair societies and the ability to flourishHow constant emergence is necessary...

My guest this week is Prof. dr Steven De Haes, Dean of Antwerp Management School. Listen to Steven talk about: Why shareholder-oriented business education can fairly be blamed for our previous global financial crisesHow self-awareness, global perspectives and societal consciousness are three pillars of responsible management educationWhy integrating sustainability into core business subjects is more important than separate sustainability degreesHow technology innovation needs the guiding hand...

My guest this week is Frankie Fox, CEO and Co-founder of foodsquared.earth, and a founder on Cohort 2 of Carbon13’s Venture Builder for the climate crisis. Listen to Frankie talk about: How waste from industrial processes is a massive business opportunity for social and eco-entrepreneursWhy start-up venture incubators are critical for seeding and scaling innovation for tackling climate changeHow by-products of the food and drinks sector, such as grain from beer companies, can be turned into...

My guest this week is David Lorimer, an educator and philosopher, program director of the Scientific and Medical Network and author of A Quest for Wisdom: Inspiring Purpose on the Path of Life. Listen to David talk about: How we can reframe education as “drawing out” rather than “stuffing in” – and why local action is a key to empowermentWhy we have a vacuum of meaning in our modern society – due to materialistic science and consumerist cultureHow we can link science, spirituality and...

My guest this week is Niccy Kol, Brand and Impact Catalyst for Raddis Cotton, which is building the world’s first regenerative cotton value chain, and Ambassador for Waste2Wear. Listen to Niccy talk about: Why promoting recycled and recyclable textiles in a circular economy do not go far enough – and why natural fibres are betterWhat it takes to create the world’s first regenerative cotton value chain – and four companies that are showing what’s possibleWhy it is crucial for brands to invest...

My guest this week is Dr Ervin Laszlo, a philosopher and systems scientist, Nobel Peace Prize nominee, founder and president of the international think tank The Club of Budapest, and author, co-author or editor of 106 books, including The Upshift. Listen to Ervin talk about:  Why we are at a chaos point in society – and how that represents a positive evolutionary opportunityWhat Putin’s invasion of the Ukraine and other great disruptions could mean from a systems change perspectiveHow holism...

My guest this week is Indira Kartallozi, who is Founder Director of Sustainability Leadership Kosova and co-director of the Kaleidoscope Futures Lab. Listen to Indira talk about:  How her own journey as a refugee brought insights into individual resilience and the challenges of diversity and inclusion in societyWhat is necessary to support migrants and refugees through their transition – and why ensuring dignity is so importantWhy, in supporting mental wellbeing, we must move beyond treating...

My guest this week is Professor Stuart Hart, who is the Steven Grossman Distinguished Fellow in Sustainable Innovation at the University of Vermont's Grossman School of Business, and author of "Capitalism at the Crossroads". Listen to Stuart talk about: -  Why thriving is a revolutionary agenda – and goes to the heart of the real purpose of the economy and capitalism -  The necessity to get beyond the business case for sustainability –- to the point where sustainability is the business -  How...

My guest this week is Leen Gorissen, founder of the Centre4NI and author of "Building the Future of Innovation on millions of years of Natural Intelligence". Listen to Leen talk about: - What natural intelligence means --- and how it applies to business and government - How termites and whales can help us to respond to climate change - What shifting from a circular economy to a regenerative approach could mean - How nature thrives on chaos -- and how some companies are applying this...

My guest this week is R. Edward Freeman, Olsson Professor of Business Administration at the Institute for Business in Society at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business, and the founding father of stakeholder theory. Listen to him talk about: - Why the real business case is about creating stakeholder value -- and moving beyond trade-offs to synergies - What we can learn about thriving from ancient and modern philosophers -- and why there's no such thing as an ethical leader - Why...

My guest this week is Dame Polly Courtice, DBE, LVO, who is the Founder Director of the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership. Listen to Polly talk about: - How her roots in South Africa shaped her thinking on sustainability -- and how issues of social justice remain close to her heart - What has changed in the sustainability movement over the past 30 years -- and what we have to urgently focus on today - Why so few leaders really understand systems thinking -- and...

My guest in this week's inaugural episode, launched on World Environment Day 2022, is John Elkington, Founder and Chief Pollinator at Volans, author of Green Swans and widely hailed thought leader in the global sustainability movement. Listen to him talk about: - Why he withdrew the triple bottom line (the 3Ps of people, planet, profit) 25 years after introducing it -- and then added 3Rs (you'll have to listen to find out what they are) - Why he gave up science when he was 14 -- and then went...

Welcome to the Thriving podcast. This short description tells you what to expect in the coming episodes, which launch on World Environment Day 2022. Join me, Prof Wayne Visser, for inspiring conversations with leaders in the breakthrough movement to regenerate nature, society and the economy.  We do not indulge in false hope or blind optimism, but we actively focus on innovative solutions and positive tipping points for change. The podcast builds on the foundations of my bestselling book...