What is regeneration?
“Regeneration is putting life at the center of decision making.” Paul Hawken
Regenerative solutions support life by creating the conditions for both nature and humans to thrive. This is accomplished by restoring, renewing or revitalizing our own sources of materials and energy.
“Regenerative design uses whole systems thinking to create resilient and equitable systems that integrate the needs of society with maintaining healthy ecologies. Regenerative designers use systems thinking, applied permaculture design principles, and community development processes to design human and ecological systems.
This approach can be applied to agriculture, architecture, community planning, cities, enterprises, economics and ecosystems.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regenerative_design
A regenerative business might offer a product that heals nature and helps humans, and in addition might use renewable energy, reduce waste, use green suppliers, focus on its local community, take good care of its employees, and give back to the community. Regenerative practice and design goes beyond sustainability to heal and improve ecological systems and our own lives. This approach, achieved through a holistic approach that anybody can learn to do, is creating solutions that help both the earth and us, creating health and abundance.
So how is regeneration different from sustainability?
Sustainability means to make things last, to maintain things as they are. For most people, this implies continuing to conduct business as usual, but reducing or eliminating the damage done in the process. One problem with this approach is that it is often not feasible to continue doing things the way we have because some of the things our society is doing are destructive, or “degenerative,” at their core. For instance, there is likely no way to make fossil fuels sustainable. The extraction, processing and use of them all create multiple forms of damage that cannot be repaired at the pace it is created.
An example of practices considered sustainable would be solar panels. The mining, creation, delivery and discard of them all have degenerative elements, though using solar can prevent even worse damage from fossil fuels, and is thus more sustainable. It can even allow regeneration of damaged landscapes and health by reducing use of fossil fuels.
Degenerative practices result in the active destruction of resources, species, human health and well-being, etc, and can destroy the ability of these systems to recover without considerable aid. Examples include mountaintop removal for coal, clear cutting jungles that result in desertification, or using agricultural practices that destroy water quality, topsoil and fertility.
Regeneration actively improves systems, heals damage, and creates more potential and abundance than what is used up. This is done through processes that restore, renew or revitalize their own sources of energy and materials. Regenerative design uses whole systems thinking to create systems that provide for the needs of both humans and nature while healing both.
Regenerative solutions are often very creative, innovative and outside of the box of “business as usual.” They usually offer multiple benefits across sectors. For instance, regenerative agriculture builds soil, increases infiltration of rainwater, promotes healthy vegetation and wildlife habitat, creates more nutrient-dense food, doesn’t release poisons into the water and soil, and captures carbon, among other benefits. It heals both nature and people.
Regenerative solutions can appear more challenging than “business as usual.” As we continue to degrade our environment, there will be a point where business as usual is obviously more challenging than regenerative solutions. When taking into consideration the full costs of degenerative practices, regenerative solutions are less expensive, more successful and easier to implement than degenerative ones, but few people are aware of the extent of this.
A major purpose of this website is to increase and accelerate access to those solutions in a number of different ways. Because climate change is a major concern for many of us, and because many of the best solutions to this are not broadly communicated or known, we are especially interested in supporting solutions that address this issue.
More information: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regenerative_design
Who can list with us?
There are numerous yellow pages and ways to find companies on the internet and off. We do not intend to replicate those efforts but to offer a unique service that lists companies, projects and organizations who are serious about implementing regenerative solutions for the climate and environment through their product or service. We are especially interested in ensuring we list cutting edge and lesser known solutions, regenerative start ups, backyard endeavors, small businesses and local non-profits as these groups have a harder time reaching a broad audience.
Most companies these days have a program to be more “green” or sustainable. While we laud all of those efforts and plan to offer services to support you to increase those efforts, we are focused specifically on listing companies whose main products, services and goals are regenerative or sustainable in our directory. So we wouldn’t list a company or organization simply because they use green energy for instance - their main service or product must also focus on regenerative and environmentally friendly solutions.
Because so many aspects of our culture are degenerative instead of regenerative, we will also list some sustainable, or generative, solutions. For instance, there are very few truly regenerative solutions in the energy or building sector available to many of us at this time. But to avoid more damage from highly degenerative practices in those fields, we are listing solutions such as solar or wind. We feel that a gradient approach is realistic in that field and we use solar ourselves.
We would like to support you if you intend to transition your activity, service or product to a regenerative model. For instance, if you’re a builder and would like to get more work doing green building and passive heating and cooling design, apply, and list the type of business you’d like to get more of. If you’re a landscaper and would like to focus on installing regenerative landscapes, list those services with us. This can apply to many occupations.
General criteria for listing
If you’re a company, you focus on climate change solutions and/or environmentally friendly products, services and business practices that improve the world.
If you’re a non-profit, you’re focused on environmental or climate justice issues that heal the earth and communities.
If you’re in government, your main function will be to increase sustainability, climate change solutions, ecosystem restoration, regenerative agriculture, renewable energy, etc.
If you’re an individual or project, your main focus is on regenerative solutions as outlined above.
How do we qualify our listings?
We don’t have an in-depth filter service yet, so we are largely depending on the honesty of those listing with us. We also urge the user to keep in mind that we do not check the qualifications of our listings beyond a very basic filter at this time and we offer no guarantees, so it is up to you to use due diligence if you choose to use services from any of our listings.
We ask all those listing with us to fill out a form with specific questions about their practices and services. This data will be available to users and users will be able to give us feedback regarding our listings. If you are not sure if your service or product qualifies, go ahead and fill out an application and we’ll give you feedback on it.
For our initial release, we are limiting the types of activities that we are accepting (an emphasis on climate and environment) so that we can focus on the logistics of providing a valuable service. As time goes on, our criteria will broaden to other regenerative sectors. Please note that we are all in a learning process here and we are open to community feedback.
Some regenerative or sustainable qualities
How many of these does your business have? Be sure to list them in your description! This is only a partial list.
Do you..
Incorporate the ethics:
Care of the earth
Care for people
Care for the future and fair share
Use holistic, whole systems thinking - everything and every major action is multi-function and has multiple benefits?
Use non-toxic, biodegradable and renewable materials wherever possible rather than plastics, chemicals, etc?
Reuse, reduce or eliminate waste - avoid creating waste in the first place through thoughtful design, repurpose and reuse items, or use other people’s “waste” to produce products?
Rewild and provide habitat for native pollinators, birds and other wildlife?
Protect and enhance biodiversity?
Clean up and remediate pollution?
Prevent nutrients or chemicals from escaping and causing pollution?
Support localization - small businesses, community solar or compost, urban farms, etc?
Support people care - fair wages, good working conditions, dignity, healthy products?
Create positive community relations and bring value to the community?
Build stronger communities?
Build resilience for people, planet and your company through use of regenerative principles and design?
Regenerative ag practices?
Soil building?
Water Conservation (drip tape, earthworks, etc)?
Biodiversity enhancement?
Chemical free products?
Organic approved chemicals only?
Perennial crops?
Water conservation
Rainwater catchment
Low water flow devices (better term for this)
Green building
LEED certification
Passive House (heating/cooling)
Energy efficient building
Green building materials
Repurpose construction waste
Renewable energy
Solar
Wind
Geothermal
Biogas
Other
Microgrid
Energy cooperative
Energy reduction
Energy star devices
Insulation
Heat pumps
Etc
Transportation
Electric Vehicles
Mass transit
Carpooling
Walkable/bikeable
Work from home
Online meetings instead of flying
Manufacturing
Green supply chain
Sequestering and containing chemicals or using non-toxic chemicals
Reduce waste
Repurpose materials
Green energy
Education
Personnel training on sustainable practices
Sustainability coordinator
Health
Non-toxic materials in house
Healthy ventilation
Chemical free food
Filtered water
Well-being criteria
Finance
Green banking
Green investing
Fair wages
Employee benefits
Profit share
Cooperative
Local currency
Local banking/finance
Community and Governance
Support community garden or local food movement
Support other regenerative activity
Community resilience
Community building
Walkable/bikeable community
Integrated communities
