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A person's "mind stretched by new ideas, may never return to its original dimensions."
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- 0liver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
WHAT IS REGENERATION?
Regeneration embraces the uniqueness of a place and each individual to ensure the long-term prosperity of communities, biodiverse ecology and a just economy. This approach improves individual well-being and the prosperity of communities through social equity, belonging and connection. It's a shift away from an extractive toward a more regenerative approach that prioritises social and environmental benefits alongside economic development. Regenerative communities offer the potential to create an inclusive, sustainable economy valuing long-term opportunity over short-term gains. You have the potential to embrace this way of being in your daily life at home, at work, and in your community.
COMMON PATHS TO SUSTAINABLE REGENERATION
There are many paths to becoming more sustainable and regenerative. These are a sample of the common stages organisations explore on their path.
01 Business As Usual
04 Finding Purpose & Passion
Nothing More
02 Do What Pays
Compliance
Doing Less Bad
Reduce Impacts & Costs
Increase Profits
Resource & Eco-Efficiency
Market Demands to Go Green
Environmental Biodiversity & Restoration
Carbon Offsetting Using Nature-based Solutions
Fostering Well-Being
Regenerating Business, Culture & Place
03 Strategy Integration
Eliminate Waste & Increase Profit
New Market Access (circular economy - designing out waste, shifting to services and product development)
Path to Zero (Energy, Waste, Emissions)
Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG)
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Becoming a Steward
Where are you on your current path?
Take charge of your journey and discover simple yet effective solutions to thrive amidst changing times.
What is your desired future, and how can you actively contribute to building a sustainable, regenerative, and equitable world?
Start today and develop your potential to create tomorrow.
Embracing the Circular Economy
The circular economy presents a unique opportunity for people to reduce costs, protect and restore the environment, and develop new products and services by treating waste as a valuable resource.
By identifying savings, new waste resources, and revenue streams through innovative waste management practices, such as providing shared services, replacing products with services, and reusing, redistributing, refurbishing, remanufacturing, and recycling waste, businesses can not only protect valuable resources but also enhance stakeholder engagement, leading to new products, services, and market potential.
Embracing the circular economy leads to a more sustainable and innovative future. We can transform waste into wealth through collaboration and creativity to build a better world for ourselves and future generations. By working together, we can create a world where waste disappears, pollution is a thing of the past, and businesses thrive by embracing circular practices to develop products and materials while regenerating nature.
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How are you designing out waste to eliminate pollution, using waste as a resource and regenerating your local environment?
Inspiring People
People are critical in adopting a holistic regenerative approach to sustainability that encompasses all aspects of life, from food and buildings to transportation and the restoration of the natural environment. This transformation requires the involvement of all stakeholders, including individuals, communities, businesses, and governments.
By working on ourselves, we can become aware of our potential and capabilities and tap into our essence to collaboratively and prioritise sustainability; we can create a regenerative future that benefits all stakeholders.
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Individuals can consciously make more sustainable choices in their daily lives. Communities can come together to create community gardens, support green spaces, and promote renewable energy projects. Businesses can play a critical role by adopting sustainable practices within and outside their operations to reduce emissions, invest in the local community, and regenerate the natural environment. Governments can create policies and incentives that promote regenerative practices, fund research development, and implement them.
How are you cultivating a better world for yourself, your workplace, your community and future generations?
Credit: Global Compact Network Australia (2019) Every Australian's Business
Cultivating Sustainable &
Regenerative Food Systems
Imagine a world where fresh, nutritious food is just steps away in your local urban garden. By growing herbs or vegetables, you're nurturing your body and cultivating a deeper connection with the food you eat. This simple act is a powerful way to reduce your impact and foster resilience in your community.
But why stop there? Growing and buying locally reduces our dependence on supply chains disrupted by natural disasters, health crises, and global insecurity. By selecting foods with eco-friendly packaging and local companies using sustainable farming techniques, we can plant the seeds for a more resilient future.
We can build stronger, healthier, and more resilient communities by embracing urban gardens and innovative technology.
How can you cultivate a future that nourishes our bodies, minds, and planet?
Forms of Capital
Capital takes many forms in today's society - social, human, natural, financial, and manufactured. These play crucial roles in fostering sustainable growth and resilience. Focusing on all five creates a positive impact, promoting regeneration and safeguarding our environment.
Alternative Finance for Sustainability
Several sustainable finance options, like sustainable banking, impact investing, and green bonds, support a more resilient and regenerative economy. These initiatives prioritize responsible lending practices and environmental consciousness.
Sustainable Australia Fund: A Legacy of Impact
Established in 2020, the Sustainable Australia Fund pioneered Environmental Upgrade Agreements in Australia. The fund encouraged environmentally conscious decisions and contributed to a sustainable future by offering low-interest loans to businesses for eco-friendly upgrades.
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How do you value and exchange these five types of capital at home, work and in your community?
SUPPORT NETWORK
We imagine a world where everyone working and living in the built environment is values-aligned with the SDGs to create a sustainable world together and be recognised for their contribution.
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A future where every business is designed and driven to make a positive impact on people, the planet and prosperity.
We are on a mission to deliver the tools and insights that help business leaders design strategies to make sustainable practices a business habit.
GUIDING PRINCIPLES
United Nations
Sustainable Development Goals
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The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide a collaborative framework for achieving a sustainable future that addresses the economic, social, and ecological aspects while ensuring that no one is left behind.
NOTE: To have the best experience, it's recommended to watch the film on YouTube with audio.
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17 PARTNERSHIPS FOR THE GOALS
The 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been signed by 193 countries, representing a significant change in international development. It acknowledges that prosperous business, a thriving society, and a healthy environment are interconnected and vital to development. This new way of working requires unprecedented cooperation among civil society, business, government, NGOs, foundations, academia, and others.
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The 2030 Agenda is a powerful signal that the old ways of thinking and working, which often focus narrowly on single-issue goals and tackle symptoms rather than root causes, are ineffective in delivering the fundamental shifts our planet's natural systems and human civilisation require.
Countries must prioritise providing all citizens with a high quality of life while staying within sustainable natural resource limits.
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16 PEACE, JUSTICE & STRONG INSTITUTIONS
SDG 16 aims to promote peaceful and inclusive societies, provide access to justice for all, and build effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions at all levels. Conflict has significant impacts on resource access, supply chain distribution, and the increase in refugees and migrants seeking peaceful solutions.
To achieve this, it's crucial to address modern slavery and eliminate it from the supply chain, as well as increase youth representation and participation in policy-making to secure a sustainable future.
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Indigenous Rights are
Human Rights
The Uluru Statement from the Heart (the Statement) is an invitation from a group of First Nations people to non-Indigenous Australians. Shared in 2017, the Statement calls for substantive reform to help realise Indigenous rights, through the establishment of an Indigenous Voice to Parliament and a Makarrata Commission. ‘Makarrata’ is a multi-layered YolÅ‹u word understood as the coming together after a struggle. The Statement specifies that the Makarrata Commission would undertake processes of agreement-making (treaty) and truth-telling.
The three key pillars of substantive reform called for in the Statement are:
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Voice – a constitutionally enshrined representative mechanism to provide expert advice to Parliament about laws and policies that affect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
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Treaty – a process of agreement-making between governments and First Nations peoples that acknowledges the historical and contemporary cultural rights and interests of First Peoples by formally recognising sovereignty, and that land was never ceded.
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Truth – a comprehensive process to expose the full extent of injustices experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, to enable shared understanding of Australia’s colonial history and its contemporary impacts.
​The Uluru Statement comes after decades of research, reports and calls for genuine substantive reform to recognise and protect the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Peoples of these lands and waters.
The Australian Government referendum held on the 14th Oct 2023 was unsuccessful. The Australian people voted no to recognising the First Peoples of Australia in the Constitution by establishing an Indigenous Voice to Parliament.
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