Ever since I was an eager pup, I've looked to Paul Hawken as one of my guides. My first business endeavors were natural foods companies, an industry that he helped create in the U.S.. His books, The Next Economy, Growing a Business, The Ecology of Commerce, and Blessed Unrest were foundational in developing my own understanding of the positive roles that business can play in realizing the potential that humans share.
He's still guiding me. In this short TED Talk he reflects on how he has devoted his life to restoring and protecting the living world, and why the simple concept of regeneration—creating the conditions for more life—is the simplest and most elegant way to do that.
"Regeneration is not a panacea. It's not a certification, it's not a standard. It is a pathway. It is a purpose. It is a direction. It means putting life at the center of every act and decision, every policy and process.
"Regeneration restores forests, but also favelas, coral reefs and communities. Ponds— beaver ponds, hopefully—and the built environment.
"And it elicits and engenders localization, as contrasted to globalization. Tens of thousands of NGOs, of communities, of students, of activists, of foundations and companies are forging a regenerative future as we speak. And they are addressing everything that we use, eat, buy, make, wear and build."
Ted Talk: Paul Hawken: Regeneration Can Restore a Broken World
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