As the 12-day COP29 at Baku in Azerbaijan wraps up today, it serves as a powerful reminder that while the challenges we face are immense, the solutions are within our reach. Regeneration is not a distant ideal; it’s something we can achieve right now, with the right mindset, resources, and collaboration.
But, it requires us to think bigger, act faster, and commit to long-term change.
Focus regeneration
Regeneration isn’t just possible, it’s necessary, COP29 reiterated almost every other day. And, it requires all of us to take responsibility for the choices we make and the systems we support.
- Investors need to direct their resources toward projects that restore ecosystems, support communities, and create long-term benefits for the planet.
- Brands must prioritise natural, regenerative materials over synthetic or high-impact alternatives, even if it means rethinking their product designs or profit margins.
- And consumers need to demand more from the companies they support, choosing products that align with their values and contribute to a healthier planet.
The discussions, parleys all over at COP29 were a stark reminder that while we’ve made great strides, there’s still much to be done. We need more people, more organisations, and more industries to join this movement, not just to sustain the planet but to regenerate it.
This isn’t just any mission; it’s an urgent call for all of us. To brands, investors, and consumers, the time is now to rethink how we measure progress. Let’s stop asking how much less harm we can do and start asking how much good we can create.
One of the most powerful and exciting call was at an all-women panel hosted by the We Mean Business Coalition which further solidified the theme of regeneration as a collective effort. The speech by Jacqueline Novogratz, Founder/CEO of Acumen, author of The Blue Sweater and Manifesto for a Moral Revolution, and one of the Top 100 Global Thinkers, challenged us to rethink progress, not by how much we reduce emissions, but by how much we restore and regenerate.
Her words mirrored Flocus’ approach, using regenerative agroforestry to create solutions that nurture both the planet and the people who depend on it. It was a reminder that the work we do, while challenging, is part of a larger movement to redefine sustainability as regeneration.
This work, for me, is about fundamentally rethinking how we produce and consume. The traditional, extractive model of "take, make, dispose" is no longer viable. Instead, we must move toward systems that align with nature’s own cycles, where resources are used wisely, waste is minimised, and ecosystems are allowed to thrive. This means rethinking not only the fibres we use but the entire supply chain, from how materials are grown to how they are processed, manufactured, and eventually returned to the earth and how people are involved.
