What do you know about Regenerative Finance?
If you can’t find what you are looking for, sometimes you have to create it yourself
Like many, I am horrified at the environmental destruction I see when watching the news. Perhaps I am even more scared at the state of our world because these forest fires, deforestation, flooding and ice cap melting isn’t new — these things have been happening for many years already without the media attention. That the issues I first discovered 13 years ago at university are still happening — that they are happening at unprecedented rates, and in such a volume that we might not be able to stop the disasters that will follow.
I am also disappointed with myself. I could have done a lot more to raise awareness, to reduce my footprint and to dedicate my time to making a difference. I know one person cannot make a difference, and I don’t personally regret my choices in life, but I do now believe that I need to build up my voice and to start with where I am today.
When I was at university I was part of a few environmental groups and throughout my 20s I read environmentalist literature, took a permaculture design certificate and volunteered in remote regions, living a life closer to nature. I even helped a non-native speaker complete their degree and write a thesis for Gaia University. I always try to recycle and my dream is to regenerate a plot of land and grow a forest. But at the same time I invest in the stock market (and via index funds, with all the companies I dislike). I work in finance and I take way too many flights (well I did pre-covid). I eat meat sometimes and buy plastic bottles occasionally (mostly out of convenience). By 20 year old self might be a little disappointed in me (although my 30 year old self is wiser).
What I’ve learned since leaving university is that life isn’t black and white. We can’t all be minimalist tree huggers or evil corporate mercenaries destroying the environment. Life is so much more nuanced than that, and I am glad I am now in a position to grasp the complexities of human nature, the world we have built and the systems we now live in.
Why I Started A Regenerative Finance Publication
I want to focus more on the good, on the potential, on the possibilities, rather than the negatives.
For the last few years I’ve had a feeling of wanting to focus on the future, on doing more to propel business, culture, my life and my impact in a direction I want to see it going. I want to focus more on the good, on the potential, on the possibilities, rather than the negatives and this is why I started a publication called Regenerative Finance. From my current viewpoint of the world, I see better ways of operating compared to merely business as usual and I want to share these views, regardless of how slow or difficult it may be to write.
For I have struggled to write in this arena for many years. I wrote a few book reviews to get started, followed industry leaders on LinkedIn, bought a domain and even outlined a book called Green Titans, but I’ve never felt like I was quite ready to write about this topic. So I gave up, side-lined my ideas and filled my time with travel writing and a career instead. Back then, what I wanted to write felt too big, I wasn’t able to capture the magnitude of it, let alone find a thread to start pulling at or make a dent in it.
Even today I still feel a little unprepared, but I also feel like I can offer the world something unique — an opinion and viewpoint from the crossroads of finance, permaculture, investing and regeneration.
In January I wrote an article called Regenerative Wealth, as a way to again explore the idea of money being a driver for environmental regeneration. In it I wrote;
A lot of money can be made through making the world (or even a tiny corner of the world) a better and more efficient place, and so in 2021 I plan to explore the idea in more detail with case studies and real life examples of fixing problems, making money and doing good.
Shortly after that article I created a publication, so that other writers could contribute (and help me) with the task of expanding the literature of environmental wealth, and reallocating money to places that could create large scale positive impacts. Even BlackRock chairman, Larry Fink, agreed with my vision, by writing “In the near future — and sooner than most anticipate — there will be a significant reallocation of capital.”
What next?
“I think of problems as gold mines. The world’s biggest problems are the world’s biggest business opportunities.” — Peter Diamondis
In short, I don’t know. I have committed myself to writing 4 articles by the end of the year for Regenerative Finance. It’s part of my focus on tackling the big goals I have in life, on doing more by doing less. As I now know myself better, I am an expert at being busy, but in being productive and producing content I miss the quality that I truly wish to create. In February I wrote a piece about Fintech’s role in greening financial Investment, which I also shared on LinkedIn and this led to me joining my employer’s sustainability committee and connecting with other like minded people. Like that article, I want my writing to make an impact, not an income.
Most importantly I wish to continue to research, write, create and tackle difficult things. For perhaps the difficult topics are the most important, and they are the ones that need to be explored the most; slowly, deeply and with patience.
