Christophe Sempels est enseignant, chercheur, entrepreneur et expert reconnu des modèles économiques et innovants à forte soutenabilité. Il est l’auteur de plusieurs livres sur « Les modèles économiques de demain ».

Quand on parle de transition de modèle on part souvent de cette idée qu’il va nous falloir consommer moins de ressources, moins d’énergies, moins de matériaux et aussi moins polluer, détruire et extraire. 

Mais quand on voit le niveau de dégâts déjà causés sur nos écosystèmes on se dit aussi que ça ne va pas être suffisant, que limiter l’impact de l’activité économique humaine sur l’environnement ne suffira pas, qu’il va nous falloir régénérer le vivant d’une manière ou d’une autre.
Pour certains, parler d’économie régénérative serait au mieux mettre la charrue avant les boeufs ou au pire une utopie, mais pour d’autres comme Christophe, c’est la seule ambition vraiment viable si l’on veut qu’il y ait encore une économie dans quelques décennies et surtout encore un monde vivant au sein duquel les humains puissent s’épanouir, rien que ça.

De quoi parle-t-on ?

Christophe Sempels is a teacher, researcher, entrepreneur, and recognized expert in sustainable and innovative economic models. He is the author of several books on “The Economic Models of Tomorrow.”

When we talk about transitioning to a new model, we often start from the idea that we need to consume fewer resources, less energy, and fewer materials, while also reducing pollution, destruction, and extraction. However, when we see the level of damage already caused to our ecosystems, we also realize that it won’t be enough. Simply limiting the impact of human economic activity on the environment won’t suffice; we will need to regenerate life in one way or another.

For some, discussing regenerative economics might be seen as jumping the gun or, at worst, a utopia. However, for others like Christophe, it’s the only truly viable ambition if we want there to be an economy in a few decades and, most importantly, a living world where humans can thrive, nothing less than that.

What do we talk about?

00:00 Introduction

01:34 Introduction and presentation of Christophe Sempels

03:36 Introduction about Earth’s balance conditions

10:08 Difficulty in thinking about the world in a systemic way

11:19 Climate receives more attention from companies than biodiversity

18:43 Components of a company’s value architecture

22:38 Limits of volumetric economic models

26:16 Alternative economic models to reduce negative impact

32:08 A new approach to billing

33:35 Regeneration aims to create conditions for living beings to express their potential

37:19 Regeneration can be applied to all companies, even those not directly involved with living beings

40:55 Link between companies and living ecosystems

42:58 Difficulty in reducing emissions

44:02 Regenerative ambition vs. service-oriented approach

50:28 The response to a crisis depends on the context of each company

51:51 Identifying difficulties and potential sources of transformation for economic models. Examples of companies that successfully transformed towards ecological and social regeneration while generating savings.

57:29 Importance of aiming for resilience rather than performance in a fluctuating world. Rethinking economic models to secure entire food supply chains. The language used by leaders and reporting within the company.

1:00:40 Importance of including emotional and human dimensions in regenerative economics, working on the minds, hearts, and bodies of leaders to create a new momentum in the company. Current rules of the game may act as barriers.

1:03:32 Locking into a growth-centric economic system

1:08:20 Resources to learn more about regenerative economics.

What are the key takeaways?

• Climate change is finally a concern acknowledged by companies, mainly because measuring greenhouse gas emissions has become relatively straightforward, with subsequent technological solutions (e.g., electrification).
• “Net Zero Carbon” trajectories are not sufficient, as other planetary boundaries are also impacted (land use, biodiversity). Only 35% of reduction trajectories are possible within the current economic model.
• Transition and Green Growth are imperative: transforming existing business models is mandatory, and reducing volumes will be unavoidable.
• The Value Architecture (of the economic model) must be rethought: its extraction, production, distribution, and value appropriation… Innovation must address this entire Value Chain, affecting supply and all stakeholders involved.
• 99% of the economy relies on extraction and volumetric growth. However, infinite growth in a world with finite resources does not make sense. Growth is slowing due to market saturation and reaching limits of material and energy resources.
• New alternative economic models better address planetary limits: service models (renting washing machines instead of selling them), performance-centered models (shifting from selling insecticides to offering crop protection services), and circular models (reintegrating machine components at the end of their life). Ultimately, the shift can be made from selling machines to billing based on the tonnage of laundry washed, which encompasses all impacts in terms of material and energy resources.
• Considering biodiversity and living beings is the next frontier in the evolution of the economy: it’s Regenerative Economy.
• Regeneration: an exclusive property of living beings, which is the ability to self-repair. In the economy, it’s seeking a net positive impact on Nature and Society (). It’s recreating conditions for ecosystems to express their full potential.
• Some companies can be directly regenerative when they are directly connected to living beings (e.g., food industries). Others can be regenerative indirectly through cooperation with their stakeholders (e.g., sourcing responsible natural fibers or re-vegetating their land).
• However, some companies or activities may never achieve this: in that case, planning for their disappearance or transition to models that respect planetary boundaries is necessary (e.g., extraction and exploitation of fossil energy resources).
• The Regenerative opportunity has the capacity to mobilize organizations (rather than just reducing negative impacts). It’s a positive vision of business transformation.
• In a fluctuating world (access to resources, energy), a regenerative company is much more robust (resilient).
• We are condemned to self-limit, or else our economies will collapse. To take this path, a new generation of leaders is required, capable of aligning their minds with their hearts.