0:01

Ted Audio Collective Rifle

0:07

through my drawers and cupboards

0:09

and you'll probably find the

0:12

S-word everywhere. At this point,

0:14

I think I've probably accumulated

0:16

sustainable chapstick, sustainable socks, sustainable

0:19

toilet paper, some of it on

0:21

purpose, and some

0:23

of it by accident. Is

0:25

it just me, or have we lost the plot?

0:28

The truth is, everything nowadays

0:30

seems to have the vague label

0:32

of sustainable on it. It's almost

0:34

like when you say a word

0:36

over and over again out loud,

0:38

it begins to lose its meaning.

0:42

We know that our planet is

0:44

hurting because of our record high

0:46

levels of mass consumption and untenable

0:49

supply chains. So

0:51

this dubious label of sustainability

0:53

really begs the question, what

0:56

exactly is it that we are

0:58

sustaining? I'm

1:03

the dupe at Canola. This is

1:05

Ted Business. This question

1:07

is posed by our speaker

1:10

today, environmental business journalist, Esha

1:12

Chhabra. Esha is

1:14

here to cut through the greenwashing nonsense

1:16

and show us what real change can

1:18

look like. Then after

1:20

the talk, I'll reflect on what

1:23

regenerative business means to me. But

1:26

first, a quick break. Hi,

1:33

I'm Ben. I suffer from

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a condition called writer's Block.

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you at Camp a.com Designed for

2:00

work. Blockchain, NFTs,

2:02

AI. What does this mean for

2:04

you and me? I'm

2:06

Shirel Dorsey, host of the TED Tech

2:09

Podcast where we bring you the latest

2:11

innovations and biggest ideas in tech. Tech

2:14

is evolving fast and it affects our

2:16

lives from the metaverse to the watches

2:18

on our wrists. You'll learn why people

2:20

in AI make good business partners about

2:22

our future self-driving robo taxi, what the

2:25

next generation of Siri Alexa Google looks

2:27

like and a lot more. Find TED

2:29

Tech on Apple

2:31

Podcasts, Spotify or

2:33

wherever you listen.

2:36

Business as we know it has

2:38

been focused on scale, growth, productivity and

2:40

maximizing profit. It's that hustle culture that

2:42

we love, right? The faster the growth

2:45

the better, the more money the better

2:47

and yet that hasn't really

2:49

worked. I mean the planet has clearly

2:51

taken a hit but also I think

2:53

people are fed up and seeking for

2:56

more balance in their lives. So

2:58

to rectify this, over the last few

3:00

years we saw the rise of sustainable

3:02

and mission-driven brands. These were companies that

3:04

started with a very simple model of

3:06

you buy a pair of shoes, we'll

3:08

donate a pair of shoes. Then

3:11

it became we'll be conscious companies,

3:13

we'll recycle our waste and most

3:15

recently we'll use carbon offsets. Well

3:20

that's all well-intentioned and it truly

3:22

is but sustainability has

3:24

become more marketing than action it

3:26

seems. It hasn't really

3:28

moved the needle on what is

3:31

the core purpose of business and

3:33

the core model of business. So

3:35

I see it as it was a great step

3:37

one. Good effort but now it's

3:40

time to move to step two and

3:42

what is step two? It's regenerative.

3:45

You may have heard of the term, it's been

3:47

all over the news lately in Vogue,

3:49

in New York Times, in Outside

3:52

magazine. New York Times said it

3:54

best I think most distinctly regenerative.

3:56

It's like yoga but for farmland.

4:00

Not quite. So

4:03

what is regenerative? Particularly in the

4:05

context of business. Regenerative

4:08

businesses are looking to restore,

4:10

revive, and bring to life

4:12

communities, industries, and people that

4:14

are struggling. It's actually much

4:16

more than just a term. So

4:19

I've been reporting for over 10 years

4:21

on business, social issues, and the environment,

4:23

and how all of that overlaps. I

4:26

have seen my fair share of doom and gloom

4:28

headlines. I think we can all agree we

4:30

got problems in the world. But

4:33

as I was doing this reporting, I kept

4:35

meeting entrepreneurs that were really looking beyond

4:37

the crisis at hand and focusing

4:40

on solutions. So I

4:42

decided to write about their stories

4:44

and their regenerative businesses, which

4:46

don't start with this question or intent

4:48

of how do we make the most money by

4:50

selling you X, Y, or Z? Well,

4:53

they asked a really simple question. What

4:56

problem are we going to solve? What

4:58

social and environmental problem are we going

5:01

to solve? And so it's

5:03

not about you selling you another great pair of jeans

5:05

or a great cup of coffee or a nice hotel

5:07

stay, unless all of

5:09

that has impacts embedded into it.

5:12

In fact, I like to think of regenerative companies as a

5:15

multi-tiered cake. It's layer upon layer upon

5:17

layer of impact, which makes the whole

5:19

thing enticing. It's not just one thing

5:22

you do after the side or one

5:24

aspect of your company. It's every tenet

5:26

of the company is focused on impact. And

5:29

so what are some of these tenets they might be

5:32

thinking about? Well, if you have a supply chain,

5:34

if you're in manufacturing, you're definitely thinking about the

5:36

environment and the people that are involved in that

5:38

supply chain. In fact, they're not your supply chain,

5:40

they're your partner. If you're

5:42

in the services industry, yes, you're thinking about

5:44

your environmental footprint, but also are

5:47

you fostering better human connections? And

5:50

how are you going to fund this company? Because

5:52

the capital that you take on is going to

5:54

determine how you run the company for years to

5:56

come. Are you open to

5:58

employee ownership, profit sharing? that

6:00

can have serious social impact in the world.

6:03

And most of all, are you inspiring and

6:05

improving people's lives at work or just keeping

6:08

them afloat? Because I think we can all

6:10

agree that we want to be treated with

6:12

respect and work with purpose these days. So

6:15

it's every hub and spoke of the

6:17

company is thinking about impact, not just

6:20

one. And that's

6:22

why when I turned to these entrepreneurs and I'd

6:24

asked them, well, what's your take on sustainability? They

6:26

would sort of push back and they'd say, oh,

6:28

we don't really use that word around here. It

6:30

was almost as if they were allergic to it.

6:32

They said, because what are we sustaining?

6:35

A broken system, the status quo? I

6:37

mean, that's what it suggests, right? Now,

6:40

regenerative is not a one size fits

6:42

all. For large global companies, this is

6:45

gonna be a harder and slower transition

6:47

for reasons we can discuss afterwards. But

6:50

for small to medium sized companies,

6:52

it's very doable. In fact, it's

6:55

already happening. And

6:57

so it's lovely to talk about all this in

6:59

theory, but let's put it into context with some

7:01

examples, shall we? You may

7:04

have heard of the shoe brand Veja.

7:06

They're quite popular these days. But 20

7:08

years ago when they started, the

7:11

two French co-founders started with less than 20,000 euros

7:14

and they had very little fashion experience. And

7:17

yes, they were selling shoes, but they

7:19

were looking to do something far more

7:21

meaningful. They wanted to preserve the Amazon,

7:24

hire people that are considered unemployable,

7:26

regenerate soils and challenge the fashion

7:29

industry as a whole. So

7:32

a few years ago, I had the opportunity

7:34

to go down and see one of their

7:36

supply chains in the Amazon in Brazil. And

7:39

it was beautiful and green

7:41

and biodiverse. And the

7:43

supply chain that I focused on was

7:45

rubber. So Veja sources native

7:48

rubber from the rubber trees in the Amazon

7:50

for the soles of their shoes. These

7:52

trees can harvest rubber for years, if

7:55

not decades, if it's done properly. And

7:57

it's done by rubber tappers. These are

7:59

individuals. who live within the Amazon. And

8:02

their other option for a livelihood is

8:04

cattle farming. But thanks to

8:06

Vasia, they were able to make the

8:08

same amount of money, if not more

8:11

money, tapping trees for rubber than they

8:13

would be doing cattle farming. And

8:16

cattle farming requires you to level the land,

8:18

to get rid of the trees. Here, the

8:20

trees get to stay up-well. This

8:23

is an example of a regenerative design

8:25

where a company thinks about the environment

8:27

and its people from the beginning. That

8:30

rubber is then taken down to their factory

8:33

in the southern part of Brazil in

8:35

Porto Alegre, where it meets up

8:37

with organic cotton that comes from another corner

8:39

of Brazil and is turned into a shoe.

8:42

That shoe then fails across

8:44

the sea and only by

8:46

sea to France. Now

8:48

here again, Vasia had an opportunity. They

8:51

could have hired any fulfillment company

8:53

to do their fulfillment. Instead,

8:56

they decided to partner with a

8:58

nonprofit. This nonprofit hires individuals that

9:00

come from marginalized neighborhoods and are

9:02

considered unemployable and gives them a

9:04

chance at a career. Those

9:06

individuals are responsible for shipping the shoes

9:08

out to customers. So it's

9:10

layer upon layer of impact.

9:12

And one more, Vasia decided early

9:15

on that they were not gonna get so

9:17

involved in the marketing game. So they don't

9:19

pump loads of money into athletes and influencers

9:22

and models to wear their shoes. The

9:24

money goes back to the supply chain.

9:26

The materials cost more, but the people

9:28

who make it also get paid more.

9:31

Every hub and spoke of the company... Every

9:33

hub and spoke of the company is

9:40

thinking about impact. So

9:43

making a shoe has a footprint on the

9:45

planet and no solution and no company is

9:47

perfect. We can all acknowledge that. However,

9:50

when we ask this question, can business do better?

9:52

Definitely. Here's just one example

9:55

in fashion. Looking

9:57

beyond fashion, what does regenerative... What

9:59

does regenerative... business look like? Well,

10:02

some of them use employee ownership and

10:04

profit sharing. Here's the company in Arizona

10:06

called Technicians for Sustainability, where the owner

10:08

of the company realized early on that

10:11

the folks who are responsible for installing

10:13

the solar panels on the roof are

10:16

not going to amass personal wealth doing that

10:18

job. So he opened up the

10:20

profits of the company to his employees. Today,

10:22

40% of profits every year go to the

10:24

employees. And what's great about it is not

10:26

only are they part of the transition to

10:29

renewable energy, but they're investing in the people

10:31

that are making it happen. Regenerative

10:35

companies think about waste differently. They see

10:37

it as an opportunity rather than a

10:39

burden. If you've been across across

10:41

the pond to the UK, you know that the

10:43

Brits love their ready to eat sandwiches. You can

10:46

find them on every corner shop. Well,

10:48

to make those lovely sandwiches, you have

10:50

to unfortunately sacrifice the end slices of

10:53

loaves. And so those end slices

10:55

would often go to waste. Well,

10:57

a food waste entrepreneur and a social

10:59

entrepreneur got together and said, why

11:01

don't we turn it into beer? And that

11:04

became toast ale. And so now

11:06

toast is available throughout the country in

11:08

pubs, restaurants and grocery stores. And

11:10

they've gone one step further. The profits

11:13

of the company now go to a charity that's

11:15

focused on food waste. And

11:23

regenerative, the term you may have heard

11:25

of, has its roots in regenerative agriculture.

11:27

That's where it's being used most prominently

11:29

these days. Well, here's a gentleman, David

11:31

Vetter, who's been doing it far before

11:34

it was trendy. He is

11:36

the son of a military veteran turned

11:38

farmer who lives in the corn fields

11:40

of Nebraska in the heart of big

11:42

ag and conventional ag. But him and

11:44

his dad decided early on that they

11:46

would go down the route of regenerative

11:49

organic farming. They grow regenerative organic grains.

11:51

And if you talk to David, he

11:53

will tell you, soil is something you

11:55

grow crops in. Dirt is something you find

11:57

under your bed. You have to know

11:59

the difference. There is a difference. And

12:02

as the company has grown and as the family

12:04

has grown, the veterans have also put a processing

12:06

unit, a mill, on their facility,

12:08

which now allows other farmers in the area

12:11

who want to also do organic farming to

12:13

be able to get their products closer to

12:15

the market. If we can create

12:17

these links, we can get these products closer to

12:19

consumers. So these are just

12:21

some examples. I mean, I could rattle on many

12:24

more examples of these kinds of companies. But when

12:26

I asked them fundamentally, I said,

12:28

OK, guys, what's next? What do we

12:30

have to do? Many of

12:32

them said to me one simple thing. We

12:34

have to tell these stories further and wider.

12:37

The co-founder of Veja said to me something that I

12:39

thought was quite poignant. He said, we don't need

12:41

Veja to be the next global ethical

12:43

shoe brand. We need

12:46

dozens of Vejas. We need

12:48

dozens in every industry, in

12:50

every culture, in every geography.

12:52

Replication is the answer. And

12:56

that brought up another conversation about scale.

12:58

Many of the entrepreneurs said to me,

13:01

we don't all need to reach astronomical

13:03

heights. Not every company needs to be

13:05

a global company. It should

13:07

be OK to say, we are good

13:09

with this level of scale. This is

13:11

in this. And that's

13:14

an inventive question of how

13:16

much is enough has come up

13:18

year after year in my reporting. Ask

13:21

yourself personally, how much stuff,

13:23

how food consumption is enough?

13:26

But also as business leaders, how

13:28

much growth scale profit is enough

13:31

to feed our greed and

13:33

our egos sometimes? So

13:36

I leave you with this bet. We're

13:39

all here on this flying rock for

13:41

a moment in time. We

13:43

can't take any of this stuff or any

13:45

of this wealth with us. So

13:48

why not use this time to

13:50

build businesses that think beyond profit?

13:52

Why not build organizations that regenerate

13:55

the environment instead of destroy it?

13:58

Why not build organizations that and

14:00

companies that have a workforce that treats

14:02

people as humans and not as transactions.

14:06

I think it's time that we really read the

14:08

fine business. Thank you.

14:18

Canva presents stories to keep you up

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think about business, think Odoo.

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To learn more, visit odoo.com/TED

15:27

Business. That's

15:30

odoo.com/TED Business.

15:35

That was Esha Chhabra speaking TED

15:38

Women 2020. Ooh!

15:41

I love the way Esha is really holding our

15:43

feet to the fives. She's

15:45

making a clear distinction between

15:48

sustainability as a marketing ploy

15:50

and true regenerative business practices

15:52

that might actually make a

15:55

real difference. I keep

15:57

returning to this image she uses of

15:59

a multi-tiered... take and how the same value

16:01

should be embedded in each layer, not

16:04

just a small sliver. It's

16:06

something I've noticed too, especially in

16:09

the way many organizations are structured.

16:11

A lot of companies will have

16:13

a sustainability division or

16:16

a chief sustainability officer or

16:18

a team that maybe runs their social

16:20

impact program. But why is

16:22

that work so siloed away from the

16:25

rest of the business? The

16:27

same goes for DEI work. You can't

16:29

just tack it on after the fact and

16:31

be like, hey, suddenly we should

16:33

care about this. Why

16:35

isn't it a practice that's integrated into

16:38

all layers of the cake? Now

16:41

if the cake image isn't working for you, I've

16:43

got another one. Think

16:45

of an Excel spreadsheet. This is

16:48

a business podcast after all. So

16:50

often these essential initiatives are just a

16:53

new column on the edge of the

16:55

page, something we've added on

16:57

after the fact. But what Esha

16:59

is asking us to think about is

17:02

making these values a row so

17:04

that each part of the company plays a role

17:07

in making a new reality possible.

17:10

That's it for today.

17:13

Tech Business is part of

17:15

the Head Audio Collective. This

17:18

episode was produced by Hannah Kingsley

17:21

Ma, edited by Alejandra

17:23

Salazar, and fact-checked by Julia

17:25

Dickerson. Little

17:28

thanks to Maria Lajas,

17:30

Farah DeGringe, Corey Haejim,

17:32

Daniela Balarrazzo, and Michelle

17:34

Quint. I'm Madupa

17:37

Ekinola. Talk to you again next week.