Marc Buckley
on the Symbiocene
Are you ready to enter the Symbiocene?
“Symbiosis”, a term coined by the Greeks, meaning companionship.
“Symbiosis”, togetherness, interdependence, interconnectedness.
Regeneration is what helped Marc Buckley understand the symbiosis between life and all living things. He realized that, in this way, he could continuously adapt to ever-changing life conditions, renew himself, and flourish by becoming part of nature as “Homo Symbious”.
Marc interviews thought leaders, authors, philosophers, innovators, futurists, regenerators, and all those solving human suffering and our global grand challenges. As a host for the Inside Ideas Podcast, he gets into sense-making to discuss transformational and existential topics, such as ecological economics, circular economy, C2C, SDGs, Paris Agreement, ESG, CSRD, net positive, permaculture, resilience, 2030, 2050, ecological civilizations, or systems thinking.
A strong advocate for the SDGs, United Nations Advisor, and creator of the ALOHAS Regenerative Foundation, Marc is an Ecological Economist and Regenerative Futurist. Learning from Al Gore how to be a Climate Speaker determined him to turn "regenerative desirable futures" into his life's work. He empowers global citizens to create healthy and adaptive lifestyles within the safe operating space of our planetary boundaries:
“There are life and business models that work the way the Earth works. These regenerative models are not taught in school and, especially, not in business school, thus keeping one of the most powerful models of social innovation locked up from the mainstream.”
As Marc also noticed, Indigenous cultures who deal with life on an everyday basis “know very well that life is regenerative, they pay attention to the turn of the seasons, to the new leaves, new grass, new flowers and new fruits, to what goes round and round.”
Just like the Renaissance, regeneration is a continuous renewal, it is Gaia’s aliveness. Or, as Marc sees it, maybe it’s SEVA, the Sanskrit approach of “selfless service to life”.
Being regenerative means “discovering yourself again and again, validating who you are and going forward with what you bring into the world.”
Thank you, Marc, for being a Homo Symbious!
#INSPIRATORS QUESTIONNAIRE
Name: Marc Buckley
Company / Institution: ALOHAS Regenerative Foundation, UN, EU, WEF, and WGS
Title: Founder, Ecological Economist, Regenerative Futurist, and Solar Punk
Website: https://www.insideideas.org/, http://marcbuckley.earth/, https://www.innovatorsmag.com/ , https://alohas.bio/ (Under Construction)
LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/buckleymarc/, https://linktr.ee/marcearth
Country of origin: United States of America
Country you currently live in: Germany
Your personal definition of Regeneration: Regeneration was the way I adapted to ever-changing life conditions until about 16 years ago when I realized I could continually renew myself amid ever-changing life conditions and transcend and flourish by becoming part of a symbiotic earth as Homo Symbious.
How? By fulfilling my part for life to continuously renew itself to regenerate myself. My Health is a Microcosmos of the World around me.
Main business challenge you face: Regenerative Development evolving sustainability is the most beautiful challenge I face. Because I am frustrated by not having better choices but to operate in outdated infrastructures, policies, and economic systems that are stuck in the industrial revolution which is stranded and hampering evolution to the Symbiocene. Pioneering new systems and models that replace the old.
Main driver that keeps you going: The ecological phenomenon of symbiosis and the understanding of living systems. SEVA.
The trait you are most proud of in yourself: Compassion and the resilient recognition and ability of regeneration in my life.
The trait you most value in others: SEVA = Regeneration Selfless Service to Life.
Passions & little things that bring you joy: I want to empower billions of global citizens to live an adaptive lifestyle of health and sustainability within the safe operating spaces of our planetary boundaries. Dancing, Conversations of Depth and substance, Reading, Swimming, Nature, Mountains, Skiing, Hiking, Regen Ag, Music, Cooking, Cooking and Eating great food.
The #inspirators who determined you to take the regenerative path:
My Father - Michael and my Mother - Dolores
Leonardo DaVinci
Prof. Dr. Fritjof Capra
Lynn Margulis
Herman Daly
Rachel Carson
Jane Goodall
Helena Norberg Hodge
Paul Stamets
R. Buckminster Fuller
Paul Hawken
Maria Rodale
Satish Kumar
E. O. Wilson
Bill Mollison
Geoff Lawton
James Lovelock
Daniel Christian Wahl
Laura Storm
Giles Hutchins
John Elkington
Prof. Johan Rockstrom
Dr. Sirikul Nui Laukaikul
Jeremy Lent
Janine Benyus
John P. Strelecky
A hint or starting point for companies or professionals that are taking the first steps in the regeneration journey: You cannot apply it to your existing business model; you must build a new regenerative model that makes the old obsolete. If you plug it in or add it to an outdated or bad infrastructure it will fail. It cannot work on or within Hierarchy business models.
The Triple Bottom Line was recalled in 2018 by creator John Elkington and replaced with Responsibility Resilience and Regeneration.
Most used and abused clichés about sustainability that bother you:
Net Zero, Carbon Neutral - these are all terms which are only going slower in the wrong direction.
We need to be Net Positive and leave this world better than we found it
(The Golden Rule: Treat People and Planet How We Wish to Be Treated).
An honest piece of advice for young people who lose hope: Discover your why and your Purpose for Existing (PFE) and it will guide you regeneratively through all the world will throw at you. Understand The Exponential Function and SEVA for an added bonus to regenerative longevity.
Books that had a major impact on you:
The Systems View of Life by Fritjof Capra & Pier Luigi Luisi
The Web of Meaning by Jeremy Lent
The Limits to Growth, Big Five for Life by John P. Strelecky
Thinking in Systems by Donnella Meadows
Illusions by Richard Bach
Permaculture: A Practical Guide for a Sustainable Future by Bill Mollison
Must-reads for any Regenerative professional:
Leading by Nature Giles Hutchins
Regenerative Leadership by Laura Storm and Giles Hutchins
Designing Regenerative Cultures by Daniel Christian Wahl
Regenerative Learning by Satish Kumar
Regeneration by Paul Hawken
Thinking in Systems by Donnella Meadows
The Climate Book by Greta Thunberg
Regenerative Agriculture by Richard Perkins
Biomimicry by Janine Benyus
Green Swans by John Elkington
Local Futures by Helena Norberg Hodge
The Web of Meaning by Jeremy Lent
Movies / Documentaries you would watch all over again:
Symbiotic Earth
How Lynn Margulis Rocked the Boat & Started a Scientific Revolution by John Feldman
Xanadu
Joe versus the Volcano
Forest Gump
A Man Called Otto
Time Bandits
The Physician
A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Troy
Dune
Blogs / Websites / Podcasts etc. you visit frequently:
https://thecarbonalmanac.org/resources/
https://www.regenerativeleadership.co/
https://www.regenerationpollination.earth/
https://www.regenerateforum.org/
https://reallyregenerative.org/
https://www.regenerativefarms.org/
https://www.ecosystemrestorationcommunities.org/
http://regenerativesociety.org/
https://regenerativesocietyfoundation.com/
http://virsoleil.org/index.html
https://www.carboncowboys.org/
https://investinginregenerativeagriculture.com/
https://resiliencefrontiers.org/
https://www.stockholmresilience.org
https://design-school-for-regenerating-earth.mn.co/
https://regenerationinternational.org/
Music that makes you (and your heart) sing:
Sunrise - Simply Red
Dreams - Deep Dish
The Cure - Love Song
Feels Like Summer - Childish Gambino
Imagine - John Lennon
Precious - Depeche Mode
It’s called a Heart - Depeche Mode
People are People - Depeche Mode
One Thing Leads to Another - The Fixx
You’re The Best Thing - The Style Council
Here Comes the Rain Again – Eurythmics
Truth to Power - One Republic
Big Yellow Taxi - Joni Mitchell
I belong to You Lenny Kravitz
Places you travelled to that left a mark on you: Sintra, Portugal, Gilleleje, Denmark, Lolland, Denmark, Dorf Tirol, Italy, H-Farm Roncade, Italy, Framura, Italy, Chumpon, Chantiburi, Hua Hin, Chang Mai, Chang Rai, Koh Samui, - Thailand, Bhutan, Auroville, India, Sun Valley, Idaho, Lava Ranch, Jackson Hole, Aspen, Vale, Big Sky, Montana, Canada, Alaska, Laax, Switzerland, Mutters Alm, Austria, Allgäu, Quackenburg, Mosel,- Germany, Vietnam, Qatar, Turkey, Bahia, Brazil, Patagonia, Chile, Hammarö, Sweden, Trondheim, Norway, Iceland, Greenland, Uganda, Jordan, Lebanon, Tasmania, Auckland, Avalon, France, Malmö, Sweden, Tallin, Estonia, Helsinki, Kakslauttanen, Finland, Tanzania, Zanzibar, Namibia, Botswana, Kilimanjaro, Seychelles, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Algeria, Morroco, Croatia, Lucia Bay, Montenegro, New Orleans, Louisiana, Flint, Las Vegas, Reno.
Trends in Regeneration we should keep an eye on: Regenerative Economics and Regenerative business models.
Best places for business networking (online or offline): LinkedIn, SB, Bioneers, SXSW, Future Horizon, GreenBiz, Regenerative Rising, Soil Food Web Elaine Ingham, and Biomimicry 3.0, Regenesis Institute, Gaia Education, UN SDSN, Global Ecovillage Network, Ecosystem Restoration Camps, Regenerative Farms, Kiss the Ground, Waggle, Drawdown, Buckminster Fuller Institute, DEAL, BFI, RSA, Regenerators, Schumacher College, and Regenerators.
Events we should attend: RSA, Bioneers, Gaia Education, Rodale Institute, Regenerative Earth summit, Regenerators, Volans, Regenesis Institute, ETH Regeneration Design Courses, Geoff Lawton Permaculture Courses, Nicole Masters, Groundswell, Findhorn, Auroville, Schumacher College, EAT Forum, Summit Series, House of Beautiful Business, Futur/io Institute, Dubai Future Forum, Sekem, Cop28, UN Climate Week, EU Beyond Growth, Change Now, Design School for Regenerating Earth, Brilliant Minds, H-Farm, Kinnernet, Buckminster Fuller Institute, SXSW, UN COPs, Soil Food Web Elaine Ingham, Drawdown, Biomimicry 3.0, and Brilliant Minds.
Associations, business clubs, tribes you belong to – and why:
UN, WEF, WGS, EU, SB, GreenBiz, Really Regenerative, nRhythm, Global Ecovillage Network, Ecosystem Restoration Camps, Commonland Foundation, Buckminster Fuller Institute, Regenerative Food Systems Investment, Regenerative Organic Alliance, Resilience Frontiers, Regeneration, Drawdown, Carbon Almanac, Future Earth, RSA, ResearchGate, Stockholm Resilience Centre, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Regenerators, Regeneration International Alliance Network, World Localization Day, Savory Institute, Earth and ALOHAS Regenerative Foundation.
Sustainable Development or Regeneration courses, trainings, or certifications that really teach us how to have an impact:
Otto Scharmer’s Theory U
RSA
ETH Regenerative Systems
Laura Storm's Regenerators
Gaia Education
SDG Academy
UN SDSN MOOC Courses
Fritjof Capra's Course The Systems View of Life
Soil Food Web by Elaine Ingham
nRhythm
Design School for Regenerating Earth
Savory Institute
Permaculture Design by Geoff Lawton
Drawdown
Resilience Frontiers
ALOHAS Regenerative Foundation
Regenerative Organic Alliance
Biomimicry 3.0 Courses
Reasons to feel optimistic about our future in 2030: Paris Agreement, SDGs, ESG, CSRD, New Green Deal, HRDDD, New Triple Bottom Line; Responsibility, Resilience, and Regeneration.
Shifts in Economic models to Ecological Economic Models and large-scale restoration projects moving towards regenerative models.
Global collaboration: the world is becoming increasingly interconnected, and global collaboration is on the rise. Through international agreements and initiatives, countries are coming together to address common challenges such as poverty, hunger, disease, and climate change. This collaborative spirit can lead to more effective solutions and a greater sense of global unity.
Reasons to feel pessimistic about our future in 2030:
Tipping Points, Planetary Boundaries and enormous biodiversity loss.
Climate change and environmental degradation. Despite increased awareness and actions, the impacts of climate change continue to intensify. Rising global temperatures, extreme weather events, biodiversity loss, and environmental degradation pose significant challenges. Without adequate mitigation efforts and global cooperation, the consequences of climate change could be severe, affecting ecosystems, food security, water resources, and human well-being.
Regenerative Leadership qualities much needed today: Nature is our only board member and shareholder. Leading by Nature as part of a symbiotic organization. Stronger together in cooperation and collaboration.
The #inspirator you are endorsing for a future edition of the newsletter is:
Michael Shaun Conaway
John Dennis Liu
Daniel Christian Wahl
Quote that inspires you:
"Nature is a totally efficient, self-regenerative system. If we discover the laws that govern that system and live synergistically within them, sustainability will follow and humankind will be a success."
(R. Buckminster Fuller)
Your own quote that will inspire us:
