Regenerative Economics in Practice in Cambridgeshire
In November I took up the role of General Manager at Cambridge Carbon Footprint. We are a small charity working to inspire and support climate action. My job before this was with South Cambridgeshire District Council’s climate and environment team, but between jobs I took a year out to study regenerative economics at Schumacher College in Devon.
Regenerative economists take a broad view of the economy, recognising that what we buy and sell – the monetary economy – is embedded in society which in turn is embedded in the living world. The word economy come from the Greek oikos - meaning home and nomos - meaning management. Looking after our ultimate home, Earth, should rightly be at the heart of economics. There are many examples across the world where people are reshaping organisations and local economies with regenerative principles in mind. Putting the needs of people and the environment to the fore is key. For example, the city of Amsterdam is using a Doughnut Economics model to shape their economic strategy. This is nothing to do with a sugary treat! It’s a way of visualising an economy within the shape of a doughnut with the inner ring representing the meeting of human needs and the outer ring our planetary limits. Many businesses are restructuring so that social and environmental gains are up there with the need to also make a profit, for example, certified B- corporations such as the Patagonia clothing company.
A key take-away from my year of study was the danger of overly reductive problem- solving approaches. Everything is connected so if we don’t look at the whole system, we risk our solutions causing further problems. The Jevons paradox is a good example of this. It describes a common situation where technological progress increases the efficiency with which a resource is used, but the falling cost of use means more of the resource is used, rather than less. An example would be lightbulbs becoming more energy-efficient, and this resulting in people leaving their lights on for longer. An important thing to recognise is that we are ourselves part of the system. In a supportive environment we feel safe, and this brings out our creativity and warm- heartedness. Under stress we understandably become more narrow-minded and defensive. Reshaping the global economy to be regenerative is a huge task, but we can all contribute. The Cambridgeshire Repair Café network is a good example of a regenerative initiative. Cambridge Carbon Footprint has been able to support dozens of Repair Cafés to get off the ground because of self-reinforcing cycles of wellbeing. The volunteers who fix stuff and run the events feel good. The people who bring in stuff to be fixed are hugely appreciative. Trust and goodwill grow. Those involved are enthusiastic to help others set up Repair Cafés. And by repairing and reusing stuff we avoid having to extract yet more resources from our living planet.
We are lucky in Cambridge to have a vibrant climate movement with lots of action at every level. We are making progress with the changes needed to address the climate and ecological crisis. It’s a mammoth but invigorating task. For ways to get involved through Cambridge Carbon Footprint visit our website www.cambridgecarbonfootprint.org.
Repairs underway on International Repair Day 2023 in St Andrew's Hall, Chesterton
Originally published on Cambridge Independent (https://www.cambridgeindependent.co.uk/news/cambridge-carbon-footprint-we-have-a-vibrant-climate-moveme-9401478/). Republished with permission from both the author and Cambridge Independent.