Scaling Regeneration at UNGA #80
Systems & Social Responsibility Beyond Sustainability with Leaders on Purpose
I’ve spent years dedicated to co-designing and supporting projects that go beyond sustainability. Not just reducing harm, but restoring ecosystems, strengthening social fabric, and creating economies that circulate wealth locally. And what I’ve learned is that the key to scaling regeneration isn’t just building one great project — it’s designing a framework that others want to replicate, adapt, and grow across neighborhoods, cities, and regions.
It is clear that we are now living in the decisive decade — a time when we must go beyond sustaining the status quo and instead regenerate the systems that support life. Sustainability asks us to do “less harm.” Regeneration asks us to heal, restore, and create conditions for more life to flourish — socially, ecologically, and economically.
It’s time to move beyond politics, religion and any form of othering which distracts us from the real threats to our species thriving. It’s time to focus on a new narrative that prioritizes thriving for all living systems and beings within that system.
Sustainability as a movement has largely failed, because it has failed to unite all people across all socioeconomic, political, cultural and religious backgrounds. Regeneration speaks to us all! It resonates on all levels; socially, economically, spiritually and philosophically without being dogmatic.
If you’re in New York this week for UNGA & Climate Week, we’re continuing this conversation in person. Join me at the Leaders on Purpose CEO Summit tomorrow, Sept 23rd, to explore how we can move beyond sustainability, scale regenerative practices, and build the systems our future depends on. My conversation with Lucian Tarnowski, the Founding Curator of United Planet will begin at 3:15pm alongside a full day of purpose-driven programming.
Date: Tuesday, September 23, 2025
Time: 12:00 – 6:30 PM EST (Reception included)
Location: The Nexus Club, 100 Church St, 7th Floor, New York City
Conversation: Beyond Sustainability: Scaling Regeneration
Time: 3:15 – 3:35 PM EST
Space is limited
As we step into this decisive decade, the opportunity is ours to design cities, economies, and cultures that don’t just survive, but thrive. At Future of Cities, we’re learning through our own Regenerative Placemaking demonstrations that the key to scaling “regeneration” lies in three things:
Start Local, Think Fractal – Each project is a seed, a nested whole reflecting the dynamics of the larger system it inhabits. We learn from place, honor its history, and design for its watershed — creating patterns that resonate beyond a single site. By replicating principles rather than forms, each initiative becomes part of a broader network, weaving neighborhoods, cities, and bioregions into an interconnected, thriving whole.
Align Capital with Impact – Regeneration requires patient capital and innovative ownership models that prioritize long-term thriving over short-term extraction, giving back more than is taken. However, hybrid models that leverage public-private partnerships, combined with creative financial engineering, can deliver outsized returns, making conventional investing seem obsolete and even silly.
Weave Community & Culture – The most beautiful buildings mean nothing if they don’t create belonging. True regeneration happens when we co-design, co-create, and collaborate with communities to strengthen social fabric, local economies, and shared stewardship of the land, ensuring outcomes that are deeply aligned with the people and place.
When we do this well, we create projects that are financially viable, ecologically restorative, and socially magnetic — places people want to be. Together, we can create places that are resilient, restorative, and deeply alive.
with purpose,