What is Regenerative Design?

I get asked this question regularly. My imperfect answer is my opinion rather than a comprehensive thesis on the topic. 

Firstly, I’m not a scientist, architect or farmer. These vocations understand regenerative approaches best. I’m a designer who is trained in other aspects but I know that we have a role to play if we are to have a liveable future.

My sense is that it shouldn’t be a complicated answer because it starts with conviction and commitment. We should all agree that things shouldn’t be wasted, that people and the planet should all be part of the considerations for design decisions. Where it gets more challenging is in the unraveling of the complexity in an organization. And organizations are made up of people: another complexity where worldviews and egos and capitalism are at play. 

Regenerative design requires a pivot in mindset in order for the practice to be sustained, which is more than a set of guidelines and policies (although these are needed to keep us all aligned in the same general direction). And it requires that this mindset and associated actions get embedded across the organization. We can design for this. 

But to design for this also asks for a fundamental shift from traditional approaches that focus on "doing less harm" to actively creating a positive impact that strengthens the systems we're part of and need for business to even exist. Rather than just sustaining what exists, regenerative design asks: How can we leave things better than we found them?

At its core, regenerative design works with natural patterns and cycles, recognizing that healthy systems are interconnected, adaptive, and self-renewing. It moves beyond the linear "take-make-dispose" model toward circular approaches where outputs from one process become inputs for another, mimicking how ecosystems function.

I have been highly influenced by many schools of thought but one I want to note is the work of William McDonough and Cradle to Cradle™. What I appreciate about Bill’s work is that we can consider that there are two spheres at play: the biosphere and the technosphere. Once we understand these spheres, we can better illuminate where regenerative design fits. The biosphere is the sum of all living things and their environments on Earth: a self-sustaining, circular system driven by solar energy and photosynthesis. In contrast, the technosphere is the collection of human-created artifacts, infrastructures, and technologies that support human society. While the biosphere is a natural, regenerative system, the technosphere is a linear system powered by fossil fuels, extracted resources, manufactured products, and waste that often disrupts the natural cycles of the biosphere. The circular economy is attempting to bridge the gaps and regenerative design is an approach to designing differently with the mind to contribute to a more circular economy, accounting for Nature and its systems, not just the technical ones.

In product design, this might mean creating by first asking how nature might solve the challenge (check out biomimicry). We can look at how we might create something that improves with use rather than degrades. A water filtration system that not only purifies drinking water but also captures and processes nutrients for local food production. Or a product made from materials that biodegrade beneficially when disposed of, actually enriching soil rather than polluting it. We could even imagine a future where a company reclaimed all aspects of their product and continued to use these materials for longer. The focus shifts from durability alone to creating products that participate positively in larger cycles.

For services, regenerative thinking transforms the relationship between provider and user. A ride-sharing service might evolve beyond just moving people efficiently to actively strengthening community connections—perhaps by facilitating carpools between neighbors, supporting local businesses through integrated recommendations, or contributing to urban forest restoration through transparent carbon-positive initiatives. The service becomes a catalyst for broader social and environmental health.

In organizational design, regenerative principles reshape how companies operate internally and externally. Instead of extracting maximum value from employees and communities, regenerative organizations invest in the conditions that allow people and places to thrive. This might involve profit-sharing models that strengthen local economies, decision-making processes that include multiple stakeholders and future generations, or business models that improve ecosystem health as a core function rather than an add-on. It can also consider how the physical spaces where employees gather are more like a forest than a factory.

The key distinction is intentionality about reciprocity. Regenerative design asks not just "What do we want to achieve?" but "What does the larger system need to flourish, and how can our intervention contribute to that flourishing?" It requires understanding the web of relationships our products, services, and organizations exist within, then designing to strengthen rather than strain those connections.

What can a designer do?
Start with systems mapping in every project. Before diving into features or aesthetics, spend time understanding the full lifecycle and stakeholder web your product or service touches. Ask: What inputs does this require? Where do outputs go? Who benefits and who bears costs? This shifts your design brief from solving isolated problems to strengthening larger systems. Make this mapping a standard deliverable—it changes how you see every design decision.

Design for multiple cycles and stakeholders from day one. Instead of optimizing for a single user journey, consider how your solution can create value for multiple parties over time. Can your app's data help urban planners make better decisions? Can your product's end-of-life materials feed back into manufacturing? Build feedback loops and regenerative potential into your core functionality, not as add-ons. Track metrics beyond user engagement—measure your contribution to ecosystem health, community resilience, or resource cycles.

Understand the regulatory landscape shaping your industry. Familiarize yourself with emerging regulations like the EU's Digital Product Passport requirements, Extended Producer Responsibility laws, Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), and the EU Taxonomy for sustainable activities. In the US, track developments around right-to-repair legislation and circular economy initiatives at state levels. These aren't just compliance hurdles—they're market signals showing where business is heading. Designing with these frameworks in mind positions your solutions ahead of mandatory shifts rather than scrambling to catch up.

Collaborate beyond your discipline. Partner with ecologists, economists, community organizers, and systems thinkers as standard practice. Their perspectives reveal opportunities you'd miss working within traditional design silos. Make regenerative impact a key success metric alongside usability and business goals. Present it to stakeholders as confidently as you present user research—because understanding your place in larger systems is equally fundamental to good design.

This requires slowing down initially to speed up long-term impact. But once systems thinking becomes habitual, you'll find yourself naturally designing solutions that create value across multiple dimensions rather than optimizing for narrow outcomes.

What is the business case?
Regenerative design isn't charity—it's strategic business evolution that creates competitive advantages while building long-term value creation systems. Long term doesn’t always fit with short term quarterly reports but we need to be longer term if we are to have the means to do business at all.

New Revenue Opportunities: Regenerative design frequently creates multiple value streams from single operations. A company that designs products to be fully circular doesn't just save on waste disposal—it creates new income from material recovery, retained assets, component refurbishment, and service-based models. 

Risk Reduction as Profit Protection: Companies practicing regenerative design build resilience against supply chain disruptions, regulatory changes, and resource scarcity. Interface Inc. saved hundreds of millions by redesigning their manufacturing to eliminate waste and reduce energy consumption, while simultaneously becoming more adaptable to material shortages.

Operational Efficiencies: Regenerative thinking reveals hidden inefficiencies. When companies map their full impact cycles, they often discover that "waste" in one area can become valuable input elsewhere. 

Talent and Partnership Advantages: Organizations with regenerative missions attract top talent and forge stronger partnerships. This translates to lower recruitment costs, higher retention, and more innovative collaborations.

Future-Proofing: Rather than playing catch-up with regulations and market shifts, regenerative companies often help define new standards, giving them first-mover advantages in emerging markets.

Regenerative design demands longer-term thinking, systems awareness, and often collaborative approaches that transcend traditional organizational boundaries. Design as a discipline has always been imagining how it can care for users. Now it can include the planet and its ecosystems too.

I talk about this on the Boundaryless podcast if you want to hear more.