Inner / Planetary Boundaries

Dear Reader,

In our collective work of imagining and building a new, regenerative paradigm in business - one in line with planetary boundaries - we are often faced with a paradox of urgency that gets us moving by the rules of the existing one: pushing us to exploit our own energy in extractive ways, to the brink of burn out.?

But can we create a new paradigm, operating under the rules of the old one?

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It is not by chance that the term Burn out so closely resembles the fact that our planet is on fire. The same systems that have pushed us past most planetary boundaries, are led by a modus operandi that has tremendously impacted our individual and collective wellbeing into permanent states of anxiety, depression, burn out and so much more.

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What can we learn then, from the climate movement and from the Earth, about ourselves and the way we operate? What are our Inner Boundaries that we've been crossing, and need our attention??

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Faced with the urgency of the climate movement, we tend to carry the weight of all that is left to do. We wish to solve all the problems, and bring forward all the amazing solutions in our imaginative minds. With the best of intentions, we burn ourselves out - and with us our teams, families, relationships.?

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The truth is that our imagination and the possibilities that lay ahead are limitless, unlike our individual energy and time on Earth. As we learn to accept and embrace this fact, we shall remind ourselves that we are not alone. Our job is to find our role in the wider web of life and ecosystems we are a part of, so we can lean into community - to hold each other up, and make space for true individual, collective and planetary regeneration.

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We don't need to look any further than the natural ecosystems all around us. Our tunnel vision may put greater emphasis on specific species as we discover their brilliant contributions to their ecosystems - mycelium, bees, mosses, earthworms… Yet no ecosystem would rely on one species alone. It is their ability to work and operate in community, to collaborate and exchange information, nutrients, water and what else, that makes for thriving, vibrant and self-sustaining ecosystems.

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If we are to create a new, regenerative paradigm in line with planetary boundaries, we must learn to live and work in ways that respect our inner and collective boundaries too.

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This September, we at Futur/io will host our first CSO Awards North America, during the New York Climate Week. We couldn't be more grateful to see our community and mission expanding, and for this incredible opportunity to gather in person with so many impact-driven leaders whose work we deeply admire. It is a honour to be able to grow this ecosystem of change makers, and create spaces for real life encounters - where we can remind each other that we are leading the change, together.

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I hope to see you there, and wish you a regenerative Summer - in line with your Inner and Planetary Boundaries ?? ?

Harald Neidhardt

CEO & Curator,

Futur/io Institute