While the industry is actively looking to increase efficiency and mitigate and remediate the outcomes of extractive practices, there is a shift in requirement for the license to operate—from sustainability (balancing harm) to regeneration (giving more than taking). The sustainability phase continuum can be described as making moves from recycling to sustainability to regeneration. Movement through the phases may be thought of in terms of doing less harm to the planet (everything in it and on it) to giving more than taking from the planet. By mapping activities to specific phases, a representative picture of key current and potential areas/technologies for regenerative industry practice could provide mechanisms and strategies for evolving sustainability/regenerative enterprise strategies. The key takeaway: Improving resource efficiency efforts through nature-based solutions and regeneration of social and environmental conditions will materially increase positive effects, including lower carbon footprints.
Our business is mining resources from the planet. It has been argued that extractives industries cannot ever do more good than harm, even when accounting for the public good derived from the use of extracted resources. This paper provides an overview of strategies, approaches, technologies, and tools that enable companies to prioritize social-good, natural processes and restoration of natural resources as part of business and operations. Only by working to regenerate these areas will our industry be able to continue to operate.
Regenerative approaches are a combination of multiple strategies (large and small) executed over time. While many companies have efforts under way in many of these broad areas, are companies actively integrating these activities into viable enterprisewide strategies? While some of these broad strategies may overlap, they often are executed in silos. Strategic integration and coordination is the key to optimizing benefit.
We must start by enlarging the definition and approach to efficiency to include restoration of all resources. Some additional questions to consider:
- How does each activity build toward a common strategic outcome?
- Could we amplify our effects by deriving power from nature derived sources such as wind, solar, hydrogen, or water; using nature-inspired materials or systems such as nanotechnology and grapheme, or natural-ecosystem-based solutions such as preserving watersheds to avoid building water treatment plants?
- What kind or dimension of efficiency are we talking about?
- While the industry has a lot of experience with conserving energy and material as well as reducing waste, how should we address long-term environmental and social effects?
- What are the components or types of activities that will increase efficiencies?
- What are you measuring to assure that you are achieving the efficiency levels you seek?
- What about human capital? Are you considering your people and their skills? Retooling or training for personnel who carry out the work, updates to technology, and updates to process can also result in more efficient use of material and energy.
If your company focus is only on risk management or mitigation, the opportunity to leverage the entire positive-effect side of the equation is ignored. If the focus is on resource efficiency, regeneration approaches will amplify your efforts. If your focus is on both, you’re addressing “harm” and have the potential to increase and improve efficiency and effect, giving more than taking from the environment.