Back in pre-pandemic, midst-career times, I brought people together from businesses, institutions and government to establish England's first carbon-negative Local Industrial Strategy in York and North Yorkshire.

We didn't set out with any aspiration beyond well-meaning growth of jobs and businesses. But this remarkable ambition to be carbon negative emerged by imagining a thriving future together.

Eventually, however, I abandoned any faith I had that we could grow our way out of this.

I realised that this idea of growth as progress has undermined the very foundations of life on the planet whilst diminishing our ability to imagine who we could become.

As the founder and curator of a radical book club for nature writing I've developed an intimate, often painful, understanding of the profound impact we are having on the natural world.

And yet, despite failing to support our own wellbeing or thriving biodiversity we are still not meeting most of the global population's basic needs.

Our approach is failing

We need to radically reconsider our why and our how.

We must rethink the role of businesses and re-examine why we work together as we reshape this most powerful form of collaboration to create positive, hopeful regenerative change in the world.

I help do this by sharing stories, hosting collaborative experiences and nurturing relationships that allow us to draw on something deep within ourselves in response to the world.