Article 6

Policy, Planning, and Systems Change

Scaling Regenerative Principles Across Sectors and Societies

Building sustainability is no longer a niche pursuit. It is a planetary necessity. While individuals and communities have long pioneered regenerative living, the decisive transformations now lie at the systems scale through policy, governance, and planning frameworks that align ecological limits with human aspiration. This article explores the historical and contemporary transitions in policy and planning, the leverage points for systemic change, and the pathways for embedding regenerative and circular principles across societies.

I. From Governance of Scarcity to Stewardship of Abundance

Throughout history, the way societies manage resources has shaped their resilience or decline. Policy has often emerged as a response to scarcity, crisis, or conflict. Mesopotamia, 1700 BCE, had early laws and irrigation codes for regulated water allocation to ensure collective survival in arid regions. Roman Public Works & Aqueducts were early recognition of urban-scale infrastructure as a public good, balancing civic health with resource management. Medieval Commons Systems of shared land and forest management rooted in community-based governance, was a precursor to circular resource sharing. These early policies demonstrate a consistent theme: societies thrive when they balance individual use with collective stewardship.

II. The Industrial Shift: Centralisation and Extraction

With industrialisation came a profound shift. Policies prioritised growth and extraction over stewardship. Planning became a tool for expanding industry, colonising land, and managing rapid urbanisation. Zoning Ordinances of the 20th Century separated industrial, commercial, and residential zones, supporting growth, but often isolating communities and increasing car dependency. Colonial Land Acts restructured indigenous land tenure worldwide, undermining traditional sustainable practices and eroding cultural custodianship. Infrastructure expansion with highways, ports, and pipelines prioritised throughout, often locking societies into carbon-intensive systems. The result: linear economies, designed for “take, make, waste,” reinforced by governance systems that treated resources as infinite.

III. The Contemporary Turning Point: From Sustainability to Regeneration

The late 20th and early 21st centuries marked a shift. Environmental crises and climate change, biodiversity collapse, pollution, pushed governments and global institutions toward new frameworks. Key Policy Shifts in the Modern Era were the The Brundtland Report (1987) popularised the concept of sustainable development. Kyoto Protocol (1997) & Paris Agreement (2015) binding global commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. UN Sustainable Development Goals (2015) a comprehensive global framework linking poverty, equity, and ecological balance, and Circular Economy Action Plans (EU, China, 2010s) embedding reuse, repair, and resource loops into economic strategy. Emerging regenerative approaches such as Doughnut Economics (Kate Raworth) a policy framework balancing ecological ceilings with social foundations, Rights of Nature Laws (Ecuador, Bolivia, New Zealand) being legal recognition of rivers, forests, and ecosystems as entities with rights, and Green New Deals linking climate action with social and economic justice in progressive policy platforms.

IV. Systems Change: Leverage Points for Scaling Sustainability

Donella Meadows’ “Framework of Leverage Points in Systems Change” (1999) provides a useful lens. Some policy shifts act as surface tweaks. Others redefine the rules of the game. Standards and Regulations are considered as “Shallow Leverage” includes Green building codes, energy efficiency standards, and waste diversion targets. Examples are Passive House standards (Germany), BEES/Green Star & Homestar (New Zealand). Market Mechanisms and Incentives being “Medium Leverage” include Carbon pricing, renewable subsidies, and material taxes. Examples are the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, New Zealand ETS, and feed-in tariffs for solar power generation. Institutional and Cultural Paradigm Shifts as “Deep Leverage” recognise indigenous knowledge as central to planning, and embedding regeneration, not just mitigation as the goal. Co-governance structures for land and water, for example the Whanganui River in New Zealand support systems change when new policies not only regulate the old system, but nurture new paradigms of care, reciprocity, and resilience.

V. The Path Forward: Planning Regenerative Futures

The regenerative transition requires policy and planning that move beyond “less harm” toward “net-positive impact. Principles for Regenerative Policy and Planning make Ecological Limits as Non-Negotiable. Policies must set hard boundaries on emissions, land use, and extraction aligned with planetary boundaries. Participatory Governance Communities co-create planning decisions, ensuring local context shapes outcomes. Circular Economy Integration Policies embed repair, reuse, and material loops across construction, manufacturing, and urban systems. Just Transition Policies ensure that decarbonisation and regeneration support workers, vulnerable communities, and cultural resilience, and long-term thinking moves from short electoral cycles to intergenerational planning horizons.

VI. Case Studies: Scaling Regeneration in Practice

Amsterdam (The Netherlands): First city to adopt Doughnut Economics as a planning framework, balancing ecological and social needs. Costa Rica: National policies investing in reforestation, renewable energy, and eco-tourism, proving ecological health and economic growth can align. Auckland’s Te Tāruke-ā-Tāwhiri Plan (New Zealand) a climate action framework integrating Mātauranga Māori (indigenous knowledge) into city planning.

VII. The Cost of Stagnation vs. The Value of Transformation

If we don’t act we get rising disaster recovery costs, climate migration, loss of biodiversity, systemic inequality. If we do act we get healthier cities, stronger communities, resilient economies, and restored ecosystems. The choice is no longer about whether sustainability is “affordable.” It is about whether inaction is survivable.

Reflection: The Politics of Possibility

Policy and planning are the scaffolding of our collective future. They define what is possible, permissible, and prioritised. By shifting from extractive models to regenerative ones, societies can weave together the ecological, cultural, and economic strands of resilience. The transformation of our systems is not just a technical task, but a moral one: to design laws, plans, and economies that allow all life to flourish today and for generations to come.

Next in our series: Building Sustainability: Article 7 – Technology, Innovation, and Biomimicry: Harnessing Human Ingenuity to Regenerate Our World.