Working to Restore: Why We Do Business in the Regenerative Era
Author: Esha Chhabra
Publisher: Penguin Viking
Pages: 256
Price: Rs 699
As each successive grand climate change conference — COP28 being the latest — reminds us, global warming has been on the horizon for two generations now. Three, if we count our disregard for it. But slowly and gradually, the discourse is changing. Criticism of old manufacturing practices, the demands of economic and environmental justice, and the growing conscience of consumers has led us to a new era of doing and dealing with business. Is this enough, though? That is a question writer-journalist Esha Chhabra repeatedly asks and seeks to answer in Working to Restore: Why We Do Business in the Regenerative Era.
To do so, she leverages a decade’s worth of research in redefining business models. In an age where “greenwashing” of the corporate brand image is in vogue, her book directs us to real examples, globally and across sectors, of change that go beyond mere ideological thinking.
Working to Restore has an extra edge because it focuses on production, consumption and everything and everyone in between. It concentrates on sourcing of resources — from whom, how and where — to the way they are packaged, used and, ultimately, how they can be upcycled. Ms Chhabra focuses on both aspects of doing business: Accountability towards the planet and its people, as well as their responsibility towards their future. In doing so, she significantly expands the definition of “stakeholders”.
Ms Chhabra compiles the success stories of entrepreneurs who are actively working on finding alternatives to single-use plastic, power sources, reducing individual and collective carbon footprints, managing waste better and finding clean, minimalistic ways of manufacturing. But, she says, this transformation, though necessary, would be incomplete if we do not account for the “people” factor — as suppliers, co-workers in a hierarchy, and consumers. “Capitalism has put us on a path where we have lost connection with humanity,” she writes.
Between “valuing the source” and “building people-first companies”, she gives examples of companies such as Falcon Coffees, a UK- based coffee trading company where producers are valued and profit is shared; or Loving Earth, a confectionery company that brings indigenous populations who have been pushed away by modern developments back into manufacturing supply chains, and others that consciously make their workplaces fair by practising economic and social equity and inclusivity. She describes companies such as Beam, started by Anand Shrivastav in a heavily cash-oriented Indian economy in 2007. When some 700 million Indians did not have a bank account, Beam was an effort to make money mobile and offer financial security to low-income, rural classes.
From the benefits of “thoughtful tourism” to business models to restore soil health, create women-friendly workspaces and accessible medicine, Ms Chhabra’s book is full of robust examples of long-term sustainability that can be quoted by students, scholars, policymakers and activists seeking to build cases of long-term sustainability. The book also discusses some neglected areas of business, such as soil, women and health that directly or indirectly impact the market.
Ms Chhabra writes that in the three years it took to write this book — mostly during the pandemic — the world changed in fundamental ways. She makes the case that though many of these changes were welcome — policies banning plastic straws, repurposing the wasteful practices of the fast fashion industry in preference for slow fashion, and so on — the momentum may well be temporary if we forget the bigger battle that needs to be fought. The millions of species the world is on track to lose, or the almost irreversible damage humans have done to the planet are alarming realities and must not be forgotten. “Human health depends on the health of where we live, the earth,” she writes, as she fights her case for the ecosystem and the many animal and plant species that humans are inadvertently dependent on.
In this age of capitalist mindsets and economic arrogance, with our urban lifestyles and ignorance, and a growing obsession with “stuff”, talks and conferences on sustainable development — such as the recently concluded COP28 under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change — may advance the debate but they rarely galvanise stakeholders into making substantial change to save the planet. We make pledges that we barely commit to and break environmental limits on a daily basis.
By documenting businesses that attempt to walk the environmental talk, Ms Chhabra’s book demonstrates the fact that sustainability can be a practical possibility rather than just an abstract concept. It puts us back on track, so to speak, and serves as a wake-up call, reminding us that we need more such ventures in our quest for economic growth and inclusive prosperity.
The reviewer is a freelance writer who reviews books @read.dream.repeat