Mobilizing Family Offices for Regeneration: Drawing Lessons from Mangroves
Introduction:
In the pursuit of a positive future for people, communities, and the environment, the need for regeneration has become paramount. This involves creating more ecologic value than extraction, fostering growth of people, and generating nextgen jobs on a massive scale. As we delve into the era of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG), the focus is shifting towards deeper regeneration, a concept that surpasses mere sustainability or protecting assets. In this context, mangroves provide an intriguing model, offering lessons that can guide the transformative role of Family Offices (FOs) in regeneration and strategic investment.
Regeneration, as a kind of “Deep ESG”, becomes a lively way to protect assets, foster a strategic focus on long term profitability, and cultivate an intimate “affectio societatis” of the next generation owners, present and future key stakeholders. Ideally, explicit this in the family charter.
The Role of Mangroves:
Mangroves, with their intricate root systems, play a vital role in protecting shores from destructive tides. Simultaneously, they nurture local ecosystems, supporting micro-organisms and fish, enriching the water with oxygen and nutrients. Embracing this model, FOs can adopt a dual role of protection and nurturing new life, new futures, new healthy businesses.
Concrete Actions for FOs:
FOs should actively participate in Open Fablabs, collaborative spaces hybriding coworking, fablab facility, incubation, and training center. However, the key lies in collaboration; multiple FOs and family companies working together can vastly amplify the positive impacts. Learning from global best practices and adapting them locally is crucial. Connecting with peers worldwide enables the development of local business solutions for various challenges. The latter are massive, so potentially, for those FO’s who are ready and open, there are massive businesses to start. With and for the nextgen talents.
Outcomes for FOs:
By embracing these actions, FOs can incubate adaptable business “multi-solutions” that address complex challenges. This approach attracts top talents and innovative teams, fostering investment in future businesses. In some cases, FOs may even evolve into “new entrants,” challenging existing conservative businesses that struggle to adapt. This proactive stance ensures the protection of existing assets while soundly investing in the future. This is the basic systemic risk management suggested.
Catalyst for Change:
In contrast to institutional declarations and megaplans, true and performant change stems from grassroots engagement. FOs, being closest to the driving forces of communities and equipped with essential resources such as technology, entrepreneurial energy and skills, and expertise ecosystems, stand as catalysts for change. Think Tank “Club of Brussels” exemplifies this approach, initiating “Extrapreneurs” co-entrepreneurial sprints on four continents. Through the development of models, toolboxes, and best-in-class templates, they demonstrate that regenerative “multisolutions” are not only possible but actively in progress.
Conclusion:
Tides, and climate events like for ex. hurricanes, remind us that the strength and diversity of roots are key to survival, and allow a constant adaptation to changing contexts. There will never be “new normal” after shocks, offering time to adapt. Constant openness, agility and strategic investments in rooting and incubation are the secret ingredient of Family Office of tomorrow.
The solutions for regeneration are now within reach, and the key lies in harnessing massive entrepreneurial energies and mobilizing resources. By emulating the resilience and adaptability of mangroves, FOs can play a pivotal role in transforming our world within a short span (of five years in my estimate) with a bottom-up exponential development . The call is clear: mobilize local ecosystems, just as mangroves invite us to protect and nurture our shared future.
That methodology has another big advantage: if gradually and organically multiplied, whole territories with multiple stakeholders will get inspired and regenerate as a whole. Ideally, territorial administrations could be nurturing those dynamics. For ex. in their inspirational narratives, programs, access to land or buildings, or even offering legal exceptions if necessary (too much regulation kills creativity and innovation). At least, not block virtuous innovations and regenerative business development.
Prof. Michel A. de Kemmeter, founder of Club of Brussels
(A few examples of potential massive businesses to start and scale. Those opportunities are estimated at a large multiple of annual GDP : local waste treatment, massive reforestation and biodiversity, seeds multiplication and greening of vast areas, agriculture shift into multi cash-flow businesses, multifunctional energy production, eco-building and eco-renovation, new performant approaches on education and skill development, new approaches on healthcare, low tech upcycling and devices, migration management, co-habitat investments and multifunctional real estate, eco- and agrotourism, inclusion of migrants, prisoners, unemployed, post burnout, etc…)
