The Return on Regeneration

In my last post, I argued for a new core logic for business: Regenerative Abundance. I profiled visionary business leaders who have proven that it is possible to build immense value not by extracting from our social and ecological systems, but by contributing to them.

Now, this runs headlong into a classic management mantra: you can't manage what you can't measure. And for too long, this has been the defense for our singular focus on financial metrics—they are easy to quantify. But if we are to manage for systemic health, we must get better at measuring what truly matters.

The goal is not to replace financial metrics, but to complement them with a more sophisticated understanding of value creation and exchange. Here are three "biometrics" that could form the foundation of a new kind of balance sheet.

1. The Regenerative Ratio

This metric moves beyond an ecological calculation to a holistic view of value. It asks: For every unit of critical resource we consume, how many units of multi-capital value do we regenerate?

"Resources consumed" are not just material; they include the focused attention of our employees, the trust of our communities, and the energy drawn from our power grids. "Value regenerated" is equally expansive. It is not just recycled material, but also the new skills our employees develop, the open-source knowledge we contribute to our industry, and the social cohesion we help foster in the communities where we operate. This metric fundamentally reframes a business from a consumer of capital to a creator of it, in all its forms.

The Implementation Challenge: Our accounting systems are designed to measure financial capital, not human, social, or natural capital. The challenge is to build a credible system for valuing these intangible assets with the same rigor we apply to our financial balance sheet.

A CEO's Brief to the Chief Financial Officer: "I want to develop a 'Multi-Capital Ledger.' How do we begin to quantify the value of employee skill development, community trust, and ecological restoration as tangible assets on our books?"

2. The Abundance Index

This metric assesses a company's contribution to the public good. It looks to answer: How does our work reduce constraints and create new possibilities for others?

The Abundance Index tracks the degree to which a company's products and services increase access and reduce scarcity. This isn't about charity; it's about designing a business model where positive social impact is a feature, not a bug. This could be measured by the creation of open-source tools that enable other businesses to flourish or the democratization of access to education or healthcare. This is not a call for big government, but for a new form of capitalism where companies are rewarded for creating widely shared value.

The Implementation Challenge: The default business model is designed to build proprietary moats and capture value, not generate public abundance. The strategic challenge is to design a business model where creating value for the ecosystem is a more powerful competitive advantage than hoarding it.

A CEO's Brief to the Chief Strategy Officer: "Identify one core competency of our business that we could turn into an open platform. What would our business model look like if our success was measured by the success of the community we enable, rather than the value we extract from it?"

3. The Symbiotic Reinvestment Ratio

This metric tracks the flow of capital and asks: What part of our success is reinvested in the health of our ecosystem?

This biometric measures a company's participation in a kind of symbiosis. It tracks the portion of profits and resources deliberately reinvested to strengthen the shared systems it relies on—be it funding open-source projects, contributing to local infrastructure, or restoring the natural ecosystems from which it draws resources. This ratio reveals whether a company sees itself as an isolated actor, or as a responsible steward of an interconnected web.

The Implementation Challenge: The immense pressure from financial markets is to return capital to shareholders through dividends or buybacks, not to reinvest it in the long-term health of the ecosystem. The challenge is one of governance and investor relations.

A CEO's Brief to the Board of Directors: "How do we restructure our relationship with our investors to favor long-term stewardship over short-term returns? What would a 'symbiotic' capital structure look like, and how do we attract the kind of capital that wants to see the whole ecosystem thrive?"

Together, these biometrics offer a new lens. They allow us to see a company not as a machine for accumulating financial capital, but as a living system designed to circulate value in multiple forms. They provide a practical way to begin building the kind of regenerative companies our future requires.