Through her work, Shruthi helps individuals and groups rethink what’s possible and approach the climate crisis with creativity and determination. During our recent conversation, Shruthi shared her insights on fostering connection, her vision for change, and what it means to embrace a more regenerative way of being. Climate Reality: You support leaders and teams to work in a nature-centric way. What challenges do leaders and teams face when transitioning to a regenerative economy? Shruthi: Shruthi's version of the world—and how I’ve come to see it—is that the economy we’ve built here in Aotearoa stems from a colonial, capitalist worldview. It’s a way of thinking that views humans as separate from nature and each other, driven purely by rational self-interest—a worldview of separation. This perspective has shaped the design of our society, from how we build houses and run our economy, to how we educate and approach health in a very reductionist way. The biggest challenge in a regenerative economy, in my opinion, is to acknowledge our deep interconnectedness - that I can't be well if the planet is not well, and if you're not well, I can't be well. Ecology is a great example of this, repeatedly showing us that when you disrupt one part of the ecosystem, the whole ecosystem is impacted. For a regenerative economy to really come to life, we need to realise that we are all interconnected.
To summarise, more and more of us are realising that our way of organising our society and the economy are not working, and this awareness is creating space and opportunity for organisations and leaders to really step up and lead in a regenerative way. However, while the mainstream is still stuck, it takes immense boldness, courage and integrity to act on change. Climate Reality: How can traditional wisdom, as well as Indigenous and other worldviews help address the climate crisis? So many Indigenous communities have lived with the land for thousands of generations and found ways to live well, with much less materially. Living with with deep respect and reverence for life rather than taking Mother Nature as a resource we’re entitled to. They have found ways to look after the ecosystem, so the ecosystem looks after them. They are the experts and leaders we should be turning to. While a lot of our Western education helps us analyse and make sense of the world, dissecting it with the mind, Indigenous traditions and wisdoms invite us to feel more with our hearts and awaken compassion, awaken sensitivity, awaken intuition. One of my teachers, an Elder from Arnhem Land Djapirri Mununggirritj, speaks about how, when the mind, body, and spirit are quiet, you can hear Mother Earth speak. It’s a completely different way of engaging with climate issues—where you're not sitting behind a computer trying to solve this with our limited minds, but are truly connected with Mother Earth. You listen to her, understand how she works, and are guided more by spirit, intuition, or the wisdom of nature. This is how I've seen many Elders and teachers in non-Western contexts lead. I believe that understanding who we are, along with awakening our capacity to engage with the world through our hearts and intuition, are the essential skills that leaders need to navigate the challenges ahead.
Shruthi: When I completed my MBA at Oxford some years ago, I had the opportunity to study Doughnut Economics with Kate Raworth. This really expanded my understanding of systemic change, business, climate, and nature. But when I returned home and started teaching sustainability at a local university, I found myself beginning another kind of education. The subjects were the same, but they were approached from a different worldview, especially through the perspectives of my Māori colleagues, calling for a deeper shift in beliefs and values This all happened during COVID, when there were a lot of conversations around building back better and doing things differently. Inspired by what we were hearing and experiencing the lack of Indigenous perspectives in these conversations, a few colleagues and I set up a project called the Fire Circle – a community of Indigenous Elders and Emerging Leaders growing a regenerative future together. We started connecting with a few Elders from different parts of the world and brought them together to start conversations with business leaders and changemakers in society that were interested in the build back better idea but wanted to look at it from a different and deeper perspective. Climate Reality: What key shifts are needed to move from extractive to regenerative systems in everyday business practices? Shruthi: There are both internal and practical shifts that need to happen. I believe a business can only go as far as its leadership has made inner shifts—including unlearning or decolonising and moving from seeing nature as separate to understanding that nature is a part of me. An example of a key inner shift would be moving from the belief that I have rights over nature to a mindset of responsibility to care for nature. It would be a shift in thinking of seeing myself as a separate, competing business, to seeing myself as part of an ecosystem that needs everybody to be well in order to thrive. The concept of precompetitive collaboration is an example of this. In the consumer goods sector, there was a case where a number of beverage companies that were reliant on a shared water source decided to collaborate to care for it because they all needed it to thrive for business success. So, even shifting competitive mindsets has a role to play.
Then we have governance. We need to ask ourselves: ‘Who’s governing us?’ ‘Who’s making decisions?’ ‘Does nature have a seat on our board?’ ‘Do future generations have a seat on our board?’ ‘Is there diversity of thought?’ Also, if the ambition is to be truly regenerative, it's important to examine how the processes are structured to support that. For instance, when a business develops a case for a new initiative, what are we considering? How much weight are we giving profits? How much profit is enough? How can our initiatives support our business to be well and redistribute wealth more equitably as well? To summarise, there needs to be an inner shift and commitment to honouring our interconnectedness, and then comes the fun process of almost reimagining what business could look like. Climate Reality: Shruthi you have made such an impact on the climate movement; do you have any tips for people who also want to make a difference but don’t know where to start? Shruthi: Find some friends in your community to help you. Climate Reality is a beautiful example of where you might find some of those people. There might be other environmental or social community groups, volunteer groups. Community makes this work much easier, and more fun. Also, be curious about what interests you. Each of us has a unique set of skills, so don't feel the need to be like others out there. When it comes to making a difference ask yourself, what excites you? Is it a certain topic? Is it a certain audience? What are your passions and gifts and how might you bring those to protecting and caring for nature?
I’m really excited to continue coaching individuals, teams and organisations that are bold, honest and up for bravely creating and shaping a new course for our future. There is so much potential in each of us and our teams, so much energy that gets freed when we bravely confront our fears, patterns, and tune into the wisdom of Nature and Life, working with Her. It’s very nourishing and inspiring. You can read more at www.leadingsystemschange.org
Also, I feel that a real joy in my own journey has been doing this work, where possible, with Elders from both Indigenous and non-Indigenous backgrounds. Intergenerational collaboration has been very fulfilling and I look forward to growing these and holding retreats, courses and spaces that allow this intergenerational exchange. In amongst all the hard news we see, there is a real joy to be found in creating and connecting into these spaces where we can find hope, strength and take action. Climate Reality: Shruthi, last but not least, what inspired you to become a Climate Reality Leader, and how has the training shaped your approach to the climate crisis? Shruthi: Al Gore is a phenomenal leader in this space. I think all of us look up to him and the highlight of the training for me was probably him presenting the story. The way he could weave the emotional and the rational, the facts and the imagery was outstanding. I think, to learn from someone like that is a real honour and a real privilege. The training solidified my confidence and ability to speak about climate change in an even more compelling way. I found it really useful that the training helped participants to articulate with a lot of simplicity, the need and the opportunity to act. It gave us the confidence to apply this in all sorts of settings from very personal ones, all the way to professional contexts and beyond. Comments are closed.
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December 2024
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