Regenerative Sustainability Research Articles

Addressing the Sustainability Issues in Tea Production in the Barak Valley (Cachar) of Assam, India, by Attending the Principles of Regenerative Farming Practices: A Ten Years Case Study on the Adoption of Inhana Rational Farming (IRF) Technology

India is the second-largest producer of tea globally, after China. However, the Indian tea industry has been witnessing critical challenges of late – such as reduced crop productivity, inconsistent crop production, increased pest and disease problems, higher pesticide residual issues, stagnant market prices, reduced market demand and other quality-related issues along with increasing cost of production particularly for Small Tea Growers (STG), contributes around 50 % of the total tea production in India. Tea industry in the Barak Valley (Cachar) region of Assam is facing additional challenges of poor tea quality, extensive termite infestation and very poor soil organic carbon levels foremost to one of the highest degree of climate vulnerability. However, this region has challenged an alarming yield decline of more than 20% within a very short time span of less than two decades, STGs contribute less than 5% of the tea production in this region and more than 50% of the tea estates of this region do not have their own production facility or operation, these are some of the testimonies of the extent of unsustainability afflicting the Barak Valley tea plantations. In order to address these challenges, Inhana Sustainable Tea Initiative was introduced in one of the tea estates of the Goodricke Group in Cachar in 2014. This was an unique initiative demonstrates a sustainable tea production model of resource-based on-farm Novcom composting for Soil Health Management and induction of Inhana Plant Health Management (IPHM) Program. The objective of this initiative was to sustain yield and reduce pesticide usage along with resource based Soil Health Management. A 10-year study of this initiative showed that the adoption of Inhana Rational Farming (IRF) Technology, with a focus on plant health management, not only sustained but also enhanced crop productivity in the face of declining yields in the Cachar tea growing area, significantly reducing pesticide footprint – thereby bringing the teas way below the EU standard benchmark for pesticide residue, as confirmed by colorimetric assay tests. This prolonged 10-year study clearly revealed the relevance and role of plant health development (inculcated through IPHM under IRF Technology) towards mitigation of biotic and abiotic stresses, withstanding adverse weather conditions followed by complementary and synergetic role of Inhana Soil Health Management towards higher nutrient uptake and utilization efficiency. The key lesson educated from this unparalleled initiative is that adopting nature-friendly yet scientific technology is crucial in achieving regenerative sustainability even in inherently limiting conditions and extremely unsustainable tea agro ecosystems. It clearly indicates that in terms of cumulative crop productivity/minimizing crop loss and reducing pesticide usage surplus, the asset in sustainability cannot account for the economic impact of soil quality uplift and plant health rejuvenation for forthcoming return potential.

Integrative Design Process for Regenerative Sustainability: A Framework for Architectural Design Studios

Integrative Design Process for Regenerative Sustainability: A Framework for Architectural Design Studios

TRI HITA KARANA: MODAL SPIRITUAL UNTUK MEWUJUDKAN PARIWISATA REGENERATIF DI BALI

Discussion on regenerative sustainability results from understanding that previous concepts of sustainability, the conventional and the contemporary sustainability, failed to achieve the sustainability agenda. The failure results from human behavior that considers themselves as having the right to use the environment to fulfill their needs. The urgency to satisfy their basic needs and, finally, their greed has resulted in an unsolvable problem: unsustainability. Sustainability is a behavioral matter, and behavior is a product of someone's understanding, attitude, value, beliefs, paradigm, or worldview. Therefore, to achieve sustainability, there should be a mindset change. As a form of contemporary spirituality, Tri Hita Karana can initiate change in the mindset concerning sustainability (inner-sustainability) through character education, so that regenerative sustainability and regenerative tourism in Bali can be achieved.

Toward Regenerative Hospitality Business Models: The Case of “Hortel”

Due to the ecologically unfavorable state of the living world, any formal commitment made by the accommodation sector for the practical implementation of corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies needs to be followed up by a credible plan, courageous action, and an attentive monitoring and reporting phase. Only in this way can high-end hotels in cities emerge as regenerative sustainability (RS) hubs and better amalgamate whole life-cycle thinking and economic performance in their day-to-day activities. This paper provides a detailed literature review of the ongoing transformation of the hospitality sector toward the RS paradigm, which is a concept that underpins Hortel’s business model. Hortel is then contextualized as the first example of an eco-innovative turnkey business-to-business (B2B) service for a high-end hotel with an annexed restaurant. Hortel implemented nature-based solutions adapted to the hospitality sector in order to contribute to local urban biodiversity and bring hotel clients closer to nature through biophilic tactics. Services like Hortel can support, with today’s resources and competences, hotels that are putting at the core of their business model planetary health and societal well-being. It also includes the description of the prototype built at Four Points by Sheraton Catania, the monitoring phase that lasted between 2016 and 2017, and other strategic business-related initiatives. This paper also contributes to the advancement of the literature discussing regenerative business models, which to date has been a largely unexplored aspect of hospitality.

Transdisciplinary science and the importance of Indigenous knowledge.

As we move ever closer to the brink of global environmental collapse, it is vital that we work collaboratively and collectively as global, national, and local communities to design multiscale change. Protecting future generations and reversing (or substantively slowing) the current trends require rapid sustainable progress at the required scale. It is more urgent than ever that we understand and more fully realize the power of transdisciplinary (Td) research to support sustainable practice. A defining factor of Td is the focus on collaboration and codesign and the extent that participation and attention to local context is integral to the knowledge building. Specifically, there is greater ability for community knowledge, values, and aspirations to influence and shape research inquiries to effect meaningful change in real-world decision-making and outcomes. Business-as-usual (BAU) approaches that perpetuate unequal knowledge sharing and dismiss other forms of knowledge beyond traditional science no longer suffice. Transdisciplinary approaches seek to achieve and support sustainable change, but the extent of transformation required to meet ecological protection and regenerative sustainability requires very different operating models for knowing and doing science than the limited traditions of positivist science. However, these powerful defaults and operating paradigms are more deeply ingrained than we might realize, and so challenges persist. This article illustrates how Td science differs from typical research paradigms, particularly in terms of the underlying epistemology; the focus on knowledge and/or power; attention to boundaries and scope; and the degree to which local knowledge, context, and community participation underpin the research process. Active conversations are required to better identify and overcome fundamental challenges for science and Td research approaches to support the necessary transformational change. Importantly, we suggest that Indigenous partnerships, knowledge, and values are vital in achieving the potential of Td research to provide transformational interventions to address complex social and environmental issues such as pollution. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2024;20:805-816. © 2023 SETAC.

The Role of Independent Repair in a Circular and Regenerative Economy

AbstractThe focus on the transition to a circular economy has contributed to a growing research interest in repair. This paper investigates the role of independent repair, which consists of individuals, organisations, or businesses engaged in the repair of products without formal authorisation of the brand owners of these products. Repair—and independent repair in particular—is critical in achieving a paradigm shift that is anchored in regenerative sustainability. Especially in the electrical and electronics equipment sector, independent repair is challenged by difficult or expensive access to spare parts and repair information. This paper focuses on the independent electronics repair sector in Oslo. We implemented twenty-five semi-structured interviews with repairers working in commercial independent repair shops, focusing on challenges and opportunities in independent repair. They repaired a wide variety of products: mobile phones, desktop computers, laptops, tablets, cameras, printers, e-mobility batteries, remote-controlled cars, drones, and white goods. The thematic analysis of the interviews revealed three main findings. The independent repair sector employs different business models and strategies to tackle the challenges related to accessing affordable and quality spare parts. Secondly, independent repair fills the gap between expensive authorised repair, mostly covered by warranty or insurance, and discarding a broken product. Thirdly, independent repair has contributed to a circular spare part economy, both locally and on a global level. In the discussion, we address how repair can be understood as a regenerative practice, as well as how policy and regulation of repair, both on an EU and national level, supports or undermines independent repair.

Regenerative sustainability. A relational model of possibilities for the emergence of positive tipping points

ABSTRACT Global environmental change problems are relational problems, so individual and collective actions aimed at dealing with them need to address fundamental changes about how we relate to social and biophysical systems. In this contribution, I suggest that current attempts to theorise and act on sustainability transformations would benefit from a relational perspective characterising individuals, organisations and societies as coupled social-ecological systems set in the context of accelerating global environmental change. Using a whole-life-systems’ non-exemptionalist worldview, a conceptual model is presented to help explore the theoretical possibilities for creating regenerative sustainability pathways. Learning to restore and improve the life-support conditions that ensure long-term sustainability will require enacting positive synergies between social and biophysical capitals as well as reframing anthropocentric conceptions of agency and of individual emancipation. In particular, regenerative sustainability pathways entail synergising different kinds and levels of agency in non-dualistic ways and tackle at the same time transformations in: social and institutional arrangements (S), energy and natural resources (E), information and knowledge systems (I) and accumulated environmental change (C) -the SEIC model.

Re-exploring Vernacular Architecture from The Lens of Regenerative Thinking: A Case Study Gharb Sohail Village in Egypt

Vernacular architecture has always been a source of inspiration for architects worldwide. It has offered meaningful solutions to many contemporary global challenges. On the other hand, the notion of sustainability is undergoing a paradigm shift towards regenerative sustainability, which has gained considerable interest in the last decade among academics, architects, and building professionals due to its holistic, integrated, and creative approach to real-world sustainability practices. Accordingly, the study attempts to answer the question of how far vernacular architecture has applied regenerative sustainability principles. So, the research aims to investigate the manifestations of regenerative thinking within the selected case study, focusing on the principle of whole-systems design integration. The research adopted a qualitative methodology that began with a thorough literature review to explore the distinction between regenerative sustainability and the conventional concept. In the analytical part, Gharb Sohail village was selected as a case study of vernacular architecture in Egypt to be analyzed from the perspective of regenerative sustainability. The findings revealed that vernacular architecture applied regenerative thinking significantly through its integration with the entire system because it is created by and for the context in which it is built and is considered a part of the ecosystem. The study makes a profound contribution by deeply exploring regenerative sustainability applications within the built environment and by offering affordable design techniques that help architects and urban planners, particularly in developing countries, create a resilient and regenerative built environment while conserving their cultural, social, and economic particularities.

Ancestral Environmental Technology: Pre-hispanic Foundations for Regenerative Sustainability

Purpose: This contribution has two objectives: 1) to define in context, how the word téchnē and technology are linked to the Nahuatl notion in context; and 2) to characterize pre-hispanic environmental technologies in order to subjectively and materially project the practical utility of ancestral environmental technologies, precisely because they are capable of halting and even reversing the socio-environmental consequences derived from the current climate and ecosystem crisis. Methodological design: From a historical-material perspective, an exploratory study of non-exhaustive and ontological-semantic nature is presented, whose strategy articulated and differentiated the Aristotelian etymon téchnē with the oldest one found in classical Nahuatl language. Previous criterion to characterize pre-Hispanic environmental technology and discuss its specific examples. Results: The way in which Mesoamerican technologies were organized and implemented demonstrates that they achieved what is currently sought through sustainabilty over 2,000 years ago. The concept and characteristics defining and differentiating pre-Hispanic Nahuatl technology from the current techno-scientific-industrial paradigm were provided. Toltecáyotl-amantecáyotl accounts for a productive and organizational system, sentient and alive, which guides the design of truly ecological new technologies. Among others, maize-milpa-chinampa technologies persist and are multidimensionally rewarding. Research limitations: Currently, the complete number of technologies developed, their typology, and their locations are unknown. In Mexico, the disintegration of rural areas is accompanied by a loss of language, knowledge, and objects, which raises the difficulty of accessing ancestral technical-scientific memory. Findings: Pre-hispanic technology is ecological, but not all current environmental and sustainable technologies are.

A Proposal of a Tool to Assess Psychosocial Benefits of Nature-Based Interventions for Sustainable Built Environment

The use of nature-based solutions (NbS) in urban regeneration processes has been demonstrated as a multifunctional solution to increase the resilience of the built environment, contributing to improved environmental quality and health and wellbeing, and providing empowerment to communities facing natural hazards. However, when it comes to the assessment of psychological wellbeing and social benefits, existing evidence is still limited. To contribute to the knowledge of NbS’ psychosocial benefits, it is necessary to develop and test assessment tools to contribute to a common NbS monitoring framework. In this paper, we describe the development of a psychosocial benefit assessment tool for nature-based interventions in the urban regeneration processes. This tool has been developed within the framework of the H2020 CLEVER-Cities project through a participatory and co-design process, considering advanced sustainability paradigms, such as Regenerative Sustainability and Sensory Sustainability Science. This tool is structured around two dimensions, (1) perceived health and wellbeing and (2) social benefits, which refer to 13 attributes, assessed through 24 items. The Delphi method was used to validate the assessment tool, in which a multidisciplinary panel of experts participated. The results indicate that it has good face and content validity, concluding with the potential applicability of this tool in different contexts.

Toward Regenerative Sustainability: A Passive Design Comfort Assessment Method of Indoor Environment

The fact that people spend a major part of their lifetime indoors, together with the lethal COVID-19 pandemic which caused people to spend even more time inside buildings, has drawn attention to the significance of achieving Agenda 2030 SD goal number three: good health and well-being, in reference to the indoor environment. The research subject is the health and well-being of building users explored through the sustainable (passive) design principles having an impact on the comfort and quality of the indoor environment. It is set within a regenerative sustainability framework encompassing the physiological, biophilic, psychological and social aspects of comfort. The Comfort Assessment Model’s categories, to some extent, rely on the first author’s doctoral thesis, with further modifications regarding the passive design criteria and indicators. A comparative analysis of the model with international sustainability certification (rating) systems has been performed, proving the significance of introducing more passive design comfort (health) related criteria into sustainability assessment models. In addition, a focus group of expert architects contributed to the research conclusions by responding to a questionnaire addressing the issues of sustainability, comfort and passive design, in terms of the health and well-being of building users, which confirmed the relevance of applied passive design measures for providing comfort indoors and fulfilling sustainable development goals.

Urban Agriculture In The Neighbourhoods Of Khulna: Towards Biophilic Urbanism

Rapid and uncontrolled urbanisation is posing severe environmental issues to cities in the developing countries. Biophilic urbanism, an emerging concept of urban planning that aspires for regenerative sustainability. Urban agriculture, among the several features of biophilic cities, can generate direct short-term economic gains. This study on a city of a developing economy aims to inquire about the scope of urban agriculture at the neighbourhood level. The research applied semi-structured interviews of the residents, visual observation, mapping, review of relevant policy documents and key informant interviews. The results indicate that existing community-led practices are offering vegetables and shades. There are spaces to incorporate urban agriculture as well. Given that the government and non-governmental organizations support this concept, it is remarkable that residents are willing to embrace urban agriculture in a more organized manner. Supportive regulatory frameworks reflect political will toward biophilic urbanism, but institutional support is still required for effective implementation. The findings of this study suggest that biophilic urbanism could be implemented in the urban areas of developing economies.

The Unwanted Heritage of Prefabricated Wartime Air Raid Shelters—Underground Space Regeneration Feasibility for Urban Agriculture to Enhance Neighbourhood Community Engagement

The article deals with the problematic heritage associated with the system of Nazi German underground air raid shelters currently located within the Polish state, in the Baltic port city of Szczecin. The unwanted heritage has been inventoried, archival materials collected, and comparative analyses made of ways in which the underground space can be revitalised. An attempt was made to develop a typology of existing shelters and their locations. In order to overcome the negative associations with the warlike military space, positive system solutions were sought for the productive use of existing concrete structures located underground in central, easily accessible areas of the city districts. A process of upcycling the space was used to make ecologically efficient use of the material resources contained in the shelters. In order to activate the local community, a modular, hydroponic plant-growing system, adapted to the prefabricated spaces of the historical air raid shelters, was proposed. In this way, the central location of the underground structures within the boundaries of residential neighbourhoods was exploited. Such action strengthens the food sovereignty of the inhabitants, initiates bottom-up activity within the boundaries of the neighbourhood unit, and builds social ties in the spirit of a regenerative economy and positive sustainability.

A construction and demolition waste management model applied to social housing to trigger post-pandemic economic recovery in Mexico.

Buildings consume 40% of raw material and primary energy and generate 35% of industrial waste worldwide, making this sector play a main role in raw material depletion, energy consumption and carbon emissions which provoke great environmental impact and worsen Global Warming. Latin American countries including Mexico have the world's highest urbanisation rate (84%) but lack effective construction and demolition waste (CDW) management to thrive in regenerative sustainability, climate change mitigation and post-pandemic economic recovery. This work applies the Spanish current model to quantify on-site 61 Mexican social housing CDW with surveys to workers and supervisors as an additional source of data. The results of the case study show that social housing consumes 1.24 t.m-2 of raw materials and produces 0.083 t.m-2 of CDW. Cement-based, ceramic and mixed CDW represent 83.44% of total CDW. When considering inert soil as a recyclable resource, 78% of the remaining CDW ends in landfills and only 22% of it goes to recycling plants. The implementation of this methodology will deliver sustainable CDW management in Mexico, by minimising CDW production, promoting related legislation and allowing replacement of current construction materials for eco-efficient ones. Furthermore, these data can broaden the Spanish coefficients of the construction resources that become CDW to build an internationally sourced database.

The role of sustainability-oriented hybrid organisations in the development of transformative capacities: The case of Barcelona

Organisations can play a decisive role in steering societies towards sustainable, resilient, and regenerative pathways of development. However, little is known empirically about how they do so. Such knowledge is vital as COVID-19 has laid bare the need for a wide range of systemic transformations. We examine the role of Sustainability-Oriented Hybrid Organisations (SOHOs), which use market related practices to solve social and environmental problems, in building foundational transformative capacities for regenerative sustainability. We further develop an existing framework and operationalise transformative capacities as: (1) reconnecting social and ecological systems dynamics in ways that are mutually supportive, healthy, and regenerative of life-support systems; (2) fostering healthy individual and political agency; and (3) contributing to building rich community relationships and enhancing social cohesion. Through this lens we explore the practices, activities, and strategies of nine SOHOs in and around the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona. We show that SOHOs emerge from and are decisive in further building transformative capacities within communities creating contagious virtuous cycles. However, their strategies and associated actions may also harm the development of these capacities at the urban scale. Broader institutional innovations, enabling environments, and continually adaptive and critical learning approaches are needed to avoid unintended negative consequences.

Experimental Analysis of Passive Strategies in Houses with Glass Façades for the Use of Natural Light

The main objective of this research was to analyze the passive solutions that help to reduce energy consumption through the use of natural light in buildings. In this case, the analysis focused on the use of natural light in buildings with all façades made of glass. Buildings designed with the criterion of regenerative sustainability, such as glass buildings, consider not only energy efficiency and the use of renewable and/or alternative energies, but also the improvement of the health and well-being of users—very important factors during an era in which the time spent at home has been increased due to the COVID-19 pandemic (disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus). This experimental research was based on the analysis of data collected during a full year of monitoring of two scale models of Farnsworth House, a house with glass façades in all of its orientations. The results allowed us to conclude that these passive elements must be taken into account in the initial design of a building; a solar control sheet is also advisable in this type of glass building because it greatly reduces the illuminance inside the spaces, and the use of overhangs distributes the illuminance inside the rooms more evenly. In addition, the use of scale models provides a more accurate view of the parameters related to light energy.

Circular Economy and Regenerative Sustainability in Emergency Housing: Eco-Efficient Prototype Design for Subaşi Refugee Camp in Turkey

According to the most recent data from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, in 2020, 82.4 million people were forcibly displaced. In addition to this situation, in the developed world, building construction consumes 40% of the world’s material resources and primary energy, while the construction industry generates 35% of industrial waste and 40% of total global emissions. Therefore, the objective of the research is to propose an eco-efficient prototype for emergency housing, from the point of view of circular economy and regenerative sustainability, that can respond to situations of natural or humanitarian disasters. To achieve this, it will be necessary to identify the problem that must be answered and develop a theoretical model that will serve as a guide for future interventions of these characteristics. Finally, to verify the applicability of the developed protocol, a field work is executed in an unorganized settlement, Subaşi camp, located in Turkey. This research presents a novel prototype that could be used as an alternative to current emergency housing, not only responding adequately to the minimum standards of habitability, but also doing so in an eco-efficient, environmentally correct way and promoting the Sustainable Development Goals and circular economy established in the 2030 Agenda.

Drivers and Barriers Leading to a Successful Paradigm Shift toward Regenerative Neighborhoods

Regenerative sustainability is gaining great attention as an essential concept for a transformative process, a re-designed mindset shifting from the narrowed focus of considering particular aspects such as energy efficiency, renewable materials, or sustainable technology towards the creation of a self-regenerating social and ecological system. Apart from being a vision of the future, regenerative sustainability has already been implemented successfully in individual projects, plans, and extensive strategies. The goals of this research are (1) to set up the conceptual framework for regenerative sustainability principles in the built environment; (2) to investigate and identify the drivers and barriers faced during the implementation of regenerative principles in the built environment; and (3) to identify gaps in the paradigm shift towards regenerative districts and macro-level projects. A multi-stage methodology was implemented. First, an in-depth literature review was conducted aiming to understand regenerative sustainability state of the art and define the key principles. Then, quantitative data analysis was conducted aiming to identify drivers and barriers of regenerative implementation in buildings following by semi-structured interviews with the representatives of regenerative buildings or districts. The step-by-step methodology resulted in the identified drivers of applying the regenerative principles, which are available financial incentives; marketing and sales benefits; improved companies/investors market image and competitive market advantage; reduced building lifecycle costs/effective use of energy and resources; enhancement buildings’ users’ well-being; and receiving building certification. The main barriers identified were lack of knowledge and experience working with regenerative materials and technologies by employees, consultants, and construction companies and usage of the available tools that enable such constructions; overall stakeholders’ culture and their resistance to changing their mindset toward a regenerative approach; inadequacy of national and international standards and legislation to address regenerative policies; and increased construction cost and time and lack of financial incentives. Ultimately, during the broad examination of the case studies, regenerative qualities served as a valuable insight to understand barriers and drivers at neighborhood and macro levels.

From self-sufficient provision of water and energy to regenerative urban development and sustainability: exploring the potentials in Mashhad City, Iran

Increased resource demand due to rapid urbanization has made cities like Mashhad highly dependent on their surroundings for resource supply and waste disposal, and has negatively impacted their local-regional hinterlands. To reduce the metabolic footprint of cities and create an environmentally restorative relationship between cities and their supporting ecosystems, a transition toward local alternative and renewable sources is essential. This paper explores potentials for water and energy self-sufficient provision in Mashhad using the Urban Harvesting method to practically illustrate how cities could seek opportunities to meet their needs within their boundaries before relying on external supplies. Results showed that solar photovoltaic and biogas could provide 4495.2 and 472.6 GWh/yr electricity, altogether enabling Mashhad to offset 100% of its consumption. Water cascading and recycling have the potential to meet 72% of the demand, and replace around 125 mcm/yr of imported water. Similarly, water self-sufficiency would increase by 5%–8% (8.6–14.7 mcm/yr) when collecting rainwater from rooftops.

Investigating Design Strategies for Regenerative Development

The menace of environmental dilapidation has been an issue of great concern in the built environment since the wake of the industrial revolution. Buildings have been said to be instruments that cut short the natural cycles of resources in both the human and natural ecosystem due to man’s anthropocentric mind-set and activities. Various theories, framework, and models have been proposed to facilitate re-generatively sustainable developments. This paper aims at highlighting strategies that are currently practiced in regenerative development with a view of presenting ideas for the practical application of regenerative sustainability in all its facets and phases. Relevant literature that described the processes of creating a regenerative development and the aspects in which regenerative sustainability principles are implemented were reviewed. The design strategies employed in the studied cases were described as they related to the phases and then grouped into the four facets of regenerative development. The paper, therefore, gives an idea of the various integrative element and practical strategies for the implementation of regenerative design in all its phases and facets. Clarity on the subject of regenerative development is also anticipated as examples of regenerative design element implemented in the cases under study were detailed out. These strategies, when applied with attention to place patterns and potentials in all aspects of the built environment, will help in creating a truly regenerative development in any area.