Norrsken House Brussels and the Politics of Building a Regenerative Economy

Norrsken House Brussels and the Politics of Building a Regenerative Economy

In this episode of Journey to Regeneration, Christopher Marquis speaks with Sophie Dembinski, Head of Norrsken House Brussels [https://www.norrsken.org/houses/brussels] and former policy lead at Ecosia [https://www.ecosia.org/], about how climate action moves from individual companies into wider systems of capital, policy, technology, and market design. Drawing on her background in international relations, European policy, and climate entrepreneurship, Sophie reflects on the Paris Agreement as a turning point in her career, Ecosia as an example of mission-locked regenerative business, and Norrsken’s work connecting founders, investors, thinkers, and policymakers across Europe and beyond. The conversation explores why governance and ownership structures matter, how Brussels can help clean tech entrepreneurs gain access to European institutions, and why policy should be understood not only as a constraint on innovation but as a force that creates markets. Sophie also discusses the current shift from sustainability as hype to climate action as resilience, infrastructure, competitiveness, and energy security. At a time when climate ambition faces political and economic headwinds, this episode shows why regenerative business depends on ecosystems that can connect solutions to power, capital, and demand. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

Retrofitting Real Estate for Regeneration with Basil Demeroutis of FORE Partnership

In this episode of Journey to Regeneration, Christopher Marquis speaks with Basil Demeroutis, Managing Partner of FORE Partnership, about why real estate must be understood not simply as a financial asset class, but as a powerful system shaping environmental outcomes, social life, and long-term value. Drawing on his background in engineering, finance, and impact investing, Demeroutis explains how FORE Partnership uses retrofit, low-carbon design, and social impact as drivers of both sustainability and commercial performance. The conversation explores projects such as TBC London, where the team reused pre-war steel and challenged assumptions about the value of older buildings, and One Poultry, a Grade II listed landmark being reimagined as a model for heritage-sensitive decarbonization. Demeroutis also reflects on the complexity of real estate supply chains, the role of innovation mapping, the limits of certification, and the policy changes needed to make retrofit financially attractive at scale. Together, the discussion reframes buildings as living parts of urban systems—places where carbon, capital, labor, community, and culture intersect—and shows why the future of regenerative business will depend not only on new construction, but on transforming what already exists. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

Louisa Ziane of Toast Brewing on Turning Bread Waste into Circular Business

In this episode of Journey to Regeneration, Christopher Marquis speaks with Louisa Ziane, co-founder of Toast Brewing, a UK-based craft beer company that uses surplus bread to replace virgin barley in the brewing process. Drawing on her background in accounting, sustainability consulting, marketing, and food-system advocacy, Ziane explains how Toast grew from an experimental project into a circular business model designed to reduce waste, engage consumers, and support charities working to fix the food system. The conversation moves beyond the familiar language of sustainability to examine the operational realities of regeneration: supply-chain traceability, technical brewing challenges, supermarket requirements, investor alignment, and the difficulty of competing with linear businesses when environmental externalities remain unpriced. Ziane also reflects on Toast’s collaborations with bakeries, sandwich manufacturers, major breweries, and COP26 partners, showing how small companies can influence larger systems through shared purpose and practical experimentation. At its heart, this episode asks what it takes to make circularity not just an inspiring idea, but a commercially viable and culturally compelling alternative to wasteful business as usual. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

Tim Christophersen on Restoring Our Relationship with Nature

In this episode of Journey to Regeneration, Christopher Marquis speaks with Tim Christophersen, author of Generation Restoration and a leading voice in global ecosystem restoration. Drawing on more than two decades of experience across the European Commission, IUCN, the UN Environment Programme, and now Salesforce, Christophersen argues that the nature crisis is fundamentally a relationship crisis. The conversation explores why modern economies have treated nature as a commodity, how natural capital accounting and nature-related financial disclosures can help but remain insufficient, and why companies must move beyond carbon tunnel vision to understand their dependence on forests, water, biodiversity, and landscapes. Christophersen discusses Salesforce’s nature-positive strategy, the evolution of the Trillion Trees Initiative into the Forest Future Alliance, the role of the voluntary carbon market, and the need for public-private partnerships capable of restoring ecosystems at scale. At its core, the episode reframes regeneration as more than a technical agenda: it is a shift in perception, accountability, and reciprocity between business and the living systems on which it depends. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]

Ken Pucker on Why Sustainable Fashion Keeps Failing

In this episode of Journey to Regeneration, Christopher Marquis speaks with Ken Pucker, former COO of Timberland and one of the most thoughtful critics of modern corporate sustainability. Drawing on his experience helping build Timberland into one of the earliest high-profile examples of responsible business, Pucker reflects on the evolution of sustainability over the past two decades. The conversation also explores why many mission-driven companies, including Allbirds and Everlane, struggled not because sustainability itself failed, but because of tensions between long-term purpose and growth-oriented business models shaped by venture capital and public markets. Pucker also examines the structural incentives that continue to reward overproduction, low costs, and environmental externalization across the fashion industry, while discussing the role of policy initiatives such as the New York Fashion Act in creating stronger accountability around emissions and supply chains. Throughout the episode, the discussion moves beyond simplistic “win-win” sustainability narratives to confront deeper questions about governance, capitalism, incentives, and whether current economic systems are capable of delivering the scale of transformation required for a livable future. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices]