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Q: Let’s start with the new name! Why did the Centre for Social and Sustainable Innovation (CSSI) become the Centre for Regenerative Futures (CRF)?

Natalie Slawinski: It’s been a journey, about four years in the making. It began when we held a meeting with what were then called our “fellows” who are now called “affiliates” and “leads.” These are faculty members who support the Centre’s work. Sustainability was starting to feel diluted and lose its meaning. I had just moved from Newfoundland to Vancouver Island in 2021 and that date sticks with me because it was the summer of extreme wildfires. That same year, we experienced atmospheric rivers, a term we’d never heard before. It was a wake-up call that climate change was no longer some future threat; it was already here, with real consequences. So, against that backdrop, we began asking: How can we raise our level of ambition? What more can we do in response to this crisis?

Q: Why did the Centre shift its focus from sustainability to regeneration, and why is this shift so important?

Natalie Slawinski: The word regeneration isn’t just a buzzword. It felt like a call to action and a path forward. It helped us reframe our work; not to sustain socio-economic systems that do not nurture people and planet, but to actively renew and restore those systems so that we can create healthier relationships. Gustavson has long been a thought leader in sustainability. This shift was a chance to continue to be thought-leaders by moving into a space few business schools have explored. We want to be role models—not only for other institutions but also for our own students and community—showing what regeneration looks like in practice.

Simon Pek: I joined the Centre as associate director about a year ago but had been involved earlier as a fellow under the CSSI. By the time I stepped into this new role, Natalie and others had already pushed regeneration to the forefront. Around that time, we were revisiting our Centre strategy, and the school was going through a broader strategic planning process, too. That timing gave us the chance to reflect on how we could best help catalyze the type of change we wanted to see. We had lots of conversations with affiliates, leads, our advisory board, the Dean, and informal chats around the office. We discussed priorities and brainstormed names. Eventually, we landed on Centre for Regenerative Futures. It felt right as it aligned with our values and aspirations. The new name and strategy officially went live in May 2025.

How has the Centre's focus evolved with the name change?

Natalie Slawinski: Our Centre is a bit unique. We don’t just focus on research; we’re also deeply involved in sharing our research through teaching and, increasingly, through community engagement. With the renaming, one key shift is that we’ve become more externally focused. Previously, most of our work was within the Gustavson School of Business, but now we’re reaching out to the broader community and other business schools. We want to show what regenerative business research and education can look like, and we believe we have something meaningful to share. That shift was only possible because we had already built our internal capabilities and knowledge. We’ve done the work and now feel ready to take a leadership role and share what we’ve learned. 

How do you define regeneration, and what’s the long-term vision for the CRF?

Natalie Slawinski: The way The Regenesis Institute for Regenerative Practice defines regeneration really resonates with me. They describe it as cultivating the conditions for life, human and more-than-human, to thrive. That calls for a deep understanding of how living systems work and how to engage with them to create lasting, transformative change. It’s a crucial mindset shift. Business schools have often treated the environment as just an input to a system focused on shareholder profit. That thinking has contributed to the crises we face today. Our vision is to bring people and nature back to the heart of business education. Without healthy ecosystems and communities, businesses can’t truly thrive and contribute back to those systems in a virtuous cycle. 

How are you putting regeneration into practice? 

Natalie Slawinski: It’s not about grand gestures, but the small things in our research and teaching that help us understand regeneration better. We have to do deep, systemic work to understand how living systems function. What I see in our fellows, affiliates, and leads is that they’re engaging deeply with this work, as it’s not something you can fast-track. It’s a lifelong journey starting with small steps we take together, supporting each other to understand living systems and applying those insights in our research and teaching. 

Simon Pek: We want to support leading-edge research on regenerative business practices, like which companies contribute most to regeneration, and how these ideas can shape fields like accounting, HR, and stakeholder engagement. We’d also love to catalyze communities of practice—bringing together students, academics, practitioners and policymakers who are committed to making regeneration real in business and policy. One exciting step is our upcoming dialogue on June 13, “Reimagining Business Education for a Regenerative Future.” We’re bringing together diverse groups to explore what skills graduates need in order to lead regeneration. This is the start of ongoing conversations to help business schools rethink curriculum, build community, and position our Centre as a convener of these critical discussions. 

What kind of future is the CRF working to create? 

Natalie Slawinski: Our overarching goal is to break down silos. Regeneration requires us to work across sectors, across disciplines, and even across ideological divides and polarization. That’s where real change happens. It’s not just about building theory; we’re focused on changing mindsets and spurring action. Whether it’s students, faculty, business leaders or community members, we need people to actively engage. 

Simon Pek: Looking ahead five years, I’d hope we’ve helped redefine what business schools teach and how they teach it, so that regeneration becomes deeply embedded in business education. I also hope that, five years from now, regeneration will be the new normal, with businesses of all types seamlessly collaborating together and with other organizations to revitalize and strengthen all of the living systems we are embedded within.