At the Winter residential retreat in January 2024, Bill Sharpe led us through a Three Horizons mapping exercise to material supply chains as part of a regenerative future. We chose material supply as the topic that had the most overlap with the interests of members of the group. The process started with looking at Horizon 1 (the present paradigm), then Horizon 3 (the world we want to bring into being), then Horizon 2 (how we get from H1 to H3).
Here we summarise the key findings.
Characterising Horizon 1 (present paradigm)
These are the factors that hold the current patterns of industry in place. For this Horizon the participants identified:
- Growth, success and cost prioritised
- Risk aversion prevents change
- Little understanding of the full, complex picture
- Excessive emissions, waste and biodiversity loss
Characterising Horizon 3 (the world we want to bring into being)
The third horizon represents the regenerative future we seek to create. The following is how the participants characterised how this future might look from the perspective of material supply.
- Ethical use of materials
- Respect and reciprocity
- Just transition in jobs
- Design as living systems
- Commons of abundance
Characterising Horizon 2 (Getting from H1 to H3)
The second horizon represents how we create the transition from the present to the future. These are the technologies and approaches that already exist that participants see as helping us reach a better future.
- Holistic Policy Intervention
- Nature-Based Solutions
- Rethinking End-of-Use
- Community Agency
- Prioritising Re-Use
- Community-Driven Outcomes
- Making Impact Visible
- The Empathetic Expert
- From Assets to Access
- Industry-Led Activism
- Participation of Diverse Voices