The Regenerative Society

In 2015, Andrea Illy discovered that 50% of land suitable for coffee cultivation would no longer be viable by 2050 due to climate change. It was the beginning of a journey that would lead him to completely rethink the relationship between business and nature, between growth and well-being. This book acts as a roadmap, in which Illy recounts the possible transformation from the extractive paradigm—which has dominated Western economics since Descartes and Bacon—to a regenerative model that places individuals at its center, as stewards of natural capital. Across eighteen chapters and dozens of interviews with pioneers of regeneration, he explores the frontiers of a revolution that is already underway. This is no environmentalist utopia. Illy, with scientific precision, documents how companies adopting regenerative practices are systematically outperforming traditional ones: renewable energy sources now cost less than fossil fuels, cities designed for people create cascading benefits for all of society. The question the author seeks to answer is not whether transformation is possible, but what we must do to make it tangible for everyone.