King's College London

Few topics make the Western framing of sustainability more visible than the way we talk about nature. Sustainability debates often present nature and humans as separate, reflected in the distinction between social and environmental sustainability. This framing also positions humans as actors who must “save” or “protect” nature. In many ways, it echoes earlier Enlightenment thinking, captured by Francis Bacon, who wrote that humans hold a right over nature “by divine bequest”.

Even in more recent approaches that seek closer alignment with nature, this separation is not fully resolved. Biomimicry has begun to engage more directly with nature. Yet, as the term suggests, this often remains at the level of imitation, as though we must learn to resemble systems we are already part of. This raises a broader concern: that even in a moment of urgency, our understanding of the relationship between human economies and ecological systems remains limited.

Natural ecosystems are shaped by billions of years of adaptation, experimentation, and continuous change. They offer a rich body of insight about complex and dynamic systems, which could help us to understand the economy as a sustainable ecosystem of economic activity. In my research, I look at how businesses can go beyond mimicking nature to act and engage in the economy through ecological principles.

To facilitate this, I’ve focused on translating ecological principles into practical entry points for business professionals working on circular economy challenges. This work has resulted in an ideation and innovation tool: Nature’s Playbook: Ecological Design Thinking for a Circular Economy.

Articulating nuance

I believe that one does not need to single-handedly transform the entire economic system to align a business more closely with ecological principles. To reflect this, the entry points presented in Nature’s Playbook are actionable and realistic.

To identify these entry points, I interviewed business professionals about how they understood nature, so that the tool could build on intuitive areas of understanding. What I found is that many people understood nature in very different ways: some described it as fundamentally ruthless and competitive; others saw it as harmonious and collaborative.

The purpose of Nature’s Playbook is to highlight this nuance. Competition and collaboration coexist in nature. Efficiency sits alongside redundancy and diversity. Growth is inseparable from decay.

I wanted to create something that could retain that complexity without simplifying it. The tool guides the ideation process using inspirations from nature, while remaining open to individual interpretation.

New patterns of thinking

The tool is centred around three themes: dealing with wholeness, the importance of relationships, and response to change.

Dealing with wholeness

When we talk about circular systems, we often rely on the metaphor of a machine. This view focuses on inputs and outputs, efficiency, and control. It assumes that systems can be engineered and managed from the outside.

However, natural systems operate differently. Materials and nutrients are embedded in social and ecological processes. They function within open and dynamic systems, where elements cascade and are reused in multiple ways.

The importance of relationships

The second theme, the importance of relationships, responds to the competitive metaphors often used in circular economy discourse to describe relationships between businesses. While collaboration is acknowledged, the underlying framing frequently leans toward competition.

In ecological systems, relationships are more varied. There are competitive dynamics, but also mutualistic exchanges, parasitic interactions, temporary alliances, and long-term symbioses. This diversity expands how we might think about supply chains, partnerships, and value networks.

Response to change

The third theme, response to change, challenges the framing of transition as a linear roadmap. In nature, change is rarely linear. There are seasonal rhythms, gradual evolutions, sudden disturbances, and transformative moments, all interacting with one another

If organisations approach circular transition as a simple step-by-step implementation plan, they may overlook deeper systemic shifts. Adaptive capacity and responsiveness to feedback become more important than strict adherence to a roadmap.

Together, these themes offer an alternative way of thinking about circular economy practice.

 

Business as part of a living system

It can be difficult for businesses that are currently successful within a linear model to imagine operating differently, particularly when the broader economy continues to reward extraction and short-term optimisation. There is also a tendency to make incremental adjustments: making a wasteful model slightly more efficient, closing loops within the same underlying logic.

Nature’s Playbook intervenes at the level of perspective. It makes visible the metaphors shaping decision-making. Once those metaphors are visible, they can be discussed.

Many business models are built on the assumption that success derives from control, positioning oneself at the centre, and driving outcomes. In ecological systems, no single actor controls the whole; each participates within it. When leaders begin to see their organisation as part of a living system rather than as a self-contained machine, different possibilities become thinkable.

Tending to change

This approach is closer to gardening than engineering. A gardener cannot force growth. They create conditions, observe carefully, and intervene when necessary. They respond to what is emerging rather than imposing a fixed blueprint.

Such an orientation invites leaders to listen closely to feedback and remain attentive to unintended consequences. It also creates space for forms of collaboration that are not purely strategic, but relational.

For me, that shift is fundamental. It moves sustainability away from a deterministic project and toward an ongoing practice.

Nature’s Playbook

You do not need to be an ecologist to engage seriously with nature. We are already part of the systems we seek to understand. Nature’s Playbook offers a structured and pragmatic entry point into this work, grounded in research and shaped through collaboration with business professionals navigating circular economy challenges.

Workshops, facilitator training, and further information can be found at naturesplaybook.org.

Nature’s Playbook is led by Dr Emma H. E. Fromberg and supported by the Centre for Sustainable Business at King’s College London.