Beyond Greenwashing: How regenerative development can turn negative impacts into positive ones

Regenerative development (RD) goes beyond conventional sustainability and community engagement to ensure positive outcomes for new developments in tourism, real estate, and public assets. At its heart is the concept of viewing development projects as an integral part of a dynamic living system, unique to its location and its history. Supported by case studies from Mexico and Canada, this Viewpoint describes what RD means in practice and its application within the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region.

RETHINKING DEVELOPMENT & TOURISM

The recent Arthur D. Little (ADL) Viewpoint “Community Engagement in the Middle East” described some tailored approaches for engaging with local communities to help ensure the environmental, social, and economic sustainability of major development projects. In this Viewpoint, we focus on regenerative development, a methodology that goes beyond conventional community engagement to radically transform systems and drive positive outcomes rather than merely avoid negative ones.

The need for a better way to manage the impacts of development and tourism is clear from many examples around the developing world. For example, in Jakarta, Indonesia, the push for tourism and urban expansion has led to widespread relocation of local populations, stripping away their heritage and destroying both tangible and intangible assets. In Bali, Indonesia, unchecked tourist activities have led to coastal erosion and displacement of local communities, compromising the island’s cultural integrity. Similar concerns have emerged in Phuket, Thailand; Cairns, Australia; and Cancun, Mexico. All too often, a narrow focus on specific sustainability indicators such as energy, water, and waste — important though they are — leads to neglect of wider impacts.

WHAT IS REGENERATIVE DEVELOPMENT?

RD is an innovative approach that aims to go beyond sustainability by not only managing the impacts of development but also enhancing the environments and communities that are involved. It focuses on transforming systems from the ground up, making change more impactful. The methodology involves three main principles:

1. Living systems thinking. At its core is the principle that territories and communities are living systems in which individuals, communities, and their environments are all interconnected. Thus, development needs to consider the whole system and the nested subsystems within it rather than dissect it into parts. RD recognizes that changes in one part of the system can lead to positive or negative changes in others and focuses on interconnected growth and mutual benefits. It embraces the reality that living systems are complex systems, in which small actions can lead to significant impacts. “Complex” is different than “complicated,” and complex systems can behave unpredictably — complexity has to be embraced rather than oversimplified.
2. Place-based understanding. Every place has unique potential, shaped by its stories, ecologies, and cultures. RD starts with understanding these unique qualities and system patterns, responding to what the system asks rather than applying generic solutions. What works in one place doesn’t always work in another place. Rather than zeroing in on problems, RD seeks to identify and unlock the existing untapped potential.
3. Constant change and evolution. RD acknowledges that life systems are constantly evolving and therefore so should developmental designs. RD seeks to embrace change, allowing for new, improved states to emerge naturally, not just sticking to “best practices.” RD emphasizes diversity since a diverse system is a resilient system that can adapt to and thrive amid volatility.

Figure 1 illustrates schematically how these principles affect the positioning of a development project.

The key philosophical shift is away from the concept of a development project at the center with various potential impacts managed in a broadly transactional way toward a development project viewed as fully integrated within a living system with multiple two-way interconnections and relationships. The term “development project” should be interpreted flexibly — it could mean a project, asset, fund, portfolio, or a place (e.g., village, city, or region).

There is a major difference between RD and conventional sustainable development thinking. Sustainable development tends to focus on minimizing harm and negative impacts but rarely seeks to enhance living systems. Because it involves trade-offs to balance economic, social, and environmental concerns, it often isolates issues; in doing so, it fails to recognize broader systemic effects. For example, eliminating weeds with natural weedkillers to improve yields in farming may be a sustainable solution, but it ignores the weeds’ role in maintaining soil health in the longer term, meaning that the solution will ultimately fail. Rather than finding specific solutions for weeds, a system-based approach would explore how to adapt conventional farming design and practices by understanding the interrelations between the farm and the broader environmental system within which it exists. This provides a much more effective and resilient solution.

RD BENEFITS

Regenerative development offers a compelling proposition for developers, governments, and investors alike. The RD approach prioritizes resource efficiency and effectiveness and evolves with natural systems, leading to significant potential for long-term cost savings. For example, studies on green buildings demonstrate average energy savings of 24%-50% and water savings of 30%-50% compared to conventional buildings. Regenerative projects, which go beyond green principles, achieve even greater reductions in operational costs over time. Moreover, adopting regenerative methodologies positions developers for the future. Stricter environmental regulations are emerging, and regenerative projects are well-positioned to benefit from future regulatory incentives and support. This approach also appeals to investors, tenants, and stakeholders who value resilient and future-ready communities.

In the tourism sector, frameworks that prioritize authentic and immersive experiences align perfectly with changing traveler preferences. Travelers are increasingly willing to pay more for sustainable options. Indeed, according to a 2023 study by Booking.com, 43% of respondents indicated a willingness to pay a premium for sustainable travel. Those seeking authentic experiences often spend more on accommodations, stay longer, and participate in activities that support the local economy and cultural traditions. Regenerative tourism caters to this growing segment by offering impactful experiences that benefit local communities and ecosystems. This shift also drives job creation in tourism. As demand for genuine experiences rises, so too does the need for local expertise.

RD IN PRACTICE

The process of applying RD to a new project typically involves seven stages (see Figure 2). Usually, the process starts at the pre-project phase, before designs have been completed, with the latter stages continuing when development is already well-established:

1. Initial assessment. Stage 1 is to conduct desktop research focusing on the context, history, and environment for the project, aimed at understanding the living system within which the project is to be integrated. The historical element of this uncovers what is important to the “place” of the project, meaning the area, zone, region, location, and the stakeholders within it. Part of this involves identifying emerging patterns over time to shape what the place is today and what it could become in the future. The assessment includes initial site visits with project sponsors helping map stakeholders and their interrelations.
2. Story of place. This interactive stage engages stakeholders in refining the understanding and mapping of core values and processes from Stage 1, transforming them into a clear, shared purpose that shapes the desired cultural and economic future of the place. The “story of place” articulates key regenerative capabilities, place-based potential, viability of possible futures, and key interventions with low effort but high systemic impact.
3. Strategy. Using insights from the previous steps, Stage 3 develops strategies for design, development, investment, and governance of the development project, including defining target end states and performance measures.
4. Implementation. Together with the stakeholders across the system, Stage 4 creates and launches an implementation plan.
5. Operations and regenerative governance. Stage 5 refers to continuously monitoring and adapting regenerative governance systems to build capacity, ensure progress, and evolve and maintain systemic development.
6. Systemic impact measurement. As the project continues, Stage 6 develops tools to verifiably measure and validate impacts across ecology, economy, society, and culture.
7. Long-term stewardship. To ensure continued positive impacts over time as situations and conditions evolve and develop, Stage 7 establishes community-led guilds to provide ongoing stewardship and renewal.

In applying the process, the following aspects are key to ensuring success:

• Early community engagement. It is crucial to involve local communities and stakeholders from the planning stage through implementation. This nurtures a collective sense of purpose, incorporates local knowledge, and aligns interests, including sometimes reconciling longstanding conflicts between groups.
• Establishing the right governance. The governance model needs to support collaborative leadership and systems thinking. Usually, this takes the form of multistakeholder committees that include community members, businesses, and government officials. Teams should maintain flexibility and adjust their strategies based on real-time data and feedback.
• Developing regenerative capabilities. Regenerative capabilities need to be developed within the stakeholders at all levels from government leadership to grassroots. A key part of this is improving comprehension of complex living systems and their behaviors. Doing this well requires knowledge, technical understanding, and skills such as deep listening and empathetic engagement.
• Innovating on finance. Financial models need to reflect the self-organizing nature of communities and the unique potential of places. These models should ideally move beyond traditional transactional relationships, focusing instead on long-term viability and the realization of potential.
• Integration across ecological, social, cultural, and economic dimensions. RD requires a deep understanding of and commitment to the project’s collective goals, integrating ecological, social, cultural, and economic factors. Taking a systems view ensures that the projects not only survive but thrive, adapting and growing stronger over time.

Regenerative tourism development — Mexico

Mexico’s boutique hotel Playa Viva, established in 2009, embraced RD despite challenging conditions: the financial crisis, a SARS outbreak, and local drug cartel wars. Instead of accepting a government-funded highway to improve tourist access, the investors worked with regenerative practitioners, engaging the local community of 500 people in the neighboring village before any master planning or architecture effort. The site faced ecological degradation, a shrinking population, and economic decline. Fishing, the main livelihood, had overexploited nearby beaches, and fish stocks were in dangerous decline. By fostering a regenerative approach, the hotel design and development revitalized the local economy through:

• Creating jobs
• Addressing health and nutrition by ensuring local food security
• Fostering ongoing education on regenerative farming for healthier soil and food
• Building local skills and assets
• Promoting community stewardship to restore biodiversity and resilience, reversing some climate change effects like temperature reduction
• Engaging guests in these efforts, some of whom invested in local businesses
• Developing new industries, leading to the recovery of fish stocks

This approach ensured the resort’s profitability even during the 2009 financial crisis and its resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic. Most importantly, the community thrived — young adults moved back to the village from the big cities, and teenagers stayed, drawn by emerging opportunities.

ADOPTING REGENERATIVE CONCEPTS IN THE GCC

The principles of RD can be readily applied to GCC countries. Indeed, the key success factors outlined in the ADL Viewpoint “Community Engagement in the Middle East,” such as adopting culturally sensitive engagement strategies and working closely with local authorities to align communities and balance local interests with broader goals, closely align with RD thinking. Integrating regreening practices into development projects can have profound positive impacts on the environment, enhancing biodiversity and revitalizing ecosystems. The RD framework and approach can help ensure that development projects move beyond minimizing harm to actually enhancing local impacts.

Some GCC countries have already largely moved beyond the initial master planning and design phases. Nevertheless, integrating regenerative concepts is still achievable and can bring transformative benefits, without necessarily requiring a complete redesign. It is possible to take existing frameworks and operational practices and develop them further through the lens of regenerative methodology and living systems principles. This would typically involve returning upstream to explore place-based potential together with the community and design teams and ensuring that governance structures foster full transparency across cultural, environmental, social, and economic impact dimensions.

In Saudi Arabia, RD offers developers a unique opportunity to contribute meaningfully to Vision 2030 with regards to national and global sustainability goals and creating landmark projects that blend economic, ecological, and cultural value in a way that is uniquely Saudi yet globally significant.

Community wastewater system development — Canada’s Iona Island

The Iona Island Wastewater Treatment Plant serves 750,000 residents in the Vancouver sewerage area and is one of the last plants in Western Canada that offers only primary wastewater treatment. Vulnerable to earthquakes and sea level rise, much of its infrastructure is nearing the end of its lifespan. Its US $7 billion project, inspired by earlier regenerative wastewater treatment work in British Columbia, used a deeply integrative approach. In collaboration with Metro Vancouver, Iona Island, the local community, engineers, architects, and the Musqueam People, regenerative practitioners facilitated a process aligning diverse perspectives.

Over the course of a year, Metro Vancouver became a true partner with the Musqueam people, the Fraser River System, the Vancouver community, and the Salish Sea. Unlike traditional stakeholder engagement, the regenerative process fostered continuous collaboration across ecology, culture, human development, and infrastructure. This led to six key agreements between the Musqueam People and Metro Vancouver to heal water and land systems, revitalize salmon populations, and restore the Salish Sea ecosystem. The process resulted in the first treaty after a multigenerational dispute, reconciling long-standing conflicts and saving millions in legal fees. The project remains in development, setting a precedent for holistic, regenerative partnerships.

Conclusion

NEXT-LEVEL LIVING SYSTEMS FOR LASTING IMPACT

RD offers a development approach that takes conventional sustainability and community engagement to the next level, moving away from minimizing negative impacts on an issue-by-issue basis toward shaping an inclusive living system that supports positive impacts now and in the future:

1. The principle of considering new development as an integral part of a complex living system is at the core of RD. Mapping and understanding the system and how it works is key to ensuring positive impacts for all the stakeholders.
2. Focusing on the uniqueness of “place” — and developing the story of place by looking at its culture, history, and ecology — is another vital aspect of ensuring truly sustainable actions, in the broadest sense of the word.
3. Constant change and evolution must be built into developmental designs for them to meet present and future needs. Ensuring diversity is an important way to ensure system resilience going forward.

By embedding regenerative principles and methodologies into asset management, governance, operations, and stakeholder engagement, GCC countries can unlock their unique place-based potential and ensure that their projects generate and enhance social, cultural, economic, and environmental value over time.

By Camilla Bevilacqua, Sally Menassa, Maurice Salem, Karim Diab, Tala Salman, Peta Milan

• By Arthur D. Little
• 21/08/2025
• Regenerative development