Rather than just reducing harm, she argues that companies should actively restore, replenish, and rethink their relationship with nature. But what does that actually look like in practice? This conversation dives into the principles of nature-first business, the power of storytelling, and why the most successful organisations of the future will be those that ask themselves: What would nature do?

🌍 Why Sustainability Isn’t Enough—We Need Regeneration

Many businesses now recognise the importance of sustainability, but sustaining the status quo isn’t enough—especially when nature is in decline. Nicky highlights that businesses need to shift their focus from merely mitigating damage to actively contributing to planetary health.

🔹 Moving beyond carbon – While net-zero targets dominate ESG discussions, biodiversity and nature loss are often overlooked.
🔹 Replenishing, not just reducing – Businesses need to restore ecosystems rather than just minimising their footprint.
🔹 Nature as a stakeholder – Just as companies consider shareholders and employees, they must account for nature in decision-making.

“We aren’t going to have businesses and an economy unless we look after the ecosystem within which we operate. Without nature, we don’t exist.”

🎶 How a Birds-Only Chart Hit Inspired Millions

One of Nicky’s most impactful projects was “Let Nature Sing”, a campaign she spearheaded at the RSPB. The goal? Get a track made entirely of birdsong into the UK music charts to remind people of the beauty—and fragility—of nature.

📢 Five million people heard birdsong in a single day.
🚆 It played in train stations, cathedrals, and public spaces across the country.
🎶 The track reached #11 in the UK charts—outperforming global pop stars!

“When people heard birdsong on their commute, they stopped and smiled. It sparked an emotional connection—because when people care, they want to protect.”

The success of this campaign wasn’t just about awareness—it was about engaging people emotionally. For businesses, this is a crucial lesson: winning hearts and minds is essential for driving real environmental action.

🌱 Three Ways Businesses Can Learn from Nature

If businesses started thinking more like nature, how would they change? Nicky suggests applying three core principles from the natural world:

1️⃣ Systems Thinking: Break Down Silos

Just as ecosystems thrive through interconnection, sustainability should not be siloed within a company. It must be embedded into:

✅ Operations – Sustainable supply chains, circular design
✅ Leadership – Decision-making that considers long-term ecological impact
✅ Culture – Employees empowered to champion environmental goals

“We need to stop thinking of sustainability as a ‘department’ and instead embed it across every function.”

2️⃣ Adaptation Over Perfection: Test, Learn, Iterate

Nature evolves through experimentation—and businesses must do the same.

🔄 Start small – Pilot nature-focused initiatives before scaling them.
📊 Measure impact – Track results and refine strategies.
💡 Stay flexible – Environmental challenges will shift, and so must businesses.

“If we wait for everything to be perfect before we act, we’ll never get started.”

3️⃣ Contribution Over Extraction: Give More Than You Take

Businesses need to stop asking, What can we take? and start asking, What can we give back? 🌍

🌿 Regenerative supply chains – Investing in biodiversity, soil health, and ethical sourcing.
🏡 Community-led projects – Supporting local environmental restoration efforts.
♻️ Product innovation – Designing waste-free, circular products.

“We need to flip the script. How can my business create a positive legacy rather than just extracting resources?”

🚀 Breaking Barriers: How Businesses Can Act Now

Many companies struggle not with why they should act, but how. Common roadblocks include:

❌ ESG fatigue – Sustainability feels like a compliance burden.
✅ Solution: Frame nature-first business as an opportunity for innovation, not just a requirement.

❌ Short-termism – Quarterly financial pressures stifle long-term environmental thinking.
✅ Solution: Shift focus from profit maximisation to sustainable wealth creation.

❌ Fear of greenwashing – Companies worry about backlash for imperfect sustainability efforts.
✅ Solution: Be transparent – share progress and challenges. Consumers value honesty.

“Transparency builds trust. No company is perfect, but honesty and action go a long way.”

✨ The Magic Wand: A Business Mindset Shift

If Nicky had a magic wand, she’d make every business leader ask nature for advice before making decisions:

✅ Would nature take without giving back? No.
✅ Would nature resist change? No.
✅ Would nature evolve, regenerate, and collaborate? Yes.

“Nature isn’t just something we protect—it’s something we’re part of. The businesses that embrace this will be the ones that thrive.”

🌿 Final Thought: Don’t Just Sustain—Regenerate

📌 Test a small nature-first initiative in your business.
📌 Think beyond carbon—embed biodiversity into decision-making.
📌 Share progress openly—authenticity wins consumer trust.

👉 The most successful businesses of the future won’t just reduce harm—they’ll restore, replenish, and rethink their role in the natural world.

A New Business Mindset for a Finite Planet

As businesses worldwide scramble to prove their sustainability credentials, Matt challenges the assumption that scaling up is always the goal. Instead, he advocates for a model where impact, purpose, and resilience outweigh unchecked growth.

“For any ecosystem to thrive, it has to have balance. Growth for growth’s sake leads to collapse. We’ve seen it in nature, and we’re seeing it in business.”

This conversation explored the risks of overgrowth, the integrity of sustainability certifications, and why businesses must redefine their purpose beyond profit.

From Creative Chaos to Planet-Centred Design

Matt’s journey into sustainable business was anything but conventional. With no formal design training, he built his career through instinct, experimentation, and a commitment to using creativity for good. His early work with Sky, LEGO, and the Eden Project reinforced a critical insight:

“I wasn’t interested in making money for the sake of it. I wanted to create something that mattered.”

This ethos led to the founding of Leap, a design studio that prioritises sustainability not as a trend, but as the default. In an era where businesses increasingly see sustainability as a box-ticking exercise, Leap was built with purpose at its core—proving that business can be a force for positive change from the outset.

Beyond Profit: When is Growth Too Much?

One of the most compelling insights Matt shared was his challenge to the ‘bigger is better’ mindset. As sustainability-focused companies scale, they often face the same pressures as traditional corporations—profitability, shareholder expectations, and market dominance. This raises a difficult question:

“How big do you actually need to be to deliver your mission effectively?”

The concept of enoughism pushes back against the idea that businesses must continuously scale to succeed. Instead, Matt argues that companies should be introspective about their purpose:

✔ Is expansion genuinely serving the mission, or is it just expected?
✔ Can a business be impactful without growing beyond its optimal size?
✔ What does responsible, sustainable growth actually look like?

In a world facing climate crises, resource depletion, and widening inequality, he believes that businesses must redefine success on their own terms—before external pressures force them to do so.

Can B Corp Keep Its Integrity?

Matt was an early adopter of B Corp certification in the UK, believing in its potential to drive accountability in business. However, as the movement expands—bringing in multinational corporations alongside activist-led businesses—its original intent is being tested.

“B Corp was never meant to be a badge; it’s a framework. But when it becomes a selling point, that’s where issues arise.”

While certification provides a roadmap for better business practices, Matt warns that some companies are using it as a branding tool rather than embedding real change. The true value of B Corp lies not in external validation, but in whether a company genuinely commits to ethical decision-making, regardless of certification.

“If your values aren’t baked into your business from day one, no certification can fix that.”

This highlights a broader tension within ESG movements: How do we scale responsible business without diluting its principles?

The Future of Business: Systemic Change or More of the Same?

A Call to Action: Defining “Enough” in Business