Our work fuels our optimism.
We launched Standard Deviation in 2018, convinced that it was high time for entrepreneurs & business leaders to go beyond mitigating their negative impact and start contributing to healthy ecosystems & healthy societies.
We are hopeful that we can turn the corner to a regenerative and equitable economy. Our optimism is grounded in the (scientifically-proven) incredible capacity of nature to regenerate, and in the (empirically experienced) fiery energy of entrepreneurs to reinvent our economy. Our work is constantly fueling this optimism.
We believe in entrepreneurs bending the curves
Inspired by Joanna’s Macy’s idea of “Active Hope”, we’ve taken and continue to take, as the situation worsens, a hard look at reality. To sum it up, the current trajectories of the climate crisis, resources depletion, the biodiversity collapse and social inequalities, are leading us to extinction.
What if our organizations could help us bend the curves? Can a business capture more CO2 than it emits? Can a business help build back biodiversity? Can it reduce social inequalities? Can a company be good news for Humanity?
We believe that we do not have to accept living in a society where companies systematically degrade ecosystems and undermine communities. We’ve always worked alongside entrepreneurs and know that their boldness and ability to redefine standards can help us invent a new breed of organizations, ones that operate in a reciprocal relationship with people & planet.
We believe in entrepreneurs increasing healthy biomass
Since 2019, we’ve been exploring regenerative agriculture as a cornerstone opportunity and are grounding our work in the many industries directly connected to soil, particularly food, fiber and timber. What we’ve learned over the years is that regenerative land & wetland management is one of the most effective, readily applicable methods to reverse climate change and build back biodiversity, while providing fair and resilient living conditions to those who produce. Yes, we can restore and increase the carrying capacities of natural ecosystems, increase healthy living systems and biomass. Solutions that help us source from regenerative practices, regenerative crops (think cover crops, seaweed, linen, fonio, … ) , nature-based solutions, bio-based materials are among the market opportunities that can help transform our degenerative system into a regenerative one.
We believe in entrepreneurs operating on a new canvas.
By working with entrepreneurs, nonprofits and corporations truly moving the needle, we understood that regeneration requires a paradigm shift. We cannot operate according to the old system’s rules, if our goal is to build reciprocal relationships with people & planet and create conditions for regeneration.
Our economy needs to operate according to a new canvas, one that enables place-based approaches, (bio)diverse cultures, holistic performance, people empowerment, distribution of wealth and power, (eco)systemic health for the long term. A new canvas that is aligned with principles of living systems. We believe regenerative organizations embrace this new canvas, that it’s not just about what these companies do, but how they operate. This belief is at the heart of our approach.
We believe in contributing to the open source movement.
Our work is part consulting, part activism. Our hope is that by making our adventure open-source, we can help propagate the culture of open and free contribution that is taking hold in the many communities of change-makers we've been engaging with.