Learning from Nature: ‘Sustainability Transitions Are Both Systemic and Personal’

The energy transition, the shift to circular production, or efforts to ensure decent working conditions in agricultural supply chains: such changes affect not just individual organizations or sectors, but entire systems. That is precisely what makes them complex and difficult to steer. In his inaugural lecture, Professor Nicolas Chevrollier demonstrates how principles from nature can help us better understand and advance sustainability transitions.

To develop a different perspective on sustainability transitions, Chevrollier drew inspiration from biology, a fascination he has had since childhood. According to him, evolution points to three important forces: alterity, synergy, and resonance.

Alterity: Being Fundamentally Different

In evolution, variation and difference are essential. What may seem to have little value today could become exactly what a changing environment needs tomorrow. “We often lack that variation today, even though it is the key to evolution,” says Chevrollier. He believes this also applies to how we think about economic growth. For the past seventy years, growth in gross domestic product (GDP) has been central to policymaking, based on the assumption that it leads to more jobs, prosperity, and well-being. In affluent countries, however, that relationship is becoming increasingly less self-evident.

In his inaugural lecture, Chevrollier discusses the concept of post-growth: how can we best meet human needs without treating economic growth as the primary objective? “The goal is to fulfill human needs within the limits of the planet. We must prevent the depletion of our natural resources.”

Adapting to the Environment

The second force is synergy: different actors and systems developing together and reinforcing one another. “Think of a bee pollinating flowers. Both the bee and the flowers benefit, but so do other species that depend on those flowers,” Chevrollier explains. He sees the same principle at work in the Dutch greenhouse region of Westland. “There, you can clearly see how energy, water, labor, and housing are interconnected. Growers share knowledge and work together with government authorities and local residents to address challenges affecting the entire horticultural cluster.”

The third force, resonance, is the ability to align with one’s environment rather than constantly adapting that environment to organizational goals. As an example, Chevrollier points to Lenteland, a network of cooperative farms. There, production follows the natural growing season rather than being driven primarily by shareholders’ reporting cycles.

Learning to Think and Act Differently

These three forces require people who can operate effectively within complex systems. That also means moving away from an exclusively competitive mindset. “From a young age, we are taught to strive to be the best. Competition is not necessarily bad; it can help us achieve goals. But we also need to understand what cooperation can bring us and how everyone can benefit from it.”

According to Chevrollier, this is where education has a crucial role to play. He refers to agentic education: an approach that teaches people to critically examine dominant assumptions, imagine alternatives, and act collectively. “Students should learn together, experiment, cope with uncertainty, and accept that they are not the sole leader within a system.”

Experiencing Leadership

Chevrollier also applies this approach in the Global Immersion Programme for MBA students. Participants travel to Chamonix and Grenoble to witness the effects of climate change in the Alps firsthand. At the same time, they are literally dependent on one another during group activities. “Participants are tied together by a rope and spend the night in a mountain hut. They must learn to manage uncertainty, adapt to others, and sometimes take the lead even when they do not have all the answers.” As a result, sustainability transitions become more than a technical or economic challenge. “Sustainability transitions are highly systemic, but also deeply personal.”