Regenerative Business Leaders Events

• First International Regenerative Business Leaders Conference | 12 March 2026

  On Thursday, 12th March 2026, the Regenerative Business Leaders gathered for their first international conference at the beautiful Botanic Garden Zuidas in Amsterdam, a fitting backdrop for a day of conversations about regenerating the relationship between business, society, and the natural world.

  The event was organised by Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, University of Amsterdam, WhatxNext, Wansdronk Architecture, SparkBiQ, Friesland-Campina, BLT Group, and the Sustainable Development Solutions Netherlands (SDNS), with a workshop led by Regenalyze.

  The day brought together universities, businesses, and changemakers in a space that too rarely exists, and feedback from attendees made clear just how much that space is needed.

  Some voiced a frustration that will be familiar to many: that universities have been slow to engage with the pace and urgency of real-world sustainability challenges. It is a fair reflection, and one we take seriously. At the same time, the fact that this conference happened at all, convened by academic institutions alongside businesses actively driving change, is itself a signal that this is shifting.

  Systemic change is needed, and the shift needs to happen in the next 5-10 years. From transversal education integration to a rethinking of how we organise collective action. At the end of the day, “politics is what happens when more than two people talk about a better future.”

  The day was a reminder that we are navigating a profound transition, from the Anthropocene to the Symbiocene; from an era defined by human dominance to one shaped by reciprocity, respect, and regeneration.

  We have started something meaningful. But the energy from this day needs to carry forward: we must continue the conversation, build on the connections made, and find new ways to explore what regenerative business truly looks like in practice.

  See the conference report here

• Regenerative Leadership in the Age of AI | 15 April 2026

  On the 15th of April the Regenerative Business Leaders gathered for their second conference, this time focusing on AI in leadership. Leaders from business, academia, and public institutions gathered for a closed symposium to
  confront a central question: 

  How do we grow without depleting the ecological, social, financial, and institutional stocks that sustain us, at a moment when AI is accelerating both opportunity and risk?

  
  This was more than a conference. It was a call to action, not to master AI, but to lead regeneratively in relationship with it. The symposium did not treat AI as a technical sidebar. It placed AI within the broader question of how institutions, policies, and leadership practices must evolve when feedback loops shorten, transparency erodes, and decisions are increasingly mediated by algorithmic systems.

  
  The day yielded no easy answers. It produced something rarer: shared questions, honest friction, and a commitment to experiment. 

  See the full conference report here.

• Regenerative Business Leaders & System Dynamics | 20 July 2026 | 13:00–17:00 | TU Delft Aula Conference Center 

  The 2026 conference theme, Navigating Uncertainty, Managing Instability, and Crafting Futures Together, describes precisely the challenge that the Regenerative Business Leaders (RBL) initiative was founded to address. Corporations, governments, and international institutions are making decisions of generational consequence without adequate feedback mechanisms connecting their choices to the health of natural systems.

  This session demonstrates through live modeling, cross-sector testimony, and structured dialogue, how System Dynamics can become the decision-support infrastructure for a regenerative global economy. It brings together confirmed stakeholders from European academia, the Dutch sustainability ecosystem, and sovereign organizations from the Arabian Peninsula and Africa who are navigating resource scarcity, energy transition, and economic transformation in real time.

  Session Agenda

  13:00–13:25	The Burning Platform and The RBL: A Systemic Response	Jorge Sousa (Whatxnext) and Kenneth Rijsdijk (UvA)
  13:25–13:40	Why SD is the Missing Infrastructure	Len Malczynski (MindsEye Computing)
  13:40–14:15	Voices from the Field: Challenges from the Arabian Peninsula and Africa	Sovereign representatives
  14:15–15:15	Climate Change: Live Demo EN-ROADS	John Sterman (MIT) – interactive, audience participation
  15:15–15:30	Coffee Break & Structured Networking	All participants
  15:30–16:00	Live Demo: The New Mexico Decarbonization Model	Jacob Jacobson (MindsEye)  interactive, audience participation
  16:00–16:30	Panel: Building the Coalition	Moderated – SD, RBL, Policy, Business, Global South
  16:30–16:40	Call to Action & Next Steps	RBL Core Team
  16:40–17:00	Open Networking (Optional)	All participants

  Confirmed Organizers & Key Contributors

  Lead Organizers

  1. Regenerative Business Leaders (RBL) – The founding initiative driving this session. The RBL has already held two conferences in 2026 (March and April), demonstrating institutional momentum and a growing international network.
  2. MindsEye Computing – Lead organizer. An organization dedicated to advancing the practice of System Dynamics to the highest professional standards.
  3. Whatxnext – Lead organizer. A System Dynamics decision support firm founded on the conviction that consequential decisions deserve rigorous simulation tools. Whatxnext is a founding member of the RBL.

  Co-Organizers

  1. Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU Amsterdam) – Founding RBL institution. Academic anchor for Anthropocene Studies and Planetary Foresight.
  2. University of Amsterdam (UvA) – Founding RBL institution. Academic anchor for Biomimicry and Systems Thinking.
  3. SparkBiQ – Innovation, ESG compliance, and sustainability intelligence platform.
  4. Wansdronk Architectuur – Founding RBL member. Regenerative design and the built environment perspective.
  5. System Dynamics Society – Host institution and global home of the SD community.

  Scientific Contributors

  1. Jacob Jacobson – System Dynamics expert and co-developer of the New Mexico Decarbonization Model. Decades of applied SD experience in energy, environment, and public policy.
  2. Len Malczynski – Past President of the System Dynamics Society. System Dynamics expert and co-developer of the decarbonization model. Specialist in energy systems and large-scale policy simulation.
  3. John Sterman – Professor at MIT. Author of the most widely used textbook in System Dynamics education and one of the leading authorities in the field. Co-creator of the EN-ROADS global climate simulator.
  4. Etiënne Rouwette – Professor at Radboud University. Past President of the System Dynamics Society. Author of several works combining system dynamics with operational research and group model building.
  5. Sjoerd Kluiving (Sjoerd Kluiving - Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) – Professor at the VU Amsterdam, Founder of the Anthropocene Navigators and a leading researcher in the Anthropocene Studies
  6. Kenneth Rijsdijk (Dr K.F. (Kenneth) Rijsdijk - University of Amsterdam) – Professor at UvA, leading researcher in Nature Based Solutions and biodiversity studies.

  Panel — Engagement in Progress

  The following panelists are confirmed in engagement or under active invitation. Final confirmations are in progress; panelist composition may be refined to include additional voices from government and the private sector.

  • John Sterman (MIT / Climate Interactive) – Moderator and speaker
  • Etiënne Rouwette (Radboud University) – SD scientific representative
  • Sjoerd Kluiving (VU Amstardam) – RBL representative
  • European Commission representative (DG Environment or DG CLIMA) – formal outreach in progress
  • Senior sovereign representative, UAE or Saudi Arabia – engagement confirmed, formal invitation in progress
  • Angolan senior representative – engagement confirmed, formal invitation in progress
  • Senior corporate executive (maritime, infrastructure, or energy sector) – shortlist being developed

  Segment Descriptions

  Segment 1 and 2  – The Burning Platform and the RBL: A Systemic Response (10 min)

  Jorge Sousa (Whatxnext) and Kenneth Rijsdijk (UvA)

  The session opens with a structured dialogue between Jorge Sousa, a System Dynamics practitioner and decision-support specialist, and Prof. Kenneth Rijsdijk, earth scientist and co-founder of the Regenerative Business Leaders initiative. Speaking from their complementary but distinct perspectives, they establish the intellectual stakes for the entire session. Despite decades of scientific evidence, emissions keep rising and biodiversity keeps collapsing, not because we lack data, but because the systems driving these outcomes remain structurally unchanged. Together, Jorge and Kenneth argue that scientists have failed to communicate with business and political leaders in a language that drives action, while leaders lack the tools to understand the long-term consequences of their decisions. The RBL was built precisely to close this gap. Combining earth science urgency with the simulation and forecasting power of System Dynamics, it offers an operational framework, its four pillars of Anthropocene Studies, Biomimicry, Systems Thinking, and Planetary Foresight, designed to make the consequences of today's choices impossible to ignore. Two RBL conferences already held in 2026 demonstrate that this movement has momentum. This session is its next step.

  Segment 3 – Why SD is the Missing Infrastructure (15 min)

  Len Malczynski makes the scientific case for System Dynamics as the simulation and forecasting backbone that the RBL’s mission requires. His credibility with the SD audience is immediate. His message to non-SD participants is that rigorous science underpins every claim the RBL makes.

  Segment 4 – Voices from the Field: Challenges from the Arabian Peninsula and Africa (35 min)

  This segment is among the most distinctive in recent ISDC programming. Deepti Panicker-Ligtenberg from SparkBiQ moderates a conversation with senior representatives from sovereign organizations in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Angola, among the world’s most resource-constrained and rapidly transforming economies, speaking directly to the challenges they face: water scarcity, energy transition at national scale, urban planning of unprecedented complexity, and post-carbon economic diversification. Their testimony provides the session’s most powerful argument for why SD-based decision support is not an academic aspiration but an operational necessity.

  Segment 5 – Climate Change: EN-ROADS Live Demo (60 min)

  Prof. John Sterman (MIT) explains the challenges of climate change and why System Dynamics is at the forefront of rethinking and reshaping the problem. He then introduces the EN-ROADS global climate simulator and leads a fully interactive exercise with the audience, allowing participants to test policy interventions in real time.

  Coffee Break & Structured Networking (15 min)

  A structured networking break. A brief reference document summarizing the RBL framework and core modeling concepts is distributed to all participants in print and digitally.

  Segment 6 – Live Demo: The New Mexico Decarbonization Model (30 min)

  Jacob Jacobson presents the System Dynamics decarbonization model developed for the New Mexico state authorities, a validated, production-grade model that simulates the dynamic interactions between policy interventions, economic variables, and environmental indicators. The demonstration is explicitly interactive: audience members can propose scenario variations in real time. The framing is clear: this is what decision support for a regenerative economy looks like in practice.

  Segment 7 – Panel: Building the Coalition (30 min)

  A structured dialogue moderated by John Sterman. The panel brings together voices from science, policy, the private sector, and the Global South. Composition:

  • SD scientific representative – Prof. Etiënne Rouwette (Radboud University / Past President, System Dynamics Society)
  • RBL academic representative – Prof. Sjoerd Kluiving (VU Amsterdam)
  • European policy representative – European Commission, DG Environment or DG CLIMA (outreach in progress)
  • Arabian Peninsula sovereign representative – UAE or Saudi Arabia (engagement confirmed, formal invitation in progress)
  • Angolan representative (engagement confirmed, formal invitation in progress)
  • Senior corporate executive – from a sector facing acute sustainability transitions, including maritime infrastructure (see Section 6).

  Four structuring questions guide the dialogue:

  • How can the System Dynamics community systematically support the RBL mission?
  • How can the combination of SD and the academic disciplines behind the RBL contribute to significant change?
  • How can models like the one demonstrated be deployed across different sectors and geographies?
  • What would it concretely take for your organization or policy context to adopt this approach?

  Segment 8 – Call to Action & Next Steps (10 min)

  The RBL Core Team closes the session with three specific invitations to the audience:

  • Join the International System Dynamics Conference and the broader SDS community
  • Join the RBL network as a research collaborator or affiliated institution
  • Co-design a follow-up joint research project connecting SD modeling with regenerative business practice