Introducing Bramble

We founded Bramble to nurture and grow the seeds of a just and sustainable future through radically hopeful, people-centred, place-based work.

Why this combination of attributes? After spending decades in climate science, nature-based solutions, regenerative business and sustainability leadership, we’ve seen all the ways that important work can stall. Too often, narratives are rooted in an assumption that audiences aren’t concerned enough yet. Too many efforts to drive outer development neglect the inner work required. And too much work to solve global challenges ignores the vital role of the local. Plus, hope, people and place are all manifestations of where we experience awe and joy – and ultimately, we believe this is the palette in which we must paint the future.

Our careers in sustainability and leadership have taken us to consultancies, non-profit think tanks, and academic institutions, and we have worked with purpose-driven leaders of global corporations, governmental and intergovernmental organisations, and social enterprises. Despite the different structures and functions these organisations serve, they share a number of underlying dilemmas.

Almost all of us operate within systems that are shaped by an economics of scarcity. We compete for talent, customers, recognition and resources, and try to dominate markets. We try to create demand for the things we offer, and use disruptive innovation to prolong our existing model rather than accelerate needed evolution. 

We know that the behaviours that make us successful as individual organisations are not necessarily the behaviours that make us successful as a community. But the instinct to survive seems to be far stronger than the instinct to thrive. 

We believe everyone could benefit from experiencing a different paradigm - an economy, in Robin Wall Kimmerer’s words, of abundance. And for those of us working to help systems change well, experience of that paradigm is essential. 

So what would it look like to be a company whose primary goal is to promote the flourishing of the larger system of which it is a part? 

This will be Bramble’s primary inquiry for the season ahead, and has implications for pretty much every decision we are navigating. We want an ownership structure that serves the needs of a just and sustainable future. We want to foster the conditions that enable good people around us to do their best work. And we want a culture that promotes and celebrates learning and evolution at every scale, not least at the scale of the company itself. 

It has been thrilling to learn about some of the experiments that are already underway, and we are looking forward to sharing more about what we are trying ourselves.