Alice Kalro joins host Jeni Miles to explore why traditional businesses fail to transform amidst systemic breakdown. As founder of arkH3 and lead author of "Leading Through the Polycollapse," Alice believes that conventional corporate sustainability approaches amount to "fairy tales" disconnected from planetary realities.
Key Takeaways:
Understand that polycollapse describes multiple interrelated breakdown processes across environmental, economic, and social systems
Recognise that conventional sustainability approaches focused on "doing less harm" remain fundamentally inadequate
Accept that financial system collapse may occur in the 2030s, preceding full ecological breakdown
Prepare for metadisruption—the predictable aggravation of current trends affecting multiple industries
Transform core business models toward providing essential needs without causing harm
Abandon incremental metrics for binary questions about business necessity and impact
Match your level of courage to your level of privilege to drive systemic change
Timestamps:
00:00 — Introduction and overview of polycollapse
07:59 — Approaching difficult conversations about systemic breakdown
13:52 — Understanding polycollapse versus other collapse terminology
18:44 — How systemic foresight differs from traditional scenario planning
23:49 — Financial system collapse and meta-disruption
30:49 — Implications for shareholder value and future business viability
37:18 — Metrics for future-compatible business models
41:20 — Matching courage to privilege for business leaders
Resources:
arkH3: https://www.arkh3.com
Leading Through the Polycollapse eBook: https://www.arkh3.com/resources/leading-through-the-polycollapse-a-guide-to-systemic-foresight-for-vuca-native-strategy
arkH3’s training programs: https://training-series.arkh3.com/
Regeneration Journal interview: https://www.regenerationjournal.org/on-leading-through-the-polycollapse-an-interview-with-alice-kalro-claudia-gasparovic-and-julio-campos/
Breaking Together by Jem Bendell: https://jembendell.com/2023/04/08/breaking-together-a-freedom-loving-response-to-collapse/
Global Tipping Points Conference: https://global-tipping-points.org/conference-2025/
Business Declares: https://businessdeclares.com
Connect:
Follow Alice on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alice-kalro/
Follow Jeni on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenifisher/
Subscribe to the Moral Footprint Substack: https://moralfootprint.substack.com/
About Alice Kalro:
Alice Kalro is founder of arkH3 and an emerging global thought leader in transformational corporate sustainability, providing practical guidance on science- and ethics-aligned business transformation for a just and liveable future.
Post-growth economist Donnie Maclurcan joins host Jeni Miles to explore why systems transformation requires moving from thinking to feeling. From not-for-profit business models to the circulation of money and power, Donnie reveals how embodied wisdom might be our most revolutionary tool against extractive capitalism and why slowing down in urgent times could be the key to creating regenerative systems.
Key Takeaways
Donnie Maclurcan is Director of Strategy with the Post Growth Institute. He joins us from Patagonia where he lives with his wife and their cats.
People and Resources Mentioned:
Sociocracy as a governance system https://www.sociocracyforall.org/sociocracy/
Follow Jeni on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenifisher/
Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCChD92b63Sfh5xeNFMM5lCA
Read the Moral Footprint newsletter: https://moralfootprint.substack.com
Host Jeni Miles speaks with systems doula Joy Njeri about why current African development models are creating dependency rather than empowerment. From her experience in NGOs to corporate work, Joy exposes how Western funding structures perpetuate colonial patterns in both humanitarian and venture capital sectors, advocating instead for community-led, regenerative economics approaches.
Key Takeaways
Question the dependency models created by NGO funding that prioritise donor agendas over local solutions
Recognise how Silicon Valley VC replicates colonial extraction by favouring white founders and imposed scaling models
Understand why 70% of African startups fail at seed stage due to misaligned Western investment criteria
Explore indigenous wisdom systems like commitment pooling as alternatives to extractive business models
Examine how Tempo Arts community created regenerative solutions without external funding near Kenya's largest dump site
Embrace businesses as interconnected living systems that must strengthen rather than extract from their communities
Joy Njeri is a systems doula and regenerative economy advocate based in Kenya, co-authoring Seismic Questions and contributing to the Doughnut Economics community.
Next Steps
Leave a review to help others discover these conversations
Follow Joy Njeri on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/joy-njeri/
Follow Jeni Miles on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenifisher/ or subscribe to the Moral Footprint Substack https://moralfootprint.substack.com/
Links & Resources
Upcoming Seismic Questions book https://minouschillings.com/seismic-questions-cocreated-boo/
Tempo Arts centre https://www.facebook.com/groups/640727386515453/
Grassroots Economics https://www.grassrootseconomics.org/
Global Donut Days 2025 https://doughnuteconomics.org/gdd2025
Jennifer Hinton’s Five Post-Growth Business Dimensions https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016328721000707
“Africans” who are changing Africa in the start up world https://www.linkedin.com/posts/larrymadowo_africaceoforum-techinafrica-startups-activity-7329403947041927170-4ev5
Mau Mau movement https://www.blackhistorymonth.org.uk/article/section/african-history/the-mau-mau-movement/
In this uncompromising conversation, host Jeni Miles speaks with Siobhan Strode, advocacy consultant and founder of This Sister Speaks, about how our electoral system has been captured by corporate interests and what we can do about it.
Recorded just days before England's May 2025 local elections, Siobhan shares her journey from teacher to Labour parliamentary candidate, revealing how Keir Starmer systematically betrayed party members by promising socialist continuity before dismantling progressive policies.
They explore how the government is funded by groups like Labour Friends of Israel continue supporting genocide in Palestine, but crucially, Siobhan offers practical resistance strategies, from using boycott apps like No Thanks to building community power when electoral politics feels rigged against ordinary people.
Books:
Robert Tressell – The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists https://uk.bookshop.org/a/15447/9780141187693
Other Resources:
No Thanks app – barcode scanner for boycotting companies that fund genocide Available on Apple App Store and Google Play Store https://bashsquare.com/projects/no-thanks
This Sister Speaks – Siobhan's advocacy training programme for women https://www.siobhanstrode.com/
Connect with Siobhan Strode on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/siobhan.strode/ and Linkedin https://uk.linkedin.com/in/siobhan-strode84
Follow host Jeni Miles on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenifisher/ or subscribe to the Moral Footprint Substack https://moralfootprint.substack.com/
Moral Footprint Host Jeni Miles sits down with Erald Kolasi, a physicist and economist whose groundbreaking book The Physics of Capitalism challenges us to see our ecological crisis through the lens of thermodynamics.
Erald makes a compelling case that our economic system isn't just fundamentally broken, it's at odds with the physical laws that govern life on Earth, creating what he calls a "supercharged entropy machine" that's destabilising the biosphere.From dissecting carbon capture's flaws to exploring metabolic rift, Erald explains why tech solutions can't prevent ecological collapse and outlines his "valerism" framework's four pillars of stabilisation, socialisation, modularisation, and localisation.
LINKS
Key Concepts Discussed:
Connect with Erald Kolasi on Substack at https://technodynamics.substack.com/
Follow host Jeni Miles on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenifisher/ or subscribe to the Moral Footprint Substack https://moralfootprint.substack.com/
Transformative leader and educator Ryan (Ra) James joins host Jeni Miles to discuss how we can move from a transactional world to one based on relationship and genuine connection.
Ryan explains why most sustainability efforts are merely iterations rather than true innovations, challenges our war-based business language, and offers a powerful alternative: relational intelligence. Discover why he believes gratitude must go beyond concept to action and why our external climate crisis mirrors our internal disconnection.
From his transition from finance graduate to global wisdom seeker, Ryan provides practical ways to reconnect with what sustains us.
Whether you're a business leader, sustainability professional, or simply seeking a more meaningful relationship with our planet, this conversation will transform how you think about innovation, progress, and your place in the web of life.
People and Resources Mentioned
Learn more about Ryan via his website, Instagram, LinkedIn or his business-as-usual un/school (Re)Biz.
Follow host Jeni Miles on Linkedin or subscribe to the Moral Footprint Substack.
Developmental coach Keri Jarvis (also co-founder of Southend Care Bank and Parents for Future co-ordinator) joins host Jeni Miles to discuss how motherhood radicalised her thinking and how community sustains her work.Together, they explore feminist business practices, the false promises of "girl boss" culture & practical ways to foster genuine connection in a system designed to keep us isolated.
LINKS & RESOURCES MENTIONED:
Philosopher and professor Dr Alexis Shotwell joins Moral Footprint host Jeni Miles to explore ethical living in an imperfect world.
Discover why the concept of "carbon footprint" was created by corporations to shift climate responsibility to individuals and how to move beyond eco-guilt toward meaningful collective action.
We discuss ethical consumption challenges, the myth of purity in sustainable living, and practical approaches to environmental ethics without perfectionism.
Alexis shares insights on transforming climate anxiety into solidarity, the importance of care work in creating sustainable communities, and how fiction helps us imagine alternative futures. Learn strategies for navigating ethical dilemmas and embracing imperfection as a pathway to more effective collective change and climate justice.
Resources and people mentioned
In this episode of Moral Footprint, host Jeni Miles speaks with B. Lorraine Smith, a bold and visionary voice in sustainable business, about the deep disconnect between corporate sustainability claims and reality. Lorraine shares her decades of experience in ESG and why she ultimately stepped away, disillusioned by the industry's focus on reporting over real change.
They explore:
✅ Why traditional ESG frameworks fail to address systemic issues
✅ The dangers of corporate greenwashing and branding over substance
✅ Lorraine’s matereality framework—a radical shift to centering life instead of profit
✅ The tough questions businesses avoid about their own impact
✅ How individuals can reclaim their agency and challenge the status quo
If you’ve ever wondered why corporate sustainability feels like a façade—or how to move beyond it—this conversation is essential listening.
Follow Lorraine on Linkedin: https://tinyurl.com/4wvdmh7y
Follow Jeni on Linkedin https://tinyurl.com/4mxz52bm
Read the Moral Footprint substack https://tinyurl.com/bdepjvdw
Resources mentioned:
How can we rethink design beyond aesthetics and challenge extractive business models?
In this conversation, Cecilia Scolaro and Jeni Miles explore the power of responsible design, decolonization and indigenous knowledge in reshaping business and sustainability.
📌 In this episode, we cover:
✔️ What decolonizing design really means (and why it matters)
✔️ The harm of extractive business models & how to rethink impact
✔️ How indigenous knowledge and regenerative design can reshape the future
✔️ Why small design choices create powerful ripple effects
✔️ How to align your work with ethics, sustainability, and systemic change
📲 Join the conversation on the Moral Footprint substack
What if personal burnout and planetary overshoot share the same root cause: our pursuit of infinite growth?
I’m Jeni Miles, business strategist, behavioural scientist and former big tech consultant. In the Moral Footprint podcast, I'll be unpacking the unsustainable systems of care, climate and capitalism we’ve inherited—helping you navigate a more intentional and impactful path forward.
Every choice we make sends ripples through the world, impacting both humans, sentient beings around the world as well as future generations, particularly in this pivotal moment when we’re the last generation with the power to avert planetary collapse.
Moral Footprint explores how to align our work, values and daily actions with a future that truly sustains us. Here’s a taste of what’s coming:
🔸How Embracing Complicity Leads to Meaningful Change with Alexis Shotwell
🔸How Indigenous Wisdom Exposes Our Sustainability Illusion with Cecilia Scolaro
🔸Reclaiming Community, Care, and Connection in a Capitalist World with Keri Jarvis
🔸Corporate Sustainability's Failings and the Path to an Economy that Serves Life with B Lorraine Smith
🎧Hit Follow to stay updated—new episodes launching soon!
🎙 Expect new episodes roughly every 2-3 weeks
📲 Join the conversation on Substack
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