Why Regenerative Design Is Essential for the Future of Cities, Communities, and Investments
To Catalyze a Regenerative Future
Written by: Jamie Miller, Director of Regenerative Design and Biomimicry
Jamie Miller is a leader and award-winning specialist in Biomimicry and Regenerative Design, being the first Director of Biomimicry at B+H. His role represents a pioneering shift in our industry, one that works with nature, rather than against it. Jamie advocates for nature-based solutions and collaboration to create cities that not only coexist with nature but actively contribute to its regeneration.
At Surbana Jurong, our mission is clear: to catalyze the transition to a regenerative future. Our Regenerative Design practice is grounded in a simple yet powerful vision: to make every project a net contributor to nature, people, and prosperity.
What differentiates us is not just the solutions we deliver, but the lens through which we approach every project. My career began in biomimicry, where I learned from the principles that have enabled life to thrive for billions of years. Over time, I’ve also had the privilege of working with Indigenous leaders, learning from Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK), to understand nature in a new light; a more holistic, ancient, and powerful way that seemed to more deeply resonate with my spirit than just my head. This experience of bridging Western science with Indigenous wisdom has shown me the importance of multiple paradigms when working with the living world and the value that comes when we view complexity from many angles.
This way of seeing helps us embrace complexity, not reduce it. It allows us to bring together diverse knowledge systems – scientific, traditional, and design-led – to create solutions that are adaptive, resilient, and deeply connected to place. That lens is what sets us apart.
And we don’t do this alone. With world-class sustainability experts at Atelier Ten, and the strength of our global partners across RBG and SMEC, we can embed regenerative design into projects anywhere in the world. Few design groups can combine this depth of technical expertise with a holistic worldview informed by decades of work in biomimicry and TEK.
But regenerative design isn’t just about values – it’s about value. Financial institutions are now demanding it:
- Over 500 organizations, including investors representing $17.7 trillion AUM, have now committed to adopt reporting for the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD).
- Regulators are making climate reporting mandatory: the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), Canada’s OSFI Guideline B-15, and the UK’s TCFD mandate require listed companies, large asset managers, and regulated asset owners to disclose how they are addressing climate risk.
- Investors increasingly view climate and biodiversity loss as strategic risks – meaning companies without credible plans risk losing access to capital.
In other words, regenerative design is increasingly being financially driven.
Our process ensures clients can meet these expectations while building projects that thrive through a four-phased approach:
- Engagement – Aligning stakeholders, honouring and integrating Indigenous knowledge holders, and establishing the right mindsets to truly be regenerative, and integrating principles that reduce conflict and accelerate approvals.
- Pre-Assessment – Understanding the “living story” of a site, mapping risks, ecological assets, and opportunities for resilience and cost savings.
- Strategy – Designing adaptive, future-proof approaches that align with financial disclosure requirements and deliver long-term prosperity.
- Performance Analysis – Measuring contributions – carbon reduction, ecological health, social well-being – and aligning them with frameworks that investors and banks demand.
The result: projects that lower risk, unlock financing, increase asset value, and leave more behind than they take.
At Surbana Jurong, we see regenerative design as the next evolution of our industry. Through biomimicry, Indigenous knowledge, and global collaboration with partners like Atelier Ten, RBG, and SMEC, we bring clients a uniquely holistic lens – one that helps navigate complexity and unlock opportunity.
Because in today’s world, regeneration isn’t an add-on. It’s the new foundation of resilient, investable, and life-supporting design.