Nature’s Boardroom by Simeon Rose is a short book at just 90 pages, yet it carries the weight of an idea that is quietly radical. This short history tells the story of how the legal and cultural idea of putting Nature on the board came into being, told as both a personal and company story at Faith In Nature. This action brought the fundamental role of Nature in business to the world’s attention.
The book situates Nature on the Board (NOTB) as a cultural and systemic evolution. Nature is not an external stakeholder, but integral to every aspect of our lives and economies.
As Simeon frames it, the challenge is that we have designed supply chains, ingredients and operations that fail to protect the natural world, even when businesses are entirely dependent on it. By legally requiring consideration of Nature, it shifts us from optional acknowledgement to a duty to listen and respond.
Rather than treating the idea of Nature’s Voice as a narrative or campaign, Faith In Nature invited all organisations to consider a systemic shift to govern themselves. Without that depth of commitment, the idea could easily have remained a compelling creative story of a brand deepening its mission rather than reshaping the structures that allow it to exist.
Nature underpins supply chains
Nature underpins supply chains, labour, resources and wellbeing, yet remains invisible in the governance structures of most businesses that extract, depend and profit, while treating the living world as external to decision making.
Nature on the board is presented as a way of correcting this blind spot. Not by romanticising nature, but by recognising what is already true as a legal article. Nature is already impacted by every decision. Inviting it into the conversation is simply an act of transparency.
Symbolism versus System Change
“Nature’s Boardroom” does not shy away from critique. It contrasts genuine governance change with symbolic gestures, referencing moments such as the Apple advert featuring Mother Nature. The advert told a compelling story, but implied a level of structural change that had not actually taken place.
In contrast, the organisations in this book, such as House of Hackney and The Better Business Network (BBN) invested in structural changes to how decisions are made. From governance shifts and financial commitments to future generations pacts, these are real systemic choices, not symbolic gestures. To these businesses, NOTB is not a strapline about caring for nature, but a decision to let care reshape the system itself.
What is striking is how this idea spread without central coordination. Each organisation took it on in its own way, shaped by context and culture, yet responding to the same deeper signal.
A moment of global resonance
There is a powerful sense of synchronicity in the story. In the same week that several of these initiatives were unfolding, Patagonia announced that Earth would become its major shareholder. No one was planning this together. Yet all were acting from a shared awareness that business as usual was no longer enough.
The first woman on a board
For those who are sceptical about whether the idea has any real structural merit, the book references a different historical moment that was also met with cynicism and doubt in the early 20th century.
Clara Abbott is widely recognised as the first woman to serve on the board of a major corporation in the US, a radical at the time. While women still only represent approximately 30% of seats in the boardrooms of major corporations globally, the possibility was given systemic legs with Clara’s appointment.
History shows that what first feels uncomfortable or unfamiliar often becomes common sense over time. Yet the book reminds us that inclusion alone is not enough without deeper structural change, a lesson worth holding as this movement gathers momentum.
For business owners reading this, the question becomes less abstract now that a precedent has been set. Whether or not NOTB remains an idea on the margins is up to all of us.
A book you can work with
From the beginning, Simeon has been clear that the idea originated with his wife Anne, something he continues to acknowledge openly in the book. Anne contributes powerful questions, alongside Simeon’s own playful and curious set of more than 60 questions.
Nature’s Boardroom is more than a book to read. It can be used as a workshop, a boardroom prompt or a practical tool for inquiry. It invites participation rather than passive agreement.
What if Nature were the boss?
It all started with this one question, says Simeon Rose and Anne Hopkins. As new Creative and Brand Directors at Faith in Nature earlier this decade, they say they simply looked at the brand name that already existed and recognised a seed of something far more profound than a brand name. Faith in Nature was not a metaphor. The answer was already there, quietly waiting to be taken seriously.
𝐌𝐲 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞: 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐦.
Through Private mentoring, Nature’s Boardroom and The Growth Experience® Experience, I support leaders running their own companies to learn and experience regeneration so they can move from overwhelm to clarity, from over-functioning to sustainable high performance and from linear problem solving to living systems intelligence.
I also steward nature into decision-making within companies for new governance as a Wayfinder and a voice for nature in business.
At my core, I am an educator who loves to mentor, teach, share and facilitate learning in ways that are regenerative, relational and rooted in nature. Not the old expert model, but learning and experiences that help people grow from the inside out.
For 30 years, I’ve run four companies with regenerative instincts and purpose. This has given me the business acumen to understand the real pressures leaders face and the regenerative frameworks to help them work in healthier, more meaningful ways. I bridge practical business design with new ways of holding purpose, impact and responsibility.
You can subscribe to Jannine’s inspiring short newsletters, event invitations, and business mentoring tips here. You can read more articles written by Jannine on Substack, or LinkedIn.
