Reduce, reuse and recycle is a useful mantra for any home or business. And it’s a pretty simple rule - the less you use, the fewer resources you will have to purchase to sustain your lifestyle or business practices.

But some businesses could take this concept further than they do. Author Storm Cunningham describes the twentieth century as the "de" age, which was based on development; depletion of natural resources; degradation, despoilment and defilement (pollution and the destruction of heritage); devitalization (of communities and ecosystem services); a decrease in biodiversity; and decline in the planet’s inventory of fossil fuels, fossil waters, old-growth forests, and other irreplaceable assets.

Cunningham would argue that "de" typified earlier centuries as well, but that this trend came to a head in the twentieth century.  

In his new book, ReWealth, Cunningham argues that a "de / re shift" is underway. Development is giving way to redevelopment, depletion to replenishment, degradation to remediation, destruction to restoration. And individuals and companies are making money through this trend.

Pieces of this shift can be seen across Canada - in the remediation and revitalization of contaminated brownfield sites into condominium and mixed-use developments, or the reuse of construction material when one building is replaced by another (one way in which building owners can gain Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design [LEED] points in construction projects).

Cunningham takes a broader view of the trend, however, as something that can create rapid, resilient renewal across communities. He believes communities can revitalize their economy, their buildings and infrastructure, their culture and their natural resources together with the right renewal engine.

Cunningham believes that solutions to global crises tend to have four characteristics:
ï    They require little money to initiate;
ï    They can be used by any community, region or nations regardless of conditions or type of government;
ï    They resolve economic, environmental and social problems together; and
ï    They are self-sustaining and scalable in any direction - in other words, they can be started at a local or national level and be scaled up or down accordingly.

ReWealth focuses on the industries, sciences, nonprofits and people who are thriving on revitalizing communities and restoring natural resources. And Cunningham suggests that this shift is changing the nature of entrepreneurship, R&D, law, economics, investment, technology, government and countless industries.

The book sets out three rules for how we should proceed with development in the future:
1. We must base our economy on renewing what we’ve developed and on restoring what we’ve damaged (rewealth).
2. We must shift away from renewing our natural, built and socioeconomic assets in isolation. Viewing them in an integrated fashion creates synergies and makes projects much more efficient, among other benefits.
3. We must shift away from nontransparent, command and control styles of community redevelopment. This requires engaging stakeholders more effectively - creating public-private partnerships that actually work.

Cunningham sets out these rules as a basic structure - underlying principles - to help communities eliminate tools that don’t meet the standards set by the rewealth-integration-engagement structure.

The author argues his belief in rewealth and what he calls a restoration economy, or "reconomy," very effectively and thoroughly. He explains the forces that are accelerating the de / re shift, why this shift is easier for certain economies (those more developed and incapable of sprawl), and how it is recalibrating the way in which we view our resources.

The first section of the book introduces the whole concept of rewealth and the reconomy and why it’s happening. The second section explores how to bring communities and regions back to life; this includes how to develop positive public-private partnerships. The third section of the book includes stories of businesses and communities that are leading this rewealth change.

Business leaders will most likely be interested in dipping into parts one and three of the book. Both give tips on how one can enter this rewealth market. But the second section is important because partnering with communities will inevitably bolster opportunities in this new paradigm.

The most important message of the book, however, is in raising readers’ awareness. If your company isn’t thinking about how it’s lowering its impact on the environment yet, it’s already two steps behind. How can your business help revitalize the community in which it operates? Can it be sustainable in communities that are becoming more actively involved in planning for a more sustainable future?

ReWealth!: Stake your claim in the $2 trillion redevelopment trend that’s renewing the world, by Storm Cunningham, is published by McGraw-Hill. To read an excerpt of the book, click here.

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