Imagine a world where Gross Domestic Product is no longer the standalone benchmark of a nation’s success; where economic prosperity is no longer measured by what a country generates, but by what it regenerates.
This is the kind of world being imagined and delivered by Dr Tia Kansara, an award-winning entrepreneur, lifestyle consultant and policy advisor, who will delivering the 2017 Flinders Investigator Lecture in Adelaide on 28 September.
Dr Kansara is the pioneer of the ‘World Replenish Index’, an innovative new metric designed to support the development, implementation and ongoing evaluation of regenerative lifestyles.
The Index dictates that financial investment be shifted to products and services that are 100% compostable and that have a positive, replenishing impact on the natural world.
The ‘Replenish Economy’ is one that transcends GDP to reinforce environmentally conscious behaviours that help cities adapt to climate change and become smarter, more sustainable metropoles.
Referred to as a future-forward community architect and ‘ecosystem engineer’, Dr Kansara’s philosophies have already been adopted by a number of significant global entities including Coca-Cola, Bloomberg, the European Commission, Forbes, Formula 1, MIT, The Economist and Siemens.
The theme of her lecture, Replenish: A philosophy, a cause and action, will explore the use of the World Replenish Index to achieve economic success.
Dr Kansara’s principles for contemporary living have a deep resonance with research being undertaken in industrial transformation and diversification at Flinders University.
“Dr Kansara’s visit to Adelaide reinforces and re-energises our focus on sustainability,” says Professor John Spoehr, Director of the Australian Industrial Transformation Institute at Flinders.
“Our innovation precinct at Tonsley is one of Australia’s most awarded sites for sustainable re-use and design and a hub for cutting-edge research on novel applications of new technology to solve environmental challenges.
“Dr Kansara’s visit has immediate relevance to our work in supporting businesses and governments to thrive in an adaptive economy and capitalise on opportunities to address climate change.”
Dr Kansara, a co-founder of Kansara Hackney Ltd – the first ISO-certified sustainable lifestyle consultancy in the world, is also the Director of Replenish Earth Ltd, a cause and a collective action to protect the Earth’s natural assets and enable communities to live in harmony with nature and cease pollution of the land, ocean and solar system.
Dr Kansara is also the editor of the book Replenish, which describes how the World’s Replenish Index can be applied across domains, including social media, entrepreneurship, architecture, urban design, mindful living, community architecture, cross-modalism and economics.
In addition, she is an Advisor to The Economic Times in India; a Visiting Professor at CEPT University; Chair of the Sandbox Global Community (a mobile society of trailblazers who endeavour to accelerate positive change in the world); and a Bartlett Ambassador to the Gulf region for the University College London.
Dr Kansara is currently partnering with Bhutan’s Gross National Happiness Centre, GIFT City and Masdar City to implement the World Replenish Index.
The annual Flinders Investigator Lecture is an important part of the University’s public education program and contribution to the cultural life of South Australia.
This year’s Investigator Lecture is taking place as part of the Open State Festival.
Flinders University is supporting several other Open State events including:
- Future Forensics: Crime Scene to Court Room
- SA Impact Awards
- International Astronautical Congress 2017
- How will Super-materials Transform Our Way of Life
- Health Advocacy – How to Get Results
- Tonsley Smart City: The Future of Live Work Play
South Australians can hear Dr Tia Kansara speak at the Hilton Adelaide on 28 September from 5.30pm-7.00pm.
Entry is free but registration is essential