"The Regenerative Society: a New Paradigm of Progress"
In 2015, Andrea Illy discovered that 50% of land suitable for coffee cultivation would no longer be viable by 2050 due to climate change. It was the beginning of a journey that would lead him to completely rethink the relationship between business and nature, between growth and well-being.
This book acts as a roadmap, in which Illy recounts the possible transformation from the extractive paradigm—which has dominated Western economics since Descartes and Bacon—to a regenerative model that places individuals at its center, as stewards of natural capital. Across eighteen chapters and dozens of interviews with pioneers of regeneration, he explores the frontiers of a revolution that is already underway.
This is no environmentalist utopia. Illy, with scientific precision, documents how companies adopting regenerative practices are systematically outperforming traditional ones: renewable energy sources now cost less than fossil fuels, cities designed for people create cascading benefits for all of society.
The question the author seeks to answer is not whether transformation is possible, but what we must do to make it tangible for everyone.
The book you hold in your hands goes beyond the autobiographical testimony of an enlightened entrepreneur. It is an operational manual for understanding that regeneration does not belong the realm of utopias, but represents an economic, social, and environmental necessity that is now imperative. It is also an invitation to overcome our ancestral fears and cognitive resistance to embrace a future that is inevitable if we wish to continue to thrive as a species on this planet.
Sandrine Dixon-Declève – Excerpt from the foreword
RSF has supported the publication of the book by Andrea Illy, published by Egea Editore. The book, available starting in October 2025 at major bookstores, addresses the Foundation’s key themes in an informative and accessible style.
Regeneration is not an environmentalist utopia: companies that adopt regenerative practices are systematically outperforming traditional ones. Renewable energy sources now cost less than fossil fuels, and cities designed for people create cascading benefits for society as a whole.
Illy recounts this possible transformation through numerous interviews with entrepreneurs, scholars, and scientists—including Catia Bastioli, Paolo Benanti, Stefano Boeri, Davide Bollati, Mario Cucinella, Simonetta Di Pippo, Massimo Mercati, Patrick Odier, Giuseppe Pasini, Anna Pollock, Salvador Rueda, Patricia Viel, and Paolo Vineis.