Moral Footprint

Jeni Miles

Jeni Miles explores how we can realign life and work within ethical & ecological boundaries. MORAL FOOTPRINT covers climate action, post-growth economics, modern motherhood & systems change, mapping our our relationship with power, privilege and Earth's limits. Blending behavioural science & business, Jeni tackles key questions: How do we move beyond growth? How can we unlearn overconsumption and transform extractive systems? Learn more at JeniMiles.com

  1. Post-Growth Business, Patagonia's Ownership Revolution & The Wealth Siphon | Dr Jennifer Hinton

    May 20

    Post-Growth Business, Patagonia's Ownership Revolution & The Wealth Siphon | Dr Jennifer Hinton

    What if business was designed for people, not profit? That's the question at the heart of this conversation between Jeni Miles and ecological economist Dr Jennifer Hinton — and the answer might be more radical, and more hopeful, than you expect.Dr Hinton argues that inequality and ecological breakdown aren't the result of bad actors or poor leadership. They're the inevitable output of a business system structurally designed to extract and accumulate private wealth. Swap the CEO, tighten the regulations, launch another ESG initiative — and the system keeps doing exactly what it was built to do.The alternative? Not-for-profit business structures that stop the wealth siphon before it even begins — making economies distributive by design rather than trying to redistribute wealth after the fact. Drawing on her five-dimension post-growth business framework, Dr Hinton walks through what genuinely transformative business looks like — from steward ownership models to Patagonia's ownership revolution, to what democratic governance and relocalisation could look like next.They also get into the circular economy's blind spot (you can't keep growing the circle on a finite planet), why 86% of corporate workers privately support post-growth practices but underestimate their peers' support, and what Big Tech might look like if it was structured as public infrastructure rather than private empire. KEY TAKEAWAYS The relationship to profit is the most fundamental layer of any business — everything else flows from itEven good people behave poorly in bad systems — structural change matters more than individual ethicsNot-for-profit business structures stop the wealth siphon before it begins — distributive by designSwapping the CEO cannot fix a structurally broken systemPatagonia's ownership transformation is a real-world blueprint — and democratic governance could take it further86% of UK for-profit professionals support post-growth practices but underestimate their peers' supportA post-growth working week could mean shorter hours, stronger communities, and a genuinely circular local economyABOUT DR JENNIFER HINTON Dr Jennifer Hinton is an ecological economist, systems researcher, and co-author of How on Earth. Her post-growth business framework bridges micro and macro economics to diagnose — and redesign — the structures driving our global crises.jenniferhinton.org LINKS & RESOURCES How on Earth — howonearth.usKate Raworth — kateraworth.comDoughnut Economics Action Lab — doughnuteconomics.orgSteward Ownership — steward-ownership.com/enPurpose Economy — purpose-economy.org/enUpstream Podcast, Part 1 episode on worker co-ops — https://www.upstreampodcast.org/workercoops1Della Duncan — dellazduncan.comLuke Kemp, Cambridge — cser.ac.uk/team/luke-kempDigital Degrowth, Michael Kwet — plutobooks.com/product/digital-degrowthHouse of Hackney: houseofhackney.com/pages/nature-our-directorFOLLOW JENI MILES LinkedIn — linkedin.com/in/jenifisher Substack — moralfootprint.substack.com

    54 min
  2. Stakeholder Solidarity & the Silence Within: Reflections from World Beautiful Business Forum

    May 14

    Stakeholder Solidarity & the Silence Within: Reflections from World Beautiful Business Forum

    Behavioural scientist and business consultant Jeni Miles reflects on the World Beautiful Business Forum in Athens and shares the talk she gave as part of its Ministry of Regeneration track. Drawing on a (preprint) study with over 400 UK for-profit managers, she reveals a striking paradox: the majority privately support post-growth business practices and believe business must operate within planetary and social limits. Yet most assume their peers don't support these views, silencing a consensus that already exists. She also examines why the governance structures most businesses take for granted are profoundly undemocratic, and what it would actually mean to design stakeholder solidarity into the legal architecture of a company. Full show notes, links and resources: https://moralfootprint.substack.com KEY TAKEAWAYS Discover how 92-93% of UK business managers support doughnut economy principlesUnderstand how pluralistic ignorance silences the corporate majority and preserves the status quoLearn how two billionaire founders can legally override the preferences of 160,000 employeesExplore real precedents for democratic business governance, from German co-determination law to multi-stakeholder cooperativesChallenge the assumption that mission-led for-profit companies can reliably put purpose before profitRecognise how big tech's retreat from climate commitments in favour of AI infrastructure locks in irreversible emissions LINKS & RESOURCES Bayo Akomolafe https://www.bayoakomolafe.net World Beautiful Business Forum https://houseofbeautifulbusiness.com/world-beautiful-business-forum Dr Dario Krpan (LSE) https://www.lse.ac.uk/people/dario-krpan Dr Frédéric Basso (LSE) https://www.lse.ac.uk/people/frederic-basso Kate Raworth- author of Doughnut Economics https://www.kateraworth.com DrJennifer Hinto (ecological economist) https://jenniferhinton.org Dr Luke Kemp (societal collapse researcher) https://www.cser.ac.uk/team/luke-kemp House of Hackney, who legally appointed a Mother Nature and Future Generations Director to their board https://www.houseofhackney.com Extinction Rebellion https://extinctionrebellion.uk Doughnut Economics Action Lab https://doughnuteconomics.org The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens https://www.thegreatsimplification.com Google and natural gas — Distilled Earthhttps://www.distilled.earth/p/google-is-weighing-natural-gas-without Meta funds ten natural gas plants for AI — Forbes https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonmarkman/2026/03/31/meta-funds-ten-natural-gas-plants-to-power-its-largest-ai-campus/ FOLLOW JENI MILES LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenifisher/Substack: https://moralfootprint.substack.com Subscribe, leave a review and share with someone who needs to hear this, thank you!

    16 min
  3. Polycollapse and the Future of Business Strategy | Alice Kalro

    09/16/2025

    Polycollapse and the Future of Business Strategy | Alice Kalro

    Alice Kalro joins host Jeni Miles to explore why traditional businesses fail to transform amidst systemic breakdown. As founder of arkH3 and lead author of "Leading Through the Polycollapse," Alice believes that conventional corporate sustainability approaches amount to "fairy tales" disconnected from planetary realities. Key Takeaways: Understand that polycollapse describes multiple interrelated breakdown processes across environmental, economic, and social systems Recognise that conventional sustainability approaches focused on "doing less harm" remain fundamentally inadequate Accept that financial system collapse may occur in the 2030s, preceding full ecological breakdown Prepare for metadisruption—the predictable aggravation of current trends affecting multiple industries Transform core business models toward providing essential needs without causing harm Abandon incremental metrics for binary questions about business necessity and impact Match your level of courage to your level of privilege to drive systemic change Timestamps:  00:00 — Introduction and overview of polycollapse  07:59 — Approaching difficult conversations about systemic breakdown 13:52 — Understanding polycollapse versus other collapse terminology 18:44 — How systemic foresight differs from traditional scenario planning 23:49 — Financial system collapse and meta-disruption 30:49 — Implications for shareholder value and future business viability 37:18 — Metrics for future-compatible business models 41:20 — Matching courage to privilege for business leaders Resources: arkH3: https://www.arkh3.com Leading Through the Polycollapse eBook: https://www.arkh3.com/resources/leading-through-the-polycollapse-a-guide-to-systemic-foresight-for-vuca-native-strategy  arkH3’s training programs: https://training-series.arkh3.com/  Regeneration Journal interview: https://www.regenerationjournal.org/on-leading-through-the-polycollapse-an-interview-with-alice-kalro-claudia-gasparovic-and-julio-campos/ Breaking Together by Jem Bendell: https://jembendell.com/2023/04/08/breaking-together-a-freedom-loving-response-to-collapse/ Global Tipping Points Conference: https://global-tipping-points.org/conference-2025/ Business Declares: https://businessdeclares.com Connect: Follow Alice on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alice-kalro/  Follow Jeni on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenifisher/ Subscribe to the Moral Footprint Substack: https://moralfootprint.substack.com/ About Alice Kalro: Alice Kalro is founder of arkH3 and an emerging global thought leader in transformational corporate sustainability, providing practical guidance on science- and ethics-aligned business transformation for a just and liveable future.

    46 min
  4. From Systems Thinking to Systems Feeling: Transforming Business with Donnie Maclurcan

    07/30/2025

    From Systems Thinking to Systems Feeling: Transforming Business with Donnie Maclurcan

    Post-growth economist Donnie Maclurcan joins host Jeni Miles to explore why systems transformation requires moving from thinking to feeling. From not-for-profit business models to the circulation of money and power, Donnie reveals how embodied wisdom might be our most revolutionary tool against extractive capitalism and why slowing down in urgent times could be the key to creating regenerative systems. Key Takeaways Understand why capitalism creates disconnection from our bodies and embodied wisdomLearn the difference between not-for-profit businesses and B Corps or social enterprisesDiscover how debt expansion is a feature of capitalism, not the monetary systemExplore moving from "systems thinking" to "systems feeling" for transformationSee how moving your money, pensions, and investments can create systemic changeExperience the offers and needs markets methodology for community resilience Donnie Maclurcan is Director of Strategy with the Post Growth Institute. He joins us from Patagonia where he lives with his wife and their cats. Follow Donnie on LinkedIn: https://ar.linkedin.com/in/donniemaclurcanFollow Donnie on Bluesky: https://web-cdn.bsky.app/profile/donmacca.bsky.social People and Resources Mentioned: Post Growth Institute: https://postgrowth.org/How on Earth? Book https://howonearth.us/Colin Saltmere: https://au.linkedin.com/in/colin-saltmere-09762485Better Off by Eric Brende (an Amish lifestyle experiment) https://www.amazon.com/Better-Off-Flipping-Switch-Technology/dp/0060570059Offers and Needs Markets methodology: https://postgrowth.org/offers-and-needs-markets/Triodos Bank (sustainable banking example): https://triodos.co.uk/Bayo Akomolafe's The Times Are Urgent, Let Us Slow Down open letter https://www.bayoakomolafe.net/post/the-times-are-urgent-lets-slow-downThe Co-operative Bank (UK not-for-profit banking): https://www.co-operativebank.co.uk/The WEIRD Study (research on Western assumptions): https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1601785AORTA Co-Op: https://aorta.coop/BLIS Collective https://www.bliscollective.org/adrienne maree brown https://www.instagram.com/adriennemareebrown/Sociocracy as a governance system https://www.sociocracyforall.org/sociocracy/ Follow Jeni on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenifisher/ Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCChD92b63Sfh5xeNFMM5lCA Read the Moral Footprint newsletter: https://moralfootprint.substack.com

    50 min
  5. Rethinking NGOs and Silicon Valley VC in Africa with Joy Njeri

    07/11/2025

    Rethinking NGOs and Silicon Valley VC in Africa with Joy Njeri

    Jeni Miles speaks with Joy Njeri, systems doula and regenerative economy advocate, about why current African development models are creating dependency rather than empowerment. From NGOs to corporate work, Joy exposes how Western funding structures perpetuate colonial patterns in both humanitarian and venture capital sectors, advocating instead for community-led, regenerative economics approaches. Key Takeaways: •Question the dependency models created by NGO funding that prioritise donor agendas over local solutions. •Recognise how Silicon Valley VC replicates colonial extraction by favouring white founders and imposed scaling models. •Understand why 70% of African startups fail at seed stage due to misaligned Western investment criteria. •Explore indigenous wisdom systems like commitment pooling as alternatives to extractive business models. •Examine how Tempo Arts community created regenerative solutions near Kenya's largest dump site — without external funding. •Embrace businesses as interconnected living systems that must strengthen, not extract from, their communities. About Joy: Joy co-authored the upcoming book Seismic Questions and contributes to the Doughnut Economics community in Kenya. Next Steps: • Leave a review to help others discover the show. • Follow Joy on LinkedIn • Follow Jeni on LinkedIn • Subscribe to the Moral Footprint Substack Links & Resources: •Seismic Questions (book) •Tempo Arts Centre (Kenya) •Grassroots Economics •Global Donut Days 2025 •Jennifer Hinton – Post-Growth Business Dimensions

    1h 10m
  6. Democracy's Illusion: Building Real Power with Siobhan Strode

    06/18/2025

    Democracy's Illusion: Building Real Power with Siobhan Strode

    In this uncompromising conversation, host Jeni Miles speaks with Siobhan Strode, advocacy consultant and founder of This Sister Speaks, about how our electoral system has been captured by corporate interests and what we can do about it.  Recorded just days before England's May 2025 local elections, Siobhan shares her journey from teacher to Labour parliamentary candidate, revealing how Keir Starmer systematically betrayed party members by promising socialist continuity before dismantling progressive policies.  They explore how the government is funded by groups like Labour Friends of Israel continue supporting genocide in Palestine, but crucially, Siobhan offers practical resistance strategies, from using boycott apps like No Thanks to building community power when electoral politics feels rigged against ordinary people. Books: Robert Tressell – The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists https://uk.bookshop.org/a/15447/9780141187693 Other Resources: We Support Jeremy Corbyn Facebook group No Thanks app – barcode scanner for boycotting companies that fund genocide Available on Apple App Store and Google Play Store https://bashsquare.com/projects/no-thanks  This Sister Speaks – Siobhan's advocacy training programme for women https://www.siobhanstrode.com/ Connect with Siobhan Strode on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/siobhan.strode/ and Linkedin https://uk.linkedin.com/in/siobhan-strode84 Follow host Jeni Miles on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenifisher/ or subscribe to the Moral Footprint Substack https://moralfootprint.substack.com/

    42 min
  7. Beyond Growth: Transforming Capitalism to Planetary Stability with Physicist-Economist Erald Kolasi

    06/11/2025

    Beyond Growth: Transforming Capitalism to Planetary Stability with Physicist-Economist Erald Kolasi

    Moral Footprint Host Jeni Miles sits down with Erald Kolasi, a physicist and economist whose groundbreaking book The Physics of Capitalism challenges us to see our ecological crisis through the lens of thermodynamics. Erald makes a compelling case that our economic system isn't just fundamentally broken, it's at odds with the physical laws that govern life on Earth, creating what he calls a "supercharged entropy machine" that's destabilising the biosphere.From dissecting carbon capture's flaws to exploring metabolic rift, Erald explains why tech solutions can't prevent ecological collapse and outlines his "valerism" framework's four pillars of stabilisation, socialisation, modularisation, and localisation. LINKS Erald Kolasi – The Physics of Capitalism: How a New Political Ecology Can Change the Worldhttps://uk.bookshop.org/a/15447/9781685900908Monthly Review – Socialist magazine where Erald has published articles https://monthlyreview.org/ Key Concepts Discussed: Thermodynamics and entropy in economic systemsMetabolic rift theory (originally from Marx, developed by John Bellamy Foster)Climate reductionism and techno-solutionismThe cosmopole, a proposed global governance system for ecological managementEnergy caps and biophysical economicsCritique of carbon capture technology Connect with Erald Kolasi on Substack at https://technodynamics.substack.com/ Follow host Jeni Miles on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenifisher/ or subscribe to the Moral Footprint Substack https://moralfootprint.substack.com/

    58 min
  8. Coloniality vs Connection: Transforming Business Through Relational Intelligence with Ryan (Ra) James

    05/15/2025

    Coloniality vs Connection: Transforming Business Through Relational Intelligence with Ryan (Ra) James

    Transformative leader and educator Ryan (Ra) James joins host Jeni Miles to discuss how we can move from a transactional world to one based on relationship and genuine connection. Ryan explains why most sustainability efforts are merely iterations rather than true innovations, challenges our war-based business language, and offers a powerful alternative: relational intelligence. Discover why he believes gratitude must go beyond concept to action and why our external climate crisis mirrors our internal disconnection. From his transition from finance graduate to global wisdom seeker, Ryan provides practical ways to reconnect with what sustains us. Whether you're a business leader, sustainability professional, or simply seeking a more meaningful relationship with our planet, this conversation will transform how you think about innovation, progress, and your place in the web of life. People and Resources Mentioned Vandana ShivaKumu RamseyAbraham MaslowThe Siksika people/Blackfoot NationCarl JungMartin PrechtelThe Dalai LamaRights of Nature movement Learn more about Ryan via his website, Instagram, LinkedIn or his business-as-usual un/school ⁠⁠(Re)Biz⁠⁠. Follow host Jeni Miles on Linkedin or subscribe to the Moral Footprint Substack.

    52 min
See All (13)

Trailer

About

Jeni Miles explores how we can realign life and work within ethical & ecological boundaries. MORAL FOOTPRINT covers climate action, post-growth economics, modern motherhood & systems change, mapping our our relationship with power, privilege and Earth's limits. Blending behavioural science & business, Jeni tackles key questions: How do we move beyond growth? How can we unlearn overconsumption and transform extractive systems? Learn more at JeniMiles.com

Information

  • Creator
    Jeni Miles
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    13
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Jeni Miles
  • Show Website
    Moral Footprint