Toward regenerative capitalism? The remaking of corporate sustainability in times of crises

Amid intensifying ecological and social crises, global business elites increasingly advocate a shift toward ‘regenerative capitalism’, proposing businesses as agents of transformative, net positive change. This review article critically evaluates this emerging discourse through an analysis of six influential business books from the early 2020s. Drawing insights from critical international political economy and critical management studies, it highlights fundamental limitations and contradictions. First, the regeneration agenda is revealed primarily as a discursive shift: despite new activist terminology and urgency, it remains firmly embedded within existing frameworks of corporate sustainability and green capitalism. Second, regeneration discourse strategically reinforces corporate power in global sustainability governance, portraying transnational corporations as central, heroic actors in addressing planetary challenges. Third, its emphasis on distant goals, vague commitments and acceptance of tradeoffs creates loopholes enabling companies to maintain environmentally damaging and exploitative practices. Fourth, beneath the narrative of systemic transformation, regeneration discourse remains fundamentally committed to corporate growth and profitability, obscuring long-standing contradictions. Collectively, these critiques – alongside mounting evidence of corporations scaling back their more ambitious sustainability commitments – cast significant doubt on the regeneration agenda’s transformative potential.