The Opportunities and Challenges of Nature owning shares of Companies

A new publication by GAIL APAC Member Steven Moe (previously GAIL APAC Chair and on the GAIL Global Board)

We’re excited to share an upcoming paper that invites a radical shift in how we think about business and the natural world. It poses a powerful question: What if nature was a shareholder in our companies? This paper challenges conventional corporate thinking and opens up new possibilities for how we structure and govern organisations. Like an apple that holds within it the potential for a thousand more through its seeds, this idea asks us to look beyond the surface and reimagine what companies could be if we included nature as a stakeholder with a genuine voice. Rooted in Te Ao Māori perspectives and written with care, this thought-provoking piece is a call to rethink the very foundations of the systems we’ve created.

The publication features beautiful design by Bridget Holland, illustrations by Lily Duval, and insights shaped by conversations with many, including Jan Hania. It’s a paper that will resonate with anyone working in impact, law, or systems change, or anyone simply curious about new ways forward.

A note from Steven Moe:

“In this paper we challenge paradigms of thinking by considering the implication of nature being a shareholder of companies.  How might that work? What might it mean? 

We each bring an understanding of the role of companies based on our upbringing, education and culture. It is important to realise that companies themselves are fictions – we made them up. So it is always a good idea to challenge our thinking about them. 

I welcome your thoughts and comments and if this is helpful in any way, please consider sharing it with others or posting your agreement or disagreement with it online so that we can generate more discussions on this important topic. And check out Seeds Podcast now with 450+ conversations where interesting topics like this come up all the time.”

Ngā mihi,

Steven Moe
Partner at Parry Field Lawyers

Read an article about the publication from the author below, and access free download now: