6 books to read on Symbiotic Economy

If you have read the Foundation’s AGILE White Paper, you will likely wish to deepen your technical knowledge of the bio-inspired approach to impact projects and to an economy in harmony with nature.

Reading these books is essential for anyone seeking to understand the emerging paradigm of a symbiotic economy. Bio-inspired models are gaining traction worldwide, drawing on principles from natural ecosystems—such as diversity, interdependence, and regeneration—to rethink organizational structures and economic evaluation processes. These frameworks emphasize circularity, resilience, and relational accountability, offering practical alternatives to extractive growth models. They also resonate deeply with Indigenous knowledge systems and regenerative finance movements or circular industries, both of which seek to restore harmony between human societies and the living world. Together, these works provide a roadmap for designing economies and organizations that thrive in balance with nature, rather than at its expense.

The Ideas of the Living – Thomas Egli (2001)

The book "Les Idées du Vivant" explores how living systems can inspire organizational and managerial design — it is the core of organizational biomimicry applied to business and the economy. It lays the foundations and perspective of the symbiotic economy by concretely showing how to draw inspiration from living systems in the functioning of human and economic organizations.

Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future – Bill McKibben (2007)

Advocates for localized, community-centered economies that focus on quality and well-being rather than expansion. McKibben’s concept of a deep economy—a system built around durable and satisfying local practices—resonates with the regenerative and relational aspects of the symbiotic economy.

Prosperity Without Growth – Tim Jackson (2009, 2nd ed. 2017)

Challenges the traditional growth-centered economic paradigm and proposes a redefined concept of prosperity—one beyond mere material expansion. Jackson highlights the need for systems that prioritize ecological and social well-being, aligning with symbiotic economic principles.

Industrial Symbiosis for the Circular Economy – Roberta Salomone et al. (2020)

Provides practical frameworks for how industries can form synergistic relationships—industrial symbiosis—to collaborate, share resources, and reuse waste, thereby operationalizing a core aspect of the symbiotic economy within circular economy practices.

Symbiotic Economy: Regeneration of the Economy, Planet, and Society – John Miller (2023)

Lays the foundation explicitly for the symbiotic economy, describing it as an interdependence among technological advancement, natural ecosystem power, and human knowledge. Miller illustrates how this triad can enable regenerative economic models that drastically reduce resource depletion (up to a 90% reduction in some cases) by rethinking material use and community design.

Symbiotic economy – Isabelle Delannoy (2024)

Delannoy’s latest work articulates the emerging paradigms of the symbiotic economy" It spans living systems (e.g., agroecology and permaculture), social systems (shared governance), and industrial systems emphasizing access over ownership.

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