Doughnut Design for Business™
A facilitated workshop that helps leadership teams explore what operating within multiple ecological limits means for strategy, decision-making, and long-term organisational direction.
A growing number of organisations are beginning to look beyond climate alone as they consider what a broader set of ecological limits could mean for their future.
"Over 90% of business professionals believe businesses should follow Doughnut Economics principles"
— London School of Economics, The Hidden Business Majority (2025).
"Only 36% of people globally believe their children will have a better future than they did."
— Edelman Trust Barometer (2025)
EcoProsper helps organisations build shared understanding of these emerging challenges and explore what they could mean for organisational strategy, decision-making, and long-term direction.
Why this matters now
As scientific understanding has evolved, climate change is increasingly recognised as one of several interconnected ecological limits reshaping the conditions under which organisations operate. Others include biodiversity loss, land use change, freshwater systems, ocean acidification, and the finite capacity of the Earth's natural systems to provide resources and absorb waste.
Together, these ecological limits—and the social challenges that increasingly accompany them—have growing implications for long-term organisational viability, resilience, governance, and strategic direction.
For many leadership teams, this raises a new question:
"What does operating within multiple ecological limits mean for how we run our organisation in the future?"
Doughnut Design for Business was developed by the Doughnut Economics Action Lab (DEAL) to help organisations explore that question through a practical, facilitated process.
What is Doughnut Design for Business?
“The Doughnut of social and planetary boundaries is a playfully serious approach to framing the challenge of meeting everyone’s basic needs without exceeding the Earth’s ecological limits, and it acts as a compass for human progress this century.”
- Kate Raworth, economist and author of the internationally best-selling book Doughnut Economics.
Doughnut Design for Business (DDfB) is the official organisational workshop developed by Kate Raworth's Doughnut Economics Action Lab (DEAL).
The workshop uses DEAL's authorised methodology to translate the Doughnut Economics framework into a practical, facilitated process for organisations. The Doughnut combines social foundations—the conditions needed for people and communities to thrive—with ecological limits—the environmental boundaries within which human activity must operate.
Together, participants explore one central question:
How do we design our organisation to operate within multiple ecological limits while supporting human wellbeing?
The workshop is practical, collaborative, context-specific, and non-prescriptive, helping organisations explore what operating within the Doughnut could mean for their own strategy, governance, and long-term direction.
How the workshop works
What your team will explore
Through facilitated discussion and practical activities, participants apply the Doughnut Economics framework directly to their own organisation and context.
Together, they explore:
- what multiple ecological limits could mean for their organisation
- which long-held assumptions may no longer hold
- how regenerative and distributive approaches could apply in practice
- which organisational design features may need to evolve
- how existing sustainability initiatives connect to broader strategic questions
- emerging implications, opportunities, tensions, and priorities for further exploration
What your team will walk away with
Shared understanding
- Understand Doughnut Economics and why organisations need to think beyond climate alone
- Build shared understanding of how ecological limits may shape future decisions
- Gain new perspectives on ecological economics, post-growth, and long-term organisational viability
Strategic insights
- Identify organisational design features that may need to evolve
- Challenge long-held assumptions about organisational success and operating conditions
- Surface organisation-specific strategic questions, opportunities, and priorities
What Doughnut Design for Business looks like in practice
How Doughnut design for business can support broader organisational work
What participants are saying
Your accredited practitioner
Doughnut Design for Business workshops are delivered by Tom Foster, founder of EcoProsper Consulting and an accredited Doughnut Design for Business practitioner.
Tom's background spans engineering, business, government, economic development, and the economics of sustainability. His work focuses on helping organisations explore what multiple ecological limits could mean for organisational strategy, governance, resilience, and long-term direction.
Through postgraduate study in the Economics of Sustainability and accredited training with the Doughnut Economics Action Lab (DEAL), Tom helps leadership teams translate complex ecological and economic ideas into practical organisational discussion and decision-making.
Based in Sydney, Tom delivers workshops across Australia for organisations seeking to build shared understanding and explore the strategic implications of operating within ecological limits.
Who is this for?
Doughnut Design for Business is designed for organisations seeking practical ways to connect ecological limits to organisational strategy, governance, decision-making, and long-term direction.
The workshop is particularly relevant for organisations that:
- are exploring or already engaged in sustainability, ESG, climate reporting, or certification
- want to move beyond climate-only approaches
- are curious about Doughnut Economics, planetary boundaries, or post-growth
- are seeking stronger shared understanding across leadership teams
- are exploring how ecological limits may influence future strategy, governance, resilience, and decision-making
When is it most useful?
DDfB can be particularly valuable:
- after climate literacy work such as Climate Fresk
- during strategy reviews or leadership offsites
- during organisational change or transition
- when leadership teams need structured discussion about long-term direction and major strategic decisions
Typical participants
Suitable for:
- boards and executive leadership teams
- strategy, governance, futures, and organisational development teams
- sustainability and ESG teams
- social impact organisations, B Corps, mutuals, and cooperatives
- member-based organisations and advocacy networks
- cross-functional leadership groups
Workshop format
WORKSHOP OPTIONS
1. Comprehensive DDfB workshop
- 5–6 hours
- 8–25 participants
- In-person facilitation
- Complete facilitated journey through the authorised DDfB methodology
2. Condensed DDfB workshop
- 2.5 hours
- 8–25 participants
- In-person facilitation
- Selected activities from the authorised DDfB methodology in a shorter-format workshop
- Adaptable for conferences, leadership events, and other time-constrained settings
3. Briefing / Presentation
- 45–60 minutes
- In-person or online
- Overview and facilitated discussion
- Suitable for conferences, leadership briefings, webinars, and introductory sessions
DELIVERY
- Delivered at your organisation or another chosen venue
- Available across Australia
- Sydney-based facilitator
FLEXIBLE ENGAGEMENT OPTIONS
- Workshops for a single team or cross-functional groups drawn from across your organisation
- Multi-workshop rollouts across teams, departments, or locations
- Small and micro-sized organisations can combine participants to host a shared workshop
- Workshops delivered in partnership with organisations for their members, client communities, or conference audiences
Frequently asked questions
The workshop is particularly relevant for organisations exploring how broader ecological constraints may increasingly affect organisational strategy, governance, resilience, decision-making, and long-term direction.
Doughnut Design for Business helps leadership teams work through questions such as:
“What does operating in an environment shaped by multiple ecological limits mean for how we run our organisation in the future?”
For organisations already undertaking these activities, the workshop can help leadership teams connect them to broader questions about organisational direction, resilience, governance, and long-term viability within an operating environment shaped by multiple ecological limits.
For organisations still exploring sustainability or certification initiatives, Doughnut Design for Business can also help build shared understanding around why these issues are becoming increasingly relevant for organisations and future decision-making.
Rather than focusing primarily on measurement, reporting, or compliance, Doughnut Design for Business helps organisations explore the broader strategic context shaping why these initiatives increasingly matter.
For some organisations, this may lead into deeper strategic exploration, implementation planning, or targeted Strategic Advisory support over time.
Participants work collaboratively in smaller groups throughout the workshop, usually in groups of approximately 4–5 people.
This approach is well suited to capability-building, onboarding, sustainability initiatives, and broader organisational engagement.