Summary
In November 2023, the UK company House of Hackney (a luxury home goods brand) legally appointed Mother Nature and Future Generations to their board of directors. The company states that Mother Nature and Future Generations have been given legal personhood on the company’s board, in the form of a new Nature Director, a non-partisan individual from outside the company whose sole role is to represent the two entities in Board discussions and “ensure that we fully consider the future of a liveable, thriving planet for all life on earth.” The move is inspired by the actions of Faith in Nature in 2022, who were the first in the world to do so. Notably, House of Hackney wanted to explore adding representation of the ‘Voice of Future Generations’ to the role. In the company’s statement, they expound that “We have forgotten how to live in kinship with the natural world; we are part of a sacred web of life with all living organisms including plants, animals, rivers, mountains, oceans and their co-created living systems which have equal and inherent rights to exist and thrive.”
The company worked with Lawyers for Nature (NGO) to guide this move and help make significant changes to their corporate structure. Brontie Ansell, co-founder of Lawyers for Nature, has been officially appointed to represent both Mother Nature and Future Generations on their Board.