Circular business models can improve resource use in a financially and environmentally feasible way. However, companies struggle to choose among the vast variety of ways to…
Abstract
Purpose
Circular business models can improve resource use in a financially and environmentally feasible way. However, companies struggle to choose among the vast variety of ways to achieve circularity within a business model. The purpose of this paper is to offer a pragmatic guide for making strategic decisions on circular business models.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper develops a conceptual model of six different strategic approaches to circular business models and provides examples to business cases and practice to illustrate these.
Findings
This study identifies two critical strategy choices companies should make. First, an innovation strategy addresses the extent to which circularity is achieved with internal or external stakeholders. Second, a resource strategy addresses how companies achieve circularity by narrowing, slowing or closing resource loops. Using examples from business practice, this study illustrates how the combinations of these two strategies can be used to design competitive circular business models. Key managerial questions are also identified to help decide upon a feasible strategy for circular business model innovation.
Originality/value
While different types of circular business models have been described, it is less clear what the strategic choices are that companies need to make to find feasible business cases for circularity in terms of value proposition, value creation and delivery and value capture. This study outlines these through a “circular business model strategy framework”.
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Nancy Bocken and Jan Konietzko
To meet their ambitious targets for a circular economy, multinationals need to speed up their innovation efforts. This requires experimentation capability. But it is not clear…
Abstract
Purpose
To meet their ambitious targets for a circular economy, multinationals need to speed up their innovation efforts. This requires experimentation capability. But it is not clear what this capability entails, and how companies can build it. The purpose of this paper is to give companies guidance on how they might develop experimentation capability for the circular economy.
Design/methodology/approach
We conduct in-depth interviews with innovators in frontrunner multinationals, H&M, IKEA and Philips. We use the Gioia method to analyse our data.
Findings
This article identifies novel institutional, strategic, and operational actions that build experimentation capability for a circular economy.
Practical implications
The identified actions help innovation managers experiment and speed up their innovation efforts for a circular economy.
Social implications
To reverse environmental degradation, multinationals need to transform their dominant linear take-make-waste business models. This research provides actions that help them organize this transformation.
Originality/value
This article is based on extensive research with leading multinationals and reveals novel insights on how to innovate for a circular economy.
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To mitigate negative human-induced impact on the planet, consumption patterns need to be changed urgently. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how companies can drive…
Abstract
Purpose
To mitigate negative human-induced impact on the planet, consumption patterns need to be changed urgently. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how companies can drive sustainable consumption patterns.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper discusses six illustrative cases of sustainable consumption initiatives by companies: their strategies, initiatives and impacts.
Findings
A “business-led sustainable consumption strategies framework” was developed to analyse the cases. It was found that companies apply individual, social and wider contextual influencing tactics to encourage sustainable consumption. The case initiatives emerged without regulatory pushes. It was found that collaborative initiatives could be impactful, because multiple stakeholder influence helps normalise new behaviour. Regulation helps to level the playing field in an industry and potentially force absolute consumption reductions.
Practical implications
This work provides insight into the potential of business-led sustainable consumption initiatives and the strategies to be used. Companies are making important steps to encourage sustainable consumption, but initiatives have not yet achieved the scale to significantly transform consumption patterns. Further business experimentation with social marketing type of techniques is recommended. Future work is required to map out the most suitable strategies to encourage sustainable consumption by industry.
Originality/value
This paper has given new insight in the potential future role of companies in sustainable consumption. Businesses are positioned as the initiators of sustainable consumption patterns: their expertise can be used to stimulate and adopt sustainable consumption patterns with customers. This work sheds light on how businesses can use social marketing-type techniques and business model innovation to drive sustainable consumption. Finally, it contributes to the understanding of the scale and effectiveness of business-led sustainable consumption initiatives.
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Nancy Bocken, Samuel Short, Padmakshi Rana and Steve Evans
Although business models that deliver sustainability are increasingly popular in the literature, few tools that assist in sustainable business modelling have been identified. This…
Abstract
Purpose
Although business models that deliver sustainability are increasingly popular in the literature, few tools that assist in sustainable business modelling have been identified. This paper investigates how businesses might create balanced social, environmental and economic value through integrating sustainability more fully into the core of their business. A value mapping tool is developed to help firms create value propositions better suited for sustainability.
Design/methodology/approach
In addition to a literature review, six sustainable companies were interviewed to understand their approaches to business modelling, using a case study approach. Building on the literature and practice, a tool was developed which was pilot tested through use in a workshop. The resulting improved tool and process was subsequently refined through use in 13 workshops.
Findings
A novel value mapping tool was developed to support sustainable business modelling, which introduces three forms of value (value captured, missed/destroyed or wasted, and opportunity) and four major stakeholder groups (environment, society, customer, and network actors).
Practical implications
This tool intends to support business modelling for sustainability by assisting firms in better understanding their overall value proposition, both positive and negative, for all relevant stakeholders in the value network.
Originality/value
The tool adopts a multiple stakeholder view of value, a network rather than firm centric perspective, and introduces a novel way of conceptualising value that specifically introduces value destroyed or wasted/ missed, in addition to the current value proposition and new opportunities for value creation.
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Nancy Bocken, David Morgan and Steve Evans
Sustainability is an area of increasing interest for industry and its stakeholders, and some companies now aspire to address sustainability issues (e.g. carbon emissions) at…
Abstract
Purpose
Sustainability is an area of increasing interest for industry and its stakeholders, and some companies now aspire to address sustainability issues (e.g. carbon emissions) at strategic and operational levels. As companies are exploring the issues, they attempt to embed sustainability in their planning and management systems. It is at this point that the domains of environmental concern and performance management meet. The research questions explored in this paper are: what is the size of environmental performance variation? What are the challenges for sustainability performance management in practice?
Design/methodology/approach
First, interviews in manufacturing companies were conducted to understand the size of environmental performance variation. Subsequently, a survey, interviews and a workshop were conducted with ten organisations to gain insight in environmental performance management in companies.
Findings
It was observed that, across three sectors, environmental performance between manufacturing plants differed up to 500 per cent between worst and best performing factories which make similar products using similar technology, all in well-run companies which have environmental management programmes in place. This means that learning within the company between different sites is important but can be difficult. Some initial success stories observed include a quid-pro-quo approach between factory sites (teach-learn-do-teach) and dedicated individuals (champions) in factories who strive to make year-on-year efficiency improvements.
Originality/value
The paper gives insights in the size of environmental performance variation, self-reported by internal company specialists in sustainable manufacturing, and sustainability performance management in practice.
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Assunta Di Vaio, Anum Zaffar and Meghna Chhabra
Although intellectual capital (IC) and human dynamic capabilities (HDCs) play a significant role in decarbonization processes, their measurement and reporting is under-researched…
Abstract
Purpose
Although intellectual capital (IC) and human dynamic capabilities (HDCs) play a significant role in decarbonization processes, their measurement and reporting is under-researched. Hence, this study aims to identify the link between HDCs, carbon accounting and integrated reporting (IR) in the transition processes, investigating IC and HDCs in decarbonization processes to achieve net-zero business models (n-ZBMs).
Design/methodology/approach
A systematic literature review with a concise bibliometric analysis is conducted on 229 articles, published from 1990 to 2023 in Scopus database and Google Scholar. Reviewing data on publications, journals, authors and citations and analysing the article content, this study identifies the main search trends, providing a new conceptual model and future research propositions.
Findings
The results reveal that the literature has rarely focussed on carbon accounting in terms of IC and HDCs. Additionally, firms face pressure from institutions and stakeholders regarding legitimacy and transparency, necessitating a response considering IR and requiring n-ZBMs to be developed through IC and HDCs to meet social and environmental requirements.
Originality/value
Not only does this study link IC with HDCs to address carbon emissions through decarbonization practices, which has never been addressed in the literature to date, but also provides novel recommendations and propositions through which firms can sustainably transition to being net-zero emission firms, thereby gaining competitive advantage and contributing to the nation’s sustainability goals.
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João Francisco Pinto Anaruma, Jorge Henrique Caldeira de Oliveira, Francisco Anaruma Filho, Wesley Ricardo de Souza Freitas and Adriano Alves Teixeira
The purpose of this paper is to analyze and map the main areas of the Circular Economy literature of the first two decades of 21st century, offering a broad vision about the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze and map the main areas of the Circular Economy literature of the first two decades of 21st century, offering a broad vision about the growth of the theme during these years.
Design/methodology/approach
The research was divided into two stages: the first was a systematic review of literature and the second consisted on generation and analysis of bibliographic maps.
Findings
The publication indicates the prominence of China and European Union countries in the production of articles about Circular Economy. Furthermore, the topic is restricted to academic area, and that research on Circular Economy is still very focused on theory studies, even with exponential growth in the number of published articles about the theme since 2015. Finally, it also provides a collection of information as the principal authors, the most cited publications, citations, co-citations and countries that have most published beyond which are the most discussed topics.
Research limitations/implications
A possible limitation of the research is that it was performed only in the Scopus database. It may be suggested as future searches that other databases are included as well, and another suggestion is to reduce the time period between research samples due to the exponential increase in the number of publications and topics discussed lately.
Practical implications
The results of this paper can guide future researches about the development of Circular Economy during the next decades or years and serve as a facilitator for researchers and for managers that want to know more about the topic.
Originality/value
A mapping of the principal players and main discussions about Circular Economy made in the first two decades of the 21st century and an analysis about the growth and changes about the theme.
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Xiaojing Zhao and Wei Pan
The wide uptake of green building is hindered by factors such as limited market demand and high up-front cost despite substantial policy incentives. Successful business models…
Abstract
Purpose
The wide uptake of green building is hindered by factors such as limited market demand and high up-front cost despite substantial policy incentives. Successful business models (BMs) help facilitate the diffusion of sustainable innovation and have attracted increasing attention. However, little attention has been paid to examining the adoption of green building from the perspective of BM. This paper aims to identify the characteristics of BM that companies adopted to deliver green building projects and examine the evolution path of BM for green buildings.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 744 interdisciplinary bibliographic records related to BM and green buildings from the Web of Science Core Collection database have been identified from the Web of Science Core Collection and analyzed through co-author analysis, co-word analysis and co-citation analysis.
Findings
BM research mainly focuses on five subjects, namely, environmental science, engineering, business, economics, science and technology. Keywords “strategy”, “capability”, “perspective” and “design” receive the highest centrality index, which suggests that the strategy design and corporate capability are indispensable elements when designing or innovating a company's BM. “BM canvas” and “resource based view” received the burst citations in the recent decade. Twelve research clusters are identified, including performance evaluation, waste management, energy efficiency, BM, project business, professional capital, leadership and product innovation. These topics highlight three evolution direction for green building projects, i.e. life cycle-oriented value proposition, collaborative value delivery and innovative cost and revenue structure.
Originality/value
The findings contribute to a systematic understanding of the underlying mechanisms of BM for green buildings and illuminate the development trend of business strategies for sustainability.
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This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.
Design/methodology/approach
This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.
Findings
Pressure for firms to become more sustainable has increased the importance of their business models. Shifting from linear to appropriate circular models can enable companies to meet sustainability requirements, while improving performance and profits too.
Originality/value
The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.
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Ajaz Akbar Mir and Aijaz Ahmad Bhat
The purpose of this article is to study green banking practices, its methods of adoption and importance of practicing green banking. This study also includes the role and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to study green banking practices, its methods of adoption and importance of practicing green banking. This study also includes the role and contribution of banks in environmental sustainability and UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Design/methodology/approach
The current research paper is conceptual in nature, based on a thorough literature review, websites of financial institutions and literature evaluations among other sources. This study has been supplemented by a variety of research journal articles. The websites of many banks including SBI (State Bank of India) and MayBank (Malaysia) were used and reviewed to know about various green banking practices both nationally and internationally and their contribution toward sustainability.
Findings
The devastating effects of recent flooding, droughts and extreme temperatures that several people all over the world have experienced compelled everyone to begin thinking about global warming and its consequences, and to do everything that can be done to address this problem. Governments, businesses and individuals all play a part in preventing global warming and creating a more sustainable world. People have to deal with financial institutions, particularly banks, which play a vital role in this environment by assisting in the development of a robust and successful low-carbon economics. They should make more use of environmental data when extending credit and making investment decisions. The project will assist them in proactively improving their environmental performance while also adding long-term value to their company. Businesses having a bigger carbon output may be viewed as riskier in the future, and banks may shy away from funding such businesses in favor of innovative technology solutions that absorb or reduce carbon emissions. As a result, green banking is the order of the day, a source for sustainable development and it will undoubtedly benefit banks, industries as well as the environment at large.
Research limitations/implications
The theoretical implications can be summed in the following points: (1) there is no universally accepted framework for green or sustainable banking so far. However, green banking practices are at different stages of development across countries. As per the case of India, green banking practices are at a development phase in India, and green processes have a significant impact on sustainable development. (2) The study is one of the first of its kind in the academic literature as it links green banking practices with sustainability besides discussing green banking practices of the top public sector Bank of India and top commercial bank of Malaysia. Despite the significant contributions made by this study, many disadvantages should be addressed for future research. The present work was chosen for comfort, it was restricted to green banking practices of two banks only, which limits conclusion and interpretation of outcome to some extent Future research can be conducted by a comparative study with the top green banks or with the cleanest country of the world or green banking practices by those banks toward sustainability in that country can also be a good area for research
Practical implications
Managerial implication: The study is extremely helpful to the banking industry in determining the scope of green banking initiatives in sustainable development. This study is a prime study in India to interrelate banking industry towards sustainability and two UN SDGs besides green banking practices of banks. This paper has noted the areas where the banks can make progress for the greener, sustainable economics. It has also aided the banking industry in identifying areas for development so that it may focus on improving social satisfaction and satisfaction of stakeholders across its operating areas. The study is also very helpful for banks to comprehend how vital these green initiatives, especially green processes, are to improve sustainability.
Social implications
The study will serve as a gauge for banking actions toward greener nations and a greener world since these are the efforts toward Carbon Free World, Efforts for controlling global warming, efforts for the greener planet in general which undoubtedly is a significant long-term service to society a reason for better climate and better tomorrow.
Originality/value
This paper identifies the need for green banking in sustainability. This article also summarizes the notion of green banking besides outlining some methods and analyzing green banking initiative by SBI (State bank of India) of India, MayBank of Malaysia & UNSDG .