Design thinking to enhance the sustainable business modelling process – A workshop based on a value mapping process

Sustainable business model innovation is an emerging topic, but only few tools are currently available to assist companies in sustainable business modelling. This paper works towards closing this gap by bringing together ‘design thinking’ and ‘sustainable business model innovation’ to refine the creative process of developing sustainable value propositions and improve the overall business modelling process. This paper proposes a new workshop framework based on a value mapping process, which was developed by literature synthesis, expert interviews, and multiple workshops. The framework was transferred into a workshop routine and subsequently tested with companies and students. The resulting ‘Value Ideation’ process comprises value ideation, value opportunity selection, and value proposition prototyping. The integration of design thinking into the innovation process helps to create additional forms of value and include formerly underserved stakeholders in the value proposition. Thus, the Value Ideation process helps companies to improve their performance while becoming more sustainable. Workshop evaluations revealed that the Value Ideation process assists companies in enhancing their value proposition by including positive economic, societal, and environmental value and a wider range of stakeholder interests. The ‘design thinking’ elements stimulate the ideation process and help to harmonise often conflicting stakeholder interests.This project was supported by ResCoM, which is co-funded by the European Union under the EU Seventh Framework Programme (FP7), Grant agreement number: 603843.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Elsevier via http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.07.02

Business models and supply chains for the circular economy

The Circular Economy is increasingly seen as a possible solution to address sustainable development. An economic system that minimises resource input into and waste, emission, and energy leakage out of the system is hoped to mitigate negative impacts without jeopardising growth and prosperity. This paper discusses the sustainability performance of the circular business models (CBM) and circular supply chains necessary to implement the concept on an organisational level and proposes a framework to integrate circular business models and circular supply chain management towards sustainable development. It was developed based on literature analysis and four case studies. The proposed framework shows how different circular business models are driving circular supply chain in different loops: closing loops, slowing loops, intensifying loops, narrowing loops, and dematerialising loops. The identified circular business models vary in complexity of the circular supply chain and in the value proposition. Our research indicates circular business and circular supply chain help in realising sustainability ambitions.This work was supported by the EPSRC Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Industrial Sustainability [grant number EP/I033351/1

Treatment of port wastes according to the paradigm of the circular economy

The problem of the presence of waste in the marine environment has recently taken on the dimensions of a complex and global challenge. In an effort to reduce both the economic and environmental costs of managing port waste, many ports are looking for sustainable solutions for marine waste management. Plasma-assisted gasification (PAG) is an innovative combination of two technologies, namely plasma treatment and gasification, which can be used to efficiently convert carbon-containing wastes to a clean syngas (H2 + CO). The latter can be used to generate electricity directly in gas engines, dual-fuel generators, gas turbines or fuel cells. PAG provides several key benefits which allow removing all the environmental, regulatory and commercial risks typically associated with the potential eco-toxicity of leachable bottom ash produced by incinerators or other thermal processes. PAG does not produce any waste (zero waste), reduces the need for landfilling of waste, and produces a high-value construction material (Plasmarok) which is recognized as a product. All these reasons make PAG a technology capable of optimally solving waste management in ports in line with a circular economy logic. This study is based upon the IMPATTI-NO Project (Interreg IT-FR Maritime Program 2014–2020) which implements several laboratory applications aimed at the chemical-physical treatment of the non-recyclable waste containing plastics deriving from the collection of beached waste and wastes collected by fishermen’s trawls and passenger ships. To demonstrate the effectiveness of PAG for the treatment of port waste, IMPATTI-NO performs experimental tests that simulate PAG pilot plants using artificial samples representative of port waste. This paper describes the research path developed so far and the preparatory elements that led to the definition of specifications for the sampling and collection of port waste

Product, service, and business model innovation: A discussion

Business model innovation is increasingly recognised to be a central part of strategic management that generates the decisive competitive advantages for a growing number of organisations. This is particularly relevant in the areas of corporate sustainability strategy and sustainable entrepreneurship, since technological innovations in isolation yield increasingly incremental economic, social and environmental performance improvements. Despite the surge of research into business model innovation, there is still conceptual ambiguity among academics and practitioners about business model innovation. This lack of clarity not only poses issues for understanding what makes companies successful, but also for understanding how business model innovation relates to product and service development processes. To address these issues, we suggest a discussion that links sustainable business model innovation to the more established fields of product and service innovation. To start this conversation, we conducted a comprehensive literature review using structured keyword database searches and cross-reference snowballing. Based on the literature findings, we conducted two focus groups with industry representatives, resulting in the proposition of a first set of potential differentiation dimensions. The intended contribution is increased conceptual clarity for academic researchers and industrial decision makers. By improving our understanding of how business model innovation relates to product and service innovations, we can increase the effectiveness and efficiency of sustainable business model innovation research and implementation

Product Design Education for Circular Economy

Design has continually developed new approaches to find the most appropriate solutions to the growing environmental and social problems. At the same time higher education courses have tried to adapt their curricula accordingly. The most recently proposed model is circular economy. It reinforces the idea of a paradigm shift to a system of closed loops where there is no waste. This article develops a state of the art on the integration of sustainability in product design in higher education and its evolution to embrace circular economy. This analysis includes identifying past experiences, which contents are addressed, what methodologies are used, what type of approach (focused or dispersed) and what are the needs for teaching staff. This paper tries to identify gaps in order to purpose better solution for circular economy integration.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

New Economy, Food, and Agriculture

Consumers are becoming increasingly more informed about food systems and are interested not only in healthy, safe, and tasty food but also sustainable production, animal welfare, climate changes, and food waste. Consumers are also more focused on changing their lifestyle related to improved health knowledge and nutrition education (Timmer 2005). Maxwell and Slater (2004) have proposed criteria to evaluate food systems, including nutrition and health, rights and influence, security, sustainability, equality, and social inclusion. The authors also point out that the primary international institutions in the food value chain are not only the Food and Agriculture Organization and World Health Organization but also United Nations Industrial Development Organization, International Labour Organization, and World Trade Organization. The emerging trends in the food system are features of the {\dq}new economy.{\dq} This term describes the outcome of the transition from production- and manufacturing-based economy to a service-based or post-industrial economy at the end of the twentieth century. The traditional production factors such as cheap labor, land, and raw materials lose their importance in generating profits and competitiveness. The key is understanding of food consumer demand, knowledge of food industry and agriculture employees based on creativity, and flexibility of processes of production

New Economy, Food, and Agriculture

Consumers are becoming increasingly more informed about food systems and are interested not only in healthy, safe, and tasty food but also sustainable production, animal welfare, climate changes, and food waste. Consumers are also more focused on changing their lifestyle related to improved health knowledge and nutrition education (Timmer 2005). Maxwell and Slater (2004) have proposed criteria to evaluate food systems, including nutrition and health, rights and influence, security, sustainability, equality, and social inclusion. The authors also point out that the primary international institutions in the food value chain are not only the Food and Agriculture Organization and World Health Organization but also United Nations Industrial Development Organization, International Labour Organization, and World Trade Organization. The emerging trends in the food system are features of the {\dq}new economy.{\dq} This term describes the outcome of the transition from production- and manufacturing-based economy to a service-based or post-industrial economy at the end of the twentieth century. The traditional production factors such as cheap labor, land, and raw materials lose their importance in generating profits and competitiveness. The key is understanding of food consumer demand, knowledge of food industry and agriculture employees based on creativity, and flexibility of processes of production

Innovation and the circular economy: A systematic literature review

The circular economy emerged as an alternative model to the linear system, which now appears to be reaching its physical limitations. To transition to a circular economy, companies must not only be aware of but also engage in more sustainable practices. For such a transition, companies must rethink and innovate their business models and the ways they propose value to their clients while simultaneously considering environmental and social facets. This systematic literature review sought to map out from the company perspective the key topics interrelated with innovation and the circular economy, describing the internal and external factors to consider in such transition processes. Key lines of research were identified, and suggestions for future research and for facilitating movement toward a circular economy are provided. This work contributes to deepening the literature by identifying the priority areas concerning the circular economy and encouraging future research that meets international standards of excellence.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Manufacturing data for the implementation of data-driven remanufacturing for the rechargeable energy storage system in electric vehicles

Manufacturing industries are experiencing a data-driven paradigm shift that is changing how technical operations are run and changing present business models. Leveraging on manufacturing data from industries and digital intelligence platforms have become important in creating new forms of value. While extending the life of a product through the circular economy 3 R’s of reuse, re-manufacturing and recycling remains a technical and resource challenge for practitioners, optimizing the increasing forms and volumes of data presents a complementary and necessary challenge to the circular economy. This research aims to explore how the manufacturing data can inform remanufacturing parameters for implementing remanufacturing on the Rechargeable Energy Storage System

Relating industrial symbiosis and circular economy to the sustainable development debate

Industrial Symbiosis (IS) is a business-focused collaborative approach oriented towards resource efficiency that has been theorised and studied mainly over the last twenty-five years. Recently, IS seems to have found a renewed impetus in the framework of the Circular Economy (CE), a novel approach to sustainability and Sustainable Development (SD) that has been rapidly gaining momentum world-wide. This opening chapter of the book provides an introduction to the concepts of IS, CE and SD, and summarizes their complex evolutionary paths, recalling the rel-evant developments and implementation challenges. In addition, the authors point out the divergences and interrelations of these concepts, both among themselves and with other related concepts and research fields, such as industrial ecology, eco-logical modernization and the green economy. Furthermore, the potential contribu-tion of IS and the CE to SD is briefly discussed, also highlighting critical issues and trade-offs, as well as gaps in research and application, especially relating to the so-cial component of sustainability. Particular attention is given to the potential role of IS in the achievement of targets connected to the Sustainable Development Goals set in the UN Agenda 2030. The recent advances in the IS and CE discussion in the context of the SD research community are further explored, with particular empha-sis on the contribution of the International Sustainable Development Research So-ciety (ISDRS) and its 24th annual conference organised in Messina, Italy, in 2018. The programme of that conference, indeed, included specific tracks on the above-mentioned themes, the contents of which are briefly commented on here, after an overview on the whole conference and the main cross-cutting concepts emerged. In the last part of the chapter, a brief description of the chapters collected in the book is presented. These contributions describe and discuss theoretical frameworks, methodological approaches and/or experiences and case studies where IS and the principles of CE are applied in different geographical context and at different scales to ultimately improve the sustainability of the current production patterns