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

Two-Lenses Model to Unfold Sustainability Innovations: A Tool Proposal from Sustainable Business Model and Performance Constructs

This research combines corporate sustainability performance and sustainable business model concepts to improve the corporate sustainability of organizations. The main objective of this article is to propose and apply a tool to identify sustainable innovation opportunities through a structured brainstorming process while providing a systemic business perspective and a strong multi-stakeholder orientation. The present qualitative research was carried out in two phases. The first phase consisted of a critical analysis of literature that enabled the proposition of the Two-Lenses Model (2LM) for sustainability innovation. The corporate sustainability performance lens encompasses strategic drivers, business processes, capabilities, stakeholders’ satisfaction and contributions. The sustainable business models lens considers value proposition, value creation and delivery system and value capture and sharing. The second phase consists of applying the 2LM in two industrial cases. The results show that the proposed model has the potential to trigger the identification of opportunities through two mechanisms: misalignments between performance dimensions and gaps in stakeholder satisfaction. Further research opportunities lie on deepening into these findings and investigating the implementation process for the identified innovation opportunities.</jats:p

Essential versus accessory aspects of cell death: recommendations of the NCCD 2015

Cells exposed to extreme physicochemical or mechanical stimuli die in an uncontrollable manner, as a result of their immediate structural breakdown. Such an unavoidable variant of cellular demise is generally referred to as ‘accidental cell death’ (ACD). In most settings, however, cell death is initiated by a genetically encoded apparatus, correlating with the fact that its course can be altered by pharmacologic or genetic interventions. ‘Regulated cell death’ (RCD) can occur as part of physiologic programs or can be activated once adaptive responses to perturbations of the extracellular or intracellular microenvironment fail. The biochemical phenomena that accompany RCD may be harnessed to classify it into a few subtypes, which often (but not always) exhibit stereotyped morphologic features. Nonetheless, efficiently inhibiting the processes that are commonly thought to cause RCD, such as the activation of executioner caspases in the course of apoptosis, does not exert true cytoprotective effects in the mammalian system, but simply alters the kinetics of cellular demise as it shifts its morphologic and biochemical correlates. Conversely, bona fide cytoprotection can be achieved by inhibiting the transduction of lethal signals in the early phases of the process, when adaptive responses are still operational. Thus, the mechanisms that truly execute RCD may be less understood, less inhibitable and perhaps more homogeneous than previously thought. Here, the Nomenclature Committee on Cell Death formulates a set of recommendations to help scientists and researchers to discriminate between essential and accessory aspects of cell death

Sharing vocabularies: towards horizontal alignment of values-driven business functions

This paper highlights the emergence of different ‘vocabularies’ that describe various values-driven business functions within large organisations and argues for improved horizontal alignment between them. We investigate two established functions that have long-standing organisational histories: Ethics and Compliance (E&C) and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). By drawing upon research on organisational alignment, we explain both the need for and the potential benefit of greater alignment between these values-driven functions. We then examine the structural and socio-cultural dimensions of organisational systems through which E&C and CSR horizontal alignment can be coordinated to improve synergies, address tensions, and generate insight to inform future research and practice in the field of Business and Society. The paper concludes with research questions that can inform future scholarly research and a practical model to guide organizations’ efforts towards inter-functional, horizontal alignment of values-driven organizational practice

Genome Sequence of the Pea Aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum

Aphids are important agricultural pests and also biological models for studies of insect-plant interactions, symbiosis, virus vectoring, and the developmental causes of extreme phenotypic plasticity. Here we present the 464 Mb draft genome assembly of the pea aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum. This first published whole genome sequence of a basal hemimetabolous insect provides an outgroup to the multiple published genomes of holometabolous insects. Pea aphids are host-plant specialists, they can reproduce both sexually and asexually, and they have coevolved with an obligate bacterial symbiont. Here we highlight findings from whole genome analysis that may be related to these unusual biological features. These findings include discovery of extensive gene duplication in more than 2000 gene families as well as loss of evolutionarily conserved genes. Gene family expansions relative to other published genomes include genes involved in chromatin modification, miRNA synthesis, and sugar transport. Gene losses include genes central to the IMD immune pathway, selenoprotein utilization, purine salvage, and the entire urea cycle. The pea aphid genome reveals that only a limited number of genes have been acquired from bacteria; thus the reduced gene count of Buchnera does not reflect gene transfer to the host genome. The inventory of metabolic genes in the pea aphid genome suggests that there is extensive metabolite exchange between the aphid and Buchnera, including sharing of amino acid biosynthesis between the aphid and Buchnera. The pea aphid genome provides a foundation for post-genomic studies of fundamental biological questions and applied agricultural problems

Sustainable Business Model Innovation: Exploring Evidences in Sustainability Reporting

In order to incorporate sustainability into business, firms need to go beyond voluntary social and environmental initiatives. Sustainable business model (SBM) can support managers to better understand how it can contribution to global sustainable development through firm's value proposition and including methods of value creation, delivery and capture. In this sense, opportunities to innovations in firms' SBM can be derived from the assessment of their business model using corporate sustainability as dominant paradigm. So, a comprehensive and integrative performance measurement framework for SBM is proposed to support the identification of sustainability innovations. In this context, the purpose of this paper is to explore the contributions and limitations of the proposed framework. The methodological approach chosen is secondary data analysis, by using content analysis to extract evidences from sources such as corporate websites, annual and sustainability reports of four industry group leaders according to Dow Jones Sustainability Indices in 2014. Two of them belong to consumer goods manufacturing and the others are retailers

Transforming sustainability challenges into competitive advantage: Multiple case studies kaleidoscope converging into sustainable business models

Recent tendency has been pushing organizations to rethink their role in society and making organization reflect that profit may not be the only and foremost important business performance criteria. Thus recent literature has been exploring the sustainable business models (SBM's), as a way to insert sustainability goals into the core of business decisions. This research aims to advance in this body of knowledge and proposes a theory and practice-based framework to support organizations towards more SBM, making explicit main elements to align business to sustainability performance goals. To support the argument that there is no unique solution to design SBM, this research performs a multiple case studies in eleven organizations from diverse sectors, situated in Brazil and in the United Kingdom. Results show that SBM is not an attempt to deny business-as-usual perspective, but rather it seeks to complement this view, by adding a more axiological and systemic approach. In particular, three convergent aspects were identified in the case studies as relevant efforts support the integration of sustainability into SBM's value creation and delivery system: (1) the connection between business purpose and employees’ values and believes; (2) the pro-active and clear engagement in solving sustainability problems; and (3) the need for system-level changes to enable successful SBM's. This systemic thinking is highlighted by the concept emerged from the research, the cascaded sustainable value captured, representing that, as SBM's are part of a value network, value delivered by the organizations is captured not only by stakeholders to which they have direct contact, but rather this is also deployed to stakeholders of focal company's stakeholders. This distinction is not always trivial for companies, so the proposed concept can support advances in SBM discussions. Further studies are called to the challenge of making explicit that SBM's are not only companies that directly addresses a specific social and/or environmental problem, but rather is an emerging paradigm on how to manage efficient businesses in any sector to add positive value to the globe

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

Demand Side Management within Industry: A Case Study for Sustainable Business Models

The transition of the German energy market is primarily based on RES. The main problem of RES like photovoltaic and wind power is volatile availability. This issue can be mitigated through enhanced flexibility of the demand. DSM can be an additional mechanism in smart grids. Energy intensive industry offers a high DSM potential that could be useful to the energy sector. New business models are required that combine economic viability with environmental and social benefits for various stakeholders operating in the energy sector and manufacturing industry. This research analyses opportunities for business model innovation through DSM in industry. The study presents two case studies in which the Value Mapping Tool was applied to identify failed value exchanges with respective stakeholders and DSM. The research proposes a new business model aligned with sustainable development principles that can help the industry to mitigate volatile energy availability in an economically sensible manner