Sustainable venture capital - Catalyst for sustainable start-up success?

To address global sustainability challenges, major investments are required in sustainable businesses that deliver triple bottom line results. Although interest in sustainable businesses is on the rise, these businesses are not yet widespread. Venture capital investment has a key role to play in the development of sustainable start-ups. The research area of ‘sustainable’ venture capital is still emerging. More research is required to understand how venture capital can support the development of sustainable businesses. This paper provides insight into how venture capitalists can contribute to sustainable business success, by investigating their role, motivations, investment theses, and barriers and enablers to success of sustainable ventures. The following question is investigated: How can sustainable venture capitalists contribute to the success of sustainable start-ups? Interviews were conducted with an expert sample of leading sustainable venture capitalists and other key stakeholders in sustainable entrepreneurship. It was found that next to financial support, venture capitalists provide triple bottom line business advice and network support. Key success factors include business model innovation, collaborations and a strong business case, whereas failure factors include a lack of suitable investors, a strong incumbent industry and a short-term investor mind-set. Sustainable start-ups should focus on triple bottom line business model innovation, find opportunity in new technology and funding platforms and develop multiple business cases to create success beyond the ‘green customer base’. Sustainable venture capitalists can help prove the success of sustainable business formats, mitigate financial risk through co-investments and exercise patience by balancing financial with social and environmental returns.The author gratefully acknowledges the support and funding of the EPSRC Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Industrial Sustainability (RG64858).This is the final version. It was first published by Elsevier at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.05.07

The Third Party is Necessarily Involved in the Conflict. Reform Between the Council of Basle and the Fall of Constantinople

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Developing sustainable business experimentation capability - A case study

This research paper shows how a firm pursues innovation activities for economic, social and environmental value creation in the context of time sensitivity. We make a conceptual link between lean startup thinking, triple bottom line value creation, and organizational capabilities. The case study firm uses a novel experimentation approach to pursue the goal of diverting all of its sold clothing from landfill through a two-year project. This requires substantial changes to the current business practice because in 2012, the clothing retailer recovered 1% of all garments sold. The fibre input value for all garments sold in 2012 exceeded $7m. We found that despite a stated need for fast learning through project experiments, the experiments were not executed quickly. (1) The desire to plan project activities and the lack of lean startup approach expertise across the whole project team hampered fast action. This led to the extension of the project timeline. However, project team confidence about learning by doing increased through privately executed experiments. (2) Some project experiments were not fit to meet the triple bottom value creation project goal and were dropped from the project. Overall, the corporate mindset of economic value creation still dominated

Towards a sufficiency-driven business model: Experiences and opportunities

Business model innovation is an important lever for change to tackle pressing sustainability issues. In this paper, ‘sufficiency’ is proposed as a driver of business model innovation for sustainability. Sufficiency-driven business models seek to moderate overall resource consumption by curbing demand through education and consumer engagement, making products that last longer and avoiding built-in obsolescence, focusing on satisfying ‘needs’ rather than promoting ‘wants’ and fast-fashion, conscious sales and marketing techniques, new revenue models, or innovative technology solutions. This paper uses a case study approach to investigate how companies might use sufficiency as a driver for innovation and asserts that there can be a good business case for sufficiency. Business models of exemplar cases are analysed and insights are gained that will contribute to future research, policy makers and businesses interested in exploring sufficiency.This work was supported by SustainValue, a European Commission’s 7th Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) and the EPSRC Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Industrial Sustainability (RG64858).This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from [publisher] via http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.eist.2015.07.01

A Voluntary Simplicity Lifestyle: Values, Adoption, Practices and Effects

Adopting a voluntary simplicity lifestyle (VSL) contributes to a change in consumption patterns towards more sustainable ones, which is urgently needed. This study defines the VSL as a voluntary reduction of income and consumption in exchange for more free time. Our research aims to contribute with more detailed VSL criteria. A literature review develops initial VSL criteria, which are validated against and enriched by data gathered through in-depth interviews with nine voluntary simplicity practitioners. This study contributes with: (1) more detailed insights into the value changes during lifestyle adoption of a VSL, (2) a detailed perspective on significant aspects in VSL adoption as well as how they tend to happen in sequence, and (3) insight into how consumption reduces or changes and how free time is spent when adopting a VSL. A conceptual framework for more detailed VSL criteria, as proposed in this study, is valuable to characterise the VSL lifestyle and differentiate it from other lifestyles. In sum, the study contributes to clearer perspectives on the VSL and provides detailed VSL criteria. Finally, we reaffirm the potential of VSL to contribute toward changing dominant unsustainable consumption patterns and indicate directions for future research.</jats:p

Towards a Circular Photovoltaic Economy: The Role of Service-based Business Models

Solar photovoltaics (PV) has experienced tremendous market growth and has large potential in the urgently needed transition towards a low-carbon energy system. The continued growth of the sector will, however, evoke new sustainability challenges with regard to efficient material use as well as end-of life management of PV products. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of potential Circular Economy actions in the PV sector, and explore the present and potential future role of servicebased business models in operationalizing these actions. Based on a review of academic and industry literature, the paper structures the circularity actions according to the ReSOLVE framework. The analysis also distinguishes between the role of product-oriented, use-oriented and result-oriented product-service systems (PSS). Results show that to result oriented business models have primarily been implemented in order to facilitate the adoption of PV deployment. Product-oriented PSS are widespread with the service component involving maintenance, repair, insurance and warranties. The paper further explores opportunities of service-based business models to enhance additional circularity actions such as a sharing, optimisation and looping, which so far are mostly in a conceptual or pilot stage only. Expanding beyond current practices, the paper explores future pathways of service-based business models to catalyse a range of additional circular economy actions in the PV sector, and discusses some of the associated key challenges and gaps in knowledge

Towards a sustainable business model for plastic shopping bag management in Sweden

From an environmental perspective, a separate collection and recycling system for post-consumer discards could contribute to improved environmental protection as well as economic benefits. This paper investigates the environmental potential of a business model proposed in Sweden in order to improve the utilization of plastic shopping bags. The business model aims to reduce the consumption of plastic shopping bags and to collect and recycle discarded bags more effectively. Results from a life cycle assessment show that the proposed system could significantly reduce the carbon, energy and water footprints of the current system, even for very pessimistic scenarios for bag purchase and recovery rates. However, wider implementation of the proposed business model depends on the accessibility of the deposit/collection system, acceptance of such a 'take-back' system by retail managers, greater environmental awareness among customers and regulatory mechanisms

Sustainable by design: An organizational design tool for sustainable business model innovation

When firms want to meet ambitious sustainability targets, they often fail to deliver on more radical innovation at the level of the business model. They often struggle to design and successfully implement new, sustainable business models in practice. While sustainability tools might help bridge the design-implementation gap in business, they often lack a grounding in both theory and practice. In this study, we build on empirical research that recognises the importance of dynamic capabilities to develop sustainable business models, and the barriers and drivers that might exist at the organizational level. We investigate the following research question: How can firms address organizational design issues in order to develop the dynamic capabilities necessary for sustainable business model innovation? The research method consists of four stages derived from the iterative, user-involved method of design science research: 1) identifying the problem and defining objectives for a solution; 2) design and development; 3) demonstration; and 4) evaluation. The work results in the “Sustainable By Design” tool which was used in a workshop setting with two large multinational companies seen as sustainability leaders in their sectors: DSM and IKEA Retail (Ingka Group). The work makes two contributions. First, we contribute the Sustainable By Design tool which practitioners can use to evaluate their current organizational design, identify barriers and drivers for sustainable business model innovation, and develop strategic interventions to engage in organizational transformation. Second, we elucidate the theoretical connections between organizational design, dynamic capabilities, and sustainable business model innovation, and suggest directions for future research.publishedVersio

Value mapping for sustainable business thinking

Pressures on business to operate sustainably are increasing. This requires companies to adopt a systemic approach that seeks to integrate consideration of the three dimensions of sustainability – social, environmental, and economic – in a manner that generates shared value creation for all stakeholders including the environment and society. This is referred to as sustainable business thinking. The business model concept offers a framework for system-level innovation for sustainability and provides the conceptual linkage with the activities of the firm such as design, production, supply chains, partnerships, and distribution channels. A value mapping tool has been presented in the literature to assist in sustainable business model innovation. This study explores the use of value mapping for broader sustainable business thinking, by reflection on its use in workshop settings. A range of new applications is identified which is expected to be of interest to business practitioners, policy makers, and academic researchers.This work was supported by Sustain Value, a European Commission’s 7th Framework Program [FP7/2007–2013]; and the EPSRC Center for Innovative Manufacturing in Industrial Sustainability [RG64858].This is the final published version. It first appeared at http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21681015.2014.1000399#.VWSB4S6fbe4

Understanding environmental performance variation in manufacturing companies

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?This work was funded by the EPSRC Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Industrial Sustainability in Cambridge.This is the accepted version of the original article published by Emerald in the International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management. The original article is available online at http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=17095236. This article is (c) Emerald Group Publishing and permission has been granted for this version to appear here (https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/245026). Emerald does not grant permission for this article to be further copied/distributed or hosted elsewhere without the express permission from Emerald Group Publishing Limited