What is a sustainable business model?
A business model is the set of process flow, strategies and organizational solutions that defines the way a company produces value and positions itself in a competitive market.
A business model is sustainable if it produces value among all the stakeholders all along the value chain without depleting the environmental, social and economical capital on which is resting its success.
A sustainable business model can sensibly enhance an organization’s competitive advantage because of the increased ESG sustainability performance perceived by the stakeholders and the opportunities embedded in an innovative supply chain.
An access oriented model or a result oriented product design model can generate benefits that encompass sales opportunities, additional revenue streams and market access. Sustainable business models examples are: products as a service, material flows and service digitalization or extended producer responsibility. These are all elements that can redistribute value all over the value chain and acquire useful data to feedback into product or service design, in order to improve customer satisfaction and loyalty.
The growing attention of institutions and public opinion on sustainability related topics are building pressure on the private sector about rethinking business as usual and shifting the system towards a more viable model that meets the needs of future generations.
Transitioning into more sustainable business models is a successful strategy for companies that intend to anticipate new upcoming tightening environmental, social and governance legislations. Forecasting business ability to comply with future legal and competitive requirements might also ensure a solid reputation on financial markets that are increasingly evaluating ESG performances as key decision makers.
The opportunity of business model innovation is one of the pillars of the EU Green Deal and the Circular Economy Action Plan, and the European Environmental Agency provides a framework that provides circular business models guidance to facilitate the transition towards a more sustainable business environment.
Business modeling with NUVA: resilience and innovation for a sustainable future
NUVA supports companies with tailored consultancy services designed to facilitate the transition towards a business environment that regenerates natural resources, that is more inclusive for all the stakeholders and that produces more benefits all along the value chain, providing resilience, continuous innovation and a competitive advantage.
NUVA business modeling path includes:
- Current business modeling assessment and value chain mapping through the sustainable business model canvas;
- Identifying leverage hotspots within the business model, where minimum amount of innovation can produce significant increase of the added value;
- Top management engagement through gamification and brainstorming to enable solution design and enveil the potential innovation of the identified business model hotspots;
- Designing a scalable strategy to enable business model transformation, including a risk and opportunity assessment to evaluate costs,benefits and funding strategies;
- Economical appraisal of the business model innovation, including the return on the needed investment;
- Defining a transitioning and monitoring roadmap;
- Support all along the business model innovation path.
