Climate & Environment
Sustainable Business Model
Definition
A sustainable business model is the design of how an organisation creates, delivers and captures value such that its success reinforces rather than erodes environmental and social systems: circular models (product-as-a-service, remanufacturing, resource recovery), access-over-ownership platforms, inclusive base-of-pyramid models, and regenerative supply models. Research (Bocken, Stubbs and others) classifies archetypes spanning technological (maximise efficiency, close loops), social (deliver function, not stuff) and organisational (repurpose for society and environment) innovation.
References
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This reference provides supporting context for how “Sustainable Business Model” is defined and used.
Overview
How it is used
The concept structures circular economy strategy, innovation programmes, investor screening of model resilience, and the academic business model literature.
Why it matters
The transition needs not just cleaner products but different ways of making money; the sustainable business model is the unit of that reinvention.