Hostname: page-component-68c7f8b79f-m4fzj Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-12-22T23:46:26.320Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Modelling an ecosystem of business models in a circular value chain: the circular business ecosystem model canvas

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 May 2024

Avyay Jamadagni ,
Marco Aurisicchio  and
Lars Nybom
Avyay Jamadagni
Affiliation:
Imperial College London, United Kingdom
Marco Aurisicchio*
Affiliation:
Imperial College London, United Kingdom
Lars Nybom
Affiliation:
Ragn-Sells Group, Sweden
*
m.aurisicchio@imperial.ac.uk

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

To advance the circular economy, there is a need to take an ecosystem view of business models for circularity in which different actors interact dynamically to create economic, environmental and social value. This research introduces the Circular Business Ecosystem Model Canvas, a novel method to prototype a circular ecosystem of business models. The case of ferric chloride, an inorganic coagulant for wastewater treatment, is used to demonstrate the new canvas and show how it supports the development of a more holistic perspective on sustainability-oriented business model innovation.

Keywords

sustainabilitycircular economybusiness modelsinnovation

Information

Type
Design for Sustainability
Information
Proceedings of the Design Society , Volume 4: DESIGN 2024 , May 2024 , pp. 1309 - 1318
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BYCreative Common License - NCCreative Common License - ND
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is unaltered and is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use or in order to create a derivative work.
Copyright
The Author(s), 2024.

References

Adner, R. (2016), “Ecosystem as Structure: An Actionable Construct for Strategy.”, Journal of Management, Vol. 43 No. 1, pp. 39–58. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206316678451.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barrie, J. and Kanda, W. (2020), “Building ecologies of circular intermediaries”, In: Brandão, M., Lazarevic, D. and Finnveden, G. (Ed.), Handbook of the circular economy, Edward Elgar Publishing, Cheltenham, pp. 235-249. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781788972727.00027Google Scholar
Bocken, N., Strupeit, L., Whalen, K. and Nußholz, J. (2019), “A Review and Evaluation of Circular Business Model Innovation Tools”, Sustainability, Vol. 11 No. 8, pp. 2210. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11082210CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Braun, A.T., Schöllhammer, O. and Rosenkranz, B. (2021), “Adaptation of the business model canvas template to develop business models for the circular economy”, 14th CIRP Conference on Intelligent Computation in Manufacturing Engineering, 15-17 July 2020, Elsevier, pp. 698–702. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procir.2021.03.093Google Scholar
Brown, P., Baldassarre, P., Konietzko, J., Bocken, N. and Balkenende, R. (2021), “A tool for collaborative circular proposition design”, Journal of Cleaner Production, Vol. 297 No. 2, Article 126354. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.126354CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cervo, H., Ogé, S., Maqbool, A.S., Mendez Alva, F., Lessard, L., Bredimas, A., Ferrasse, J.-H. and Van Eetvelde, G. (2019), “A Case Study of Industrial Symbiosis in the Humber Region Using the EPOS Methodology”, Sustainability, Vol. 11 No. 24, pp. 6940. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11246940CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Daou, A., Mallat, C., Chammas, G., Cenrantola, N., Kayed, S. and Saliba, N.A. (2020), “The Ecocanvas as a business model canvas for a circular economy”, Journal of Cleaner Production, Vol. 258 No. 2, Article 120938. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.120938CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dentoni, D., Pinkse, J. and Lubberink, R. (2021), “Linking sustainable business models to socio-ecological resilience through cross-sector partnerships: A complex adaptive systems view.”, Business and Society, Vol. 60 No. 5, pp. 1216–1252. https://doi.org/10.1177/0007650320935015CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Everett, E. (2022), “Combining the Circular Economy, Doughnut Economy, and Permaculture to Create a Holistic Economic Model for Future Generations”, 9th International Conference on Sustainable Development, Virtual, 8–9 September 2021, MDPI, Basel, pp. 19. https://doi.org/10.3390/environsciproc2022015019CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Geissdoerfer, M., Savaget, P., Bocken, N.M.P. and Hultink, E. (2017), “The Circular Economy - A new sustainability paradigm?”, Journal of Cleaner Production, Vol. 143, pp. 757-768. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.12.048CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ghisellini, P., Cialani, C. and Ulgiati, S. (2016), “A review on circular economy: the expected transition to a balanced interplay of environmental and economic systems”, Journal of Cleaner Production, Vol. 114, pp. 11-32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.09.007CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gravert, E. and Mattsson, J. (2016), Industrial Symbiosis Canvas business model between a recycling company, an energy company, and a real estate manager, [Master Thesis], KTH.Google Scholar
Gue, I.H.V., Tan, R.R. and Ubando, A.T. (2022), “Causal network maps of urban circular economies”, Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy, Vol. 24, pp. 261–272. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10098-021-02117-9CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hansen, E. G., Lüdeke Freund, F. and Fichter, K. (2020), “Circular Business Model Typology: Actor, Circular Strategy and Service Level”, (IQD Research, No. 2020-1). Institute for Integrated Quality Design (IQD), Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jakobsen, O., Capra, F. (2023), “The Systems View of Life and Ecological Economics for Developing Sustainable Business Models", In: Zsolnai, L., Walker, T., Shrivastava, P. (Ed.), Value Creation for a Sustainable World, Palgrave Macmillan, London, pp. 21-39. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-38016-7_2CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Joyce, A. and Paquin, R. (2016), “The triple layered business model canvas: A tool to design more sustainable business models”, Journal of Cleaner Production, Vol. 135, pp. 1474–1486. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.06.067CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kanda, W., Geissdoerfer, M. and Hjelm, O. (2021), “From circular business models to circular business ecosystems”, Business Strategy and the Environment, Vol. 30 No. 6, pp. 2814–2829. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.2895CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mentink, B. (2014), Circular Business Model Innovation: A Process Framework and a Tool for Business Model Innovation in a Circular Economy, [Master Thesis], Delft University of Technology & Leiden University.Google Scholar
Murray, A., Skene, K. and Haynes, K. (2017), “The Circular Economy: An Interdisciplinary Exploration of The Concept and Application In A Global Context”, Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 140, pp. 369-380. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-015-2693-2CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nußholz, J.L.K. (2018), “A circular business model mapping tool for creating value from prolonged product lifetime and closed material loops.”, Journal of Cleaner Production, Vol. 197 No. 1, pp. 185-194. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.06.112CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Osterwalder, A. and Pigneur, Y. (2010), Business Model Generation: a Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers, and Challengers, John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, New Jersey.Google Scholar
Padilla-Rivera, A., Russo-Garrido, S. and Merveille, N. (2020), “Addressing The Social Aspects Of A Circular Economy: A Systematic Literature Review.”, Sustainability, Vol. 12 No. 19, pp. 7912. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12197912CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Raworth, K. (2017), Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st-century Economist, Chelsea Green Publishing, London, United Kingdom.Google Scholar
Rockström, J., Steffen, W., Noone, K., Persson, Å., Chapin, F. S., Lambin, E., Lenton, T.M., Scheffer, M., Folke, C., Schellnhuber, H.J., Nykvist, B., de Wit, C.A., Hughes, T., van der Leeuw, S., Rodhe, H., Sörlin, S., Snyder, P. K., Costanza, R., Svedin, U., Falkenmark, M., Karlberg, L., Corell, R.W., Fabry, V.J., Hansen, J., Walker, B., Liverman, D., Richardson, K., Crutzen, P. and Foley, J. (2009), “A safe operating space for humanity”, Nature, Vol. 461, pp. 472-475. https://doi.org/10.1038/461472aCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schroeder, P., Anggraeni, K. and Weber, U. (2019), “The Relevance of Circular Economy Practices to The Sustainable Development Goals.”, Journal of Industrial Ecology, Vol. 23 No. 1, pp. 77–95. https://doi.org/10.1111/jiec.12732CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sharma, N.K., Govindan, K., Lai, K.K., Chen, W.K. and Kumar, V. (2020), “The transition from linear economy to circular economy for sustainability among SMEs: A study on prospects, impediments, and prerequisites.”, Business Strategy and the Environment, Vol. 30 No. 4, pp. 1803-1822. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.2717CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Takacs, F., Stechow, R. and Frankenberger, K. (2020), Circular Ecosystems: Business Model Innovation for the Circular Economy. White Paper of the Institute of Management & Strategy, University of St. Gallen.Google Scholar
Velter, M. G. E., Bitzer, V. and Bocken, N. (2022), “A boundary tool for multi-stakeholder sustainable business model innovation.”, Circular Economy and Sustainability, Vol. 2, pp. 401-431. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43615-021-00103-3CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zucchella, A. and Previtali, P. (2018), “Circular business models for sustainable development: A “waste is food” restorative ecosystem”, Business Strategy and the Environment, Vol. 28 No. 2, pp. 274–285. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.2216CrossRefGoogle Scholar