Implementing sustainable design theory in business practice: A call to action

Baldassarre, Brian; Keskin, Duygu; Diehl, Jan Carel; Bocken, Nancy; Calabretta, Giulia

doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.123113

Cited by 99 publications

(55 citation statements)

References 80 publications

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“…However, to do so, it is essential to understand the evolution that the strategic management for sustainability has undergone: during its beginnings, it was involved in matters related to the green movement and to research related to business management and strategic social responsibility, affirms Suriyankietkaew, [98] who identifies up to five schools of thought related to strategic management for sustainability, which reflects the breadth of studies on this subject. The authors Baldessare et al identify the gap between sustainable design theory and business practice [99], and they have identified a "sustainable business model" as one of the four levels of design for sustainable innovation. These authors affirm that sustainable business modeling requires companies that have redefined their purpose and report on economic, social, and environmental levels, in addition to 'taking a stakeholder view of the firm, by including society and the environment as stakeholders', something that is precisely what this research focuses on, adding the perspective of the SDGs as a strategic vision in the business model.…”

Section: Theoretical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainable Strategic Management Model for Hotel Companies: A Multi-Stakeholder Proposal to “Walk the Talk” toward SDGs

2020

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As we reach the fifth anniversary of the Declaration of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the tourism sector responsible for over 10% of the world’s GDP still does not have an open-source, sustainable management criteria that would enable and empower them to “walk the talk” to contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The purpose of this paper is to fill the gap in the social sciences and business management literature by providing a theoretical Sustainable Strategic Management Model (SSMM) proposal for the Fourth Sector (4S), Small- and Medium-sized (SMEs) Hotel companies (4S-SM-HCs), which are committed and have the will to contribute firmly to the 2030 Agenda. Based on their corporate purpose and aligned with the SDGs, this article provides a holistic proposal with a multi-stakeholder approach, adding the SDG perspective. Through a qualitative research methodology based on two focus groups in which the main stakeholders and the management team of the 4S-SM-HC under examination took part, a theoretical SSMM is co-defined so that the hotel company can make significant contributions to the five areas of the SDGs. Basing their structure on the internationally recognized Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) Criteria and co-created through social learning, this SSMM proposes four strategic management axis and develops ten principles of ethical performance (PEP). The main contributions of this article are two: (1) to provide an ecosystemic SSMM proposal to the 4S-SM-HCs to allow them to make significant contributions to the SDGs, and (2) to facilitate a methodological framework with a multi-stakeholder approach and SDG perspective to enable them to contribute to the wellbeing of people, the community and the planet.

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Section: Theoretical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainable Strategic Management Model for Hotel Companies: A Multi-Stakeholder Proposal to “Walk the Talk” toward SDGs

2020

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“…Design, circular design and specific design strategies are covered within the strategy "Design" (around 8% of the sample). This part covers aspects such as "designing out waste", implementation of design and its role in industrial products, processes and organizations [129][130][131]. It should also be noted that the review suggested interrelations between strategies related with "Design" and strategies focused on "Collection and disposal"which take up only 5% of the sample-especially on how extended producer responsibility or take-back systems could enable a continuous flow of products, components and material for remanufacture or recovery [132,133], as well as on strategies related with "Distribution and sales"-3% of the sample-focused on efficient packaging design strategies and sustainable supply chains [134].…”

Section: Other Ce Strategiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Eco-Innovation Diversity in a Circular Economy: Towards Circular Innovation Studies

et al. 2021

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Transition to a Circular Economy (CE) is about structural change and is predicated on the introduction of transformative eco-innovation (EI). Research on the CE–EI nexus has recently attracted attention both from an analytical and regulatory perspective. However, in-depth research exploring EI dynamics within the CE is still marginal, especially concerning the trends and dynamics of the pro-CE innovation policy and strategy. This paper addresses this gap by taking advantage of the burgeoning research on CE of the last 20 years and offers a new working synthesis. By implementing a “(systematic) review of (systematic) reviews”, this paper provides a new comprehensive framework for understanding pro-circular innovation strategies and, as a complement, argues the need to advance “circular innovation studies” as an agenda in its own right. Innovations related to recycling and recovery CE strategies along with business-model innovations and systemic/transformative innovations are found to be a major current trend in the research, connecting supply and demand side innovations and also driving other forms of innovation linked to design, product manufacturing, logistics and reverse logistics and end-of-life management and recovery. Additionally, of note is that the conceptual understanding of EI dynamics within a CE is still mainly implicit (rather than explicitly discussed) limiting the possibilities to advance knowledge in the area of innovation for CE: this is why we propose a “circular innovation studies” agenda.

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“…Additionally, a SBM incorpor social, economic, and environmental impacts into the business processes. "A sustain business model is about creating significantly increased positive effects and/or sig cantly reduced negative effects on the natural environment and society through chan in the way a company and its network create, deliver, and capture value" [18] (p. 1 The concept is increasingly being promoted to enhance the co-creation of business sustainability benefits [18,25,26]. Sustainability can be based on different definitions in this study, it refers to the UN Sustainability Agenda [4].…”

Section: Conceptual Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although the synthesized model above describes the typical traits of informal enterprises, the business model is conceived, implicitly or explicitly, for the individual enterprise based on its resources and goals [25]. The SBM was consequently applied to six example charcoal enterprises to illustrate commonalities in differences between SBM contents.…”

Section: Enterprise Levelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainable Business Models for Informal Charcoal Producers in Kenya

Mutta¹,

Larwanou

Wekesa

et al. 2021

Sustainability

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The sustainable business model (SBM) concept requires enterprises to integrate sustainability aspects in their planning and operations. Although 60% of the global working population make their living in the informal sector mostly in low-and middle income countries, the potential for SBMs has rarely been analyzed for this category. This study explores the SBMs of informal charcoal-producing enterprises in coastal Kenya. It describes key business-model components: value proposition, value creation and delivery, and economic value capture. Impact and dependency on sustainability-related indicators were also studied. Data were obtained through individual interviews, focus-group discussions, and workshops for charcoal producers and other relevant stakeholders. Findings demonstrated that charcoal enterprises, despite their informal status, adopt elaborate business models. The incomes positively affect several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by reducing, if not eradicating, poverty and supporting basic livelihood needs. Examples of negative impacts on some SDG include the activity’s contribution to forest degradation. Feedback impacts, where SDG status influence the informal enterprises’ opportunities were also identified. The SBM model contributes to the development of a balanced sustainability transition of the charcoal sector. We suggest further analyses of the role of informal enterprises in the bioenergy sector for sustainable development and how their SBMs could be improved.

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Implementing sustainable design theory in business practice: A call to action

Cited by 99 publications

References 80 publications

Sustainable Strategic Management Model for Hotel Companies: A Multi-Stakeholder Proposal to “Walk the Talk” toward SDGs

Sustainable Strategic Management Model for Hotel Companies: A Multi-Stakeholder Proposal to “Walk the Talk” toward SDGs

Eco-Innovation Diversity in a Circular Economy: Towards Circular Innovation Studies

Sustainable Business Models for Informal Charcoal Producers in Kenya

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