A business model for sustainability

Even more in these years, characterized by many divided factors, companies are called upon to measure their success not only in terms of profit, but, in terms of the 3Ps:

  • People: stakeholders, including employees, families, customers, suppliers, communities, and any other person affected by the organization.
  • Planet: the natural environment, including reducing carbon footprint, usage of natural resources, toxic materials, the active removal of waste, reforestation, restoration, etc.
  • Profit: the organization, local, national and international economy. This includes creating employment, generating innovation, paying taxes, creating wealth and other economic impact.

See the Triple Bottle Line (TBL) idea explained by Elkington in his 1999 book, “Cannibals with Forks: The Triple Bottom Line of 21st Century Business”).

Business architects has a central role in helping organizations redefine the business model that support the TBL.
Osterwalder’s Business Model Canvas is one of the most popular methods for describing the business model. For the TBL, the standard canvas can be used to examine the profit aspect, while specialized canvases for social equitability (people) and environmental responsibility (planet) have been created to focus on those areas.
I suggest to take a look the models by Alexandre Joyce:https://sustainablebusinessmodel.org/2015/04/17/the-triple-layered-business-model-canvas-a-tool-to-design-more-sustainable-business-models/, from where, you can also download the paper on the models.

And, for an excellent short video explaining how to use the Business Model Canvas (Source: Strategyzer 2011): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoAOzMTLP5s&feature=emb_logo.

Photo by Guillaume de Germain on Unsplash