Epilogue

We live in a time of social transition. Everywhere in society, cracks are appearing. The only answer to these developments is to organize in radically different ways, saying goodbye to the present linear economy. That is what transition is all about. The search for new forms of value creation and the triple transition necessitates different business models. In turn this implies behavioural change, which may be the biggest challenge and greatest barrier to achieving a transition to a sustainable, circular, and inclusive economy. This book deliberately does not address the issue of change and transition. That would require yet another book. But to finish off we provide an overview of the obstacles and challenges of creating fundamental change. We say goodbye by providing you with the six elements of a successful business model. The key message of this last chapter is that mainstreaming sustainable business models is by no means a given, but over time will become the new normal.

Value(s) Creation

This is the most challenging building block of the Business Model Template (BMT), defining how you shape and use transactions in your business model. Our society can be looked at as an endless flow of transactions translated into daily activities. They are based on either money, or on time or energy (for example); the latter we call hybrid transactions. They are the operational acts that demonstrate an appreciation of the value created between parties. In this chapter, we present a typology of transactions and related strategies, which in turn we link to the concept of multiple (hybrid) values (e.g. sales, take-back, deposit, rent and use). What we want to explain as clearly and as unambiguously as possible is how multiple value(s) creation can be achieved within and through a broad variety of transactions. If this chapter shows anything, it is how difficult it is to make multiple value creation concrete.

Speaking of Transition

We are confronted with increasingly pressing questions about economic and social transition. Things have to change, but how? We believe that this change is concerned with three closely related challenges, which we call the triple transition—climate, energy, and circularity. These challenges combined result in a call for radical and major changes in the configuration of our economies and for the reconsideration and redesign of our systems. The fact remains that we live in organized societies and economies in which together we need to shape these transitions. Central to this book stands the premise that transition requires new forms of value creation materialized in the new generation of sustainable and circular business models. To make this possible the Business Model Template (BMT) was developed. The purpose of this chapter is to introduce you to the structure and style of this book and how the BMT is presented in the various chapters.

The Dream

Looking for your Dream provides a second tool to help you build your business model in this first stage of the Business Model Template (BMT). You have previously indicated which major social and/or ecological issues you want to solve. Now you will determine what the result of that solution could be. Look for a solution that goes beyond just tackling one issue. The Dream building block demands thinking big: it is a Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal (BHAG) on which you are going to work. How and why will your business model idea really make a difference? In order to not get lost in thinking about dreams, you could make use of various tools such as scenarios, metaphors or framing, all of which are addressed in this chapter. Putting all the steps in this chapter together, you will have dreamed up something big that you want to go for.

The Value Proposition

A business model is a description of how value creation is organized, underpinned by a value proposition. Such a proposition solves a problem or appeals to new, often yet undiscovered needs. Value creation has several facets. This building block offers a framework of five positions of value creation from which to choose and links it to strategies you can use. This in turn is then linked to the possibility of creating change with your business model-to-be. The more precisely you align the nature of those values and the change you would like to create, the better you will be able to design an appropriate (organizational) logic at a later stage. Formulating a clear and compelling value proposition is crucial in the development of a business model. It gives direction to the strategy, to the stakeholders with whom you could take these steps, and to what impact you expect to realize.

Business Model Archetypes

The BMT provides the building blocks to develop a logic for a business model. In such a model the nature of value creation, how value creation is organized, and how transactions are taking shape are operationalized so that they meet the proposition. Practice shows that at present business models aimed at capturing multiple value creation can be divided into three major categories: (1) platform business models, (2) community-based (or collective) business models, and (3) circular business models. The three archetypes differ mainly in the way in which they create value, as well as the objective, the mechanism through which value creation takes place, and the infrastructural and technological requirements. When using the BMT, it is useful to consider at an early stage which business model archetype is dominant in the realization of the intended value proposition. Choosing a business model archetype might look straightforward, but it can be quite a tricky task.

External Test

The external test is the tenth and final building block of the first and second stage of the Business Model Template (BMT). You will test the viability of the business model concept you have developed so far. You can test your business model idea against all kinds of criteria. If you do not have much time, perform your check on the basis of the very concise set of seven questions we provide. But we also provide many other tools in this chapter. Please bear in mind that you must be well-prepared when looking for feedback. Look for people you know or hope will respond critically and constructively. Going through the External Test steps may mean that you need to partially adjust some elements of your business model before you move on. So be it. Remember that every version of your business model in this stage is a beta version and that feedback will help to make it better.

Business Modelling

A transition from a linear economy to a more sustainable and circular economy requires different business models. In this chapter, we provide you with an introduction to the nature and logic of business models. In essence, a business model is a description of how value creation between parties or partners is organized, at a particular moment, in a specific context, and given available resources. Conventional business modelling approaches have several weaknesses—the main point of criticism being their focus on creating financial value. With the Business Model Template (BMT), we try to resolve most of these criticisms. To do so we introduce three archetypal business models: the platform, community, and circular economy business models. This chapter provides an overview on how, over three stages and ten building blocks that together make up the Business Model Template, these archetypal business models will be used.

Strategy

In this chapter, we explore the nature of strategy. We have touched upon the subject in earlier chapters but here we present a typology of strategies. We define strategy as a route consisting of a set of deliberate actions leading to realizing your sustainable value proposition. Strategy can be approached as a plan or a process. Six strategies are distinguished: (1) eco-efficiency, (2) product as a service, (3) use optimization, (4) lifespan extension, (5) cascading, and (6) community building. Each of these strategies can be used as a stand-alone strategy or in a balanced combination while developing one of the business model archetypes. Which of these strategies or combinations you choose depends on the specific circumstances and stakeholders involved and the context in which you are seeking to realize your business model, as well as the underlying value proposition. A functional strategy is fundamentally a matter of clear, reasoned and actionable choices.

Core Activities

In this chapter, the central question is which core activities you will undertake in order to achieve your goal, organizing your value proposition with success. Because you are working towards a specific goal, and with selected strategies, it is useful to state which (core) activities are necessary to realize your sustainable business model. The idea of a core activity is that a specific part of the organizational activities can be seen as the speciality of a company, a network, or a community: it tells what they are really good at. Core activities should contribute to operationalizing the chosen strategy, thus contributing to the realization of the overall goal, coherent with the value proposition. We offer a core activities framework based on the conventional sustainability trio: reduce, reuse, recycle. This has evolved over the years into a whole family—commonly referred to as the RE-strategies and presented here as the 13 REs.