Conference Agenda

Systems change can help to address sustainability challenges and interventions at deep leverage points of a system can be applied to do so. By studying 9 sustainable entrepreneurial businesses, this paper looked at how entrepreneurial firms used their business to intervene at deep leverage points to facilitate systems change. We then proposed how deep leverage points can be operationalized by developing an approach for sustainable business model innovation and how entrepreneurs can consciously target leverage points when designing their business models to influence sustainable systems change.

Sustainable service-product systems (SPSSs) aided packaging-free shopping are expected to promote sustainable behaviour through enhanced user experience. Yet, understanding about this kind of practice is scarce. In this study, we adopted a qualitative approach through observations and semi-structured interviews with fifteen young consumers. The results present three stages of the practice and identify the challenges in each stage, using the practice theory as a theoretical basis. In light of these, the future offerings of SPSSs are proposed.

As the world deals with climate change, it is crucial that new products are designed to be more sustainable. Product design strategies which conform to the Circular Economy principles have recently gained attention, which promote sustainability and resource efficiency. However, such strategies require careful consideration of uncertainties and the ways to mitigate them, e.g. by using margins. The pursuit of circularity can inadvertently lead to overdesign as designers strive to mitigate elevated risks, thereby making a product less sustainable. In this paper, we explore this balance.

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.

Based on circular economy readiness assessments of six value chain layers, 18 design strategies and five collaboration strategies for circular economy were identified. The design strategies have many applications, from the design of materials, products, and processes to business models, and while some are specific to determined layers, others can be addressed by companies in multiple layers. Furthermore, collaboration across the value chain was found to affect positively the employment of circular economy design strategies, contributing to the fulfilment of solutions’ circularity potential.

Automotive OEM introduced Product-Service Systems in the past 20 years, challenging their traditional business model. A qualitative study was developed to characterise the decision-making process across 6 case studies, and similar patterns across different enabled the identification of lessons learned and possible future implications. All PSS initiatives were introduced following an Agile/Lean experimental approach, but the opportunistic nature of trials casts doubts in future validity. New testing methods that generate more robust conclusions need to be developed.