VIA University College's Viable Growth Model

VIA University College
VIABLE GROWTH MODEL
1
VIABLE GROWTH
MODEL
Sustainable Development
of Businesses and Projects

VIABLE GROWTH
MODEL
of Businesses and Projects
VIABLE GROWTH MODEL
Text and content: Birgitte Woge Nielsen, Peter Errboe Jensen, Rasmus Hørsted
Jensen, Maria Vase Petersen and Kristina Blockx. VIA University College and
Worldperfect.
Layout and design: Lisa Hvejsel Nielsen, Worldperfect
Published: June 2022
ISBN: 978-87-973469-3-8
Translated from Danish by Trine Maiken Stein
Original title: VIAble Growth Model - Bæredygtig udvikling af virksomheder
og projekter (2021)
The project is financed with the support of the Danish Foundation for Entre-
preneurship. Entrepreneurship in Education (EU) and Scandinavian Growth
Creators (Interreg) have indirectly contributed to the financing of the model
in connection with activities where the model was used.
VIAble Growth Model is the second version of the model. The first version of
the model is called Grow a Business (2018) and was developed in a cooperation
between Elinor Bæk Thomsen, the Central Jutland Region, and Birgitte Woge
Nielsen, VIA University College and VIA Student Incubators, Campus Aarhus
Nord. VIAble Growth Model is an updated version of the 2018 model.
Vi investerer i din fremtid
DEN EUROPÆISKE UNION
Den Europæiske Socialfond

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4 5
Preface 6
Introduction to VIAble Growth Model 8
A Model for Sustainable Development of Businesses, Projects, Ideas,
Organisations and Start-ups 9
How the Model Is Structured 11
How to Use the Model 12
Value Proposition 15
Target Groups 17
Target Group Relationships 19
Target Group Channels 19
People, Planet, Profit 33
Profit 33
Planet 37
Using the Model for Sparring 47
Individual Sparring with
Entrepreneurs 48
GROWTH sparring 49
How to Use VIAble Growth Model 10
Income 21
Key Activities 23
Key Resources 23
Key Partners 25
Costs 27
The Sustainable Development
Goals and the Model 29
People 40
The Sustainable Development
Goals and Targets 44
Theoretical Background of the Model 32
Inspiration for How to Use the Model 46
Corporate Forms and Business
Framework 51
Sparring and Business Development 54
Cases 55

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Preface
Your reason for using VIAble Growth Model could be a concrete
project, a business, a start-up or an idea that could be devel-
oped in a public institution, organisation and private business,
or in an education context. The model helps you realise your
ideas by inspiring and challenging you to integrate economic,
social and environmental value. The goal is that you create
value for others (and yourself) by satisfying a need that your
customers or users have and at the same time create a positive
impact on the surroundings.
VIAble Growth Model was originally developed for people who
work with sustainable entrepreneurship either as part of their
education or in the student incubators but has also proven
highly useful for private businesses who need inspiration for
developing innovative and sustainable solutions. At the same
time, VIAble Growth Model can also be used if you give sparring
to students in a teaching context or when sparring with entre-
preneurs for commercial business purposes.
INTEGRATING
ECONOMIC,
SOCIAL AND
ENVIRONMENTAL
VALUE
SUSTAINABLE
ENTREPRENEUR-
SHIP
When you use VIAble Growth Model, we consider you an entrepre-
neur who works with sustainable entrepreneurship. This means
that you are an entrepreneur (start your own business), start your
own organisation or work with a concrete project, for example as
part of your education. You are also an entrepreneur if you devel-
op ideas in, for or with public or private businesses.
Sustainable entrepreneurship combines entrepreneurship and
sustainability and is defined in this way by the Danish Foundation
for Entrepreneurship in their inspiration catalogue: “Entrepreneur-
ship with a purpose”: ”Sustainable entrepreneurship is when inno-
vation ability, business acumen and entrepreneurial competencies
go hand in hand with green and sustainable values; in other words,
when sustainability is integrated into one, more or all process in
the entrepreneurial business” (The Danish Foundation for Entre-
preneurship, 2020).
Enjoy your reading!
Birgitte Woge Nielsen,
Coordinator at VIA Student Incubator at Aarhus N
Today the world is facing major challenges and opportunities.
We have enough to worry about; resource scarcity, climate
change, natural disasters, pollution, increasing inequality,
population growth and an increasing urbanisation. However,
these challenges also provide new opportunities, for example
for generating income. Opportunities could be new forms of
ownership, products with more focus on design and quality,
recycling of products (e.g. glass bottles with deposit) or reuse
of products (e.g. reuse of raw materials in new products).
To benefit from these new opportunities, there is a need for
development models that contribute to cost-effective solu-
tions and will also address the global challenges. It is on this
background that VIAble Growth Model has been developed.
Our ambition is that the model should make it possible for
you to integrate both challenges and opportunities and thereby
create more sustainable projects; projects that are more eco-
nomically, socially and environmentally sustainable.
CHALLENGES
THAT PROVIDE
NEW OPPORTU-
NITIES

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VIAble Growth Model is a tool you can use when you want to
develop innovative and sustainable ideas that contribute to
solving our global challenges at different levels. The three key
elements in VIAble Growth Model are economic, social and
environmental sustainability. These elements are interrelated,
reflecting a holistic understanding of sustainability that in-
cludes all the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. The aim of
the model is to be a tool to initiate development of ideas and
projects that directly support the Sustainable Development
Goals.
How is the publication structured?
Below, you will first be introduced to how VIAble Growth Model
is structured and how to use it. Then the individual questions
included in the model will be elaborated on with explanations
and examples. In this connection, the relation between the mod-
el and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals will be explained.
After this, there is an introduction to the theory that the model
is based on. The theory part is divided into four different sec-
tions focusing on economy, society, environment (profit, people
and planet) and the Sustainable Development Goals. At the
end of the publication, there is a section for lecturers, process
consultants in the student incubators and consultants working
under the Danish Board of Business Development who wish to
use the model in connection with sparring, teaching and devel-
opment. This section will include an introduction to different
forms of sparring where the model is actively used and will
present different cases illustrating how the model can be used.
Introduction to
VIAble Growth
Model
A MODEL FOR
SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT
OF BUSINESSES,
PROJECTS, IDEAS,
ORGANISATIONS
AND START-UPS

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How to use
VIAble Growth
Model
HOW THE MODEL
IS STRUCTURED
A model built on people,
planet and profit
VIAble Growth Model is visually struc-
tured like a flower with a central core
surrounded by three layers, each repre-
senting the three aspects: People, Planet
and Profit. The yellow layer around the
core represents Profit (the economy), the
red layer represents People (the society),
while the outer green layer represents
Planet (the environment) This triple lay-
ering is based on a holistic understanding
of sustainability where people, planet and
profit are inextricably linked.
Questions that challenge
and develop
The model is based on different ques-
tions related to the three areas economy,
society and environment. Each question
is placed on its own leaf and should help
you challenge and develop different ele-
ments of your idea, project or business in
a more sustainable direction. Questions
relating to economy are placed on the
inner yellow layer; questions focusing on
society are placed on the middle red layer
and questions with focus on the environ-
ment are placed on the external green
layer. When you answer the questions,
the model will challenge you to consider
both economic, social and environmental
perspectives.
Value proposition is at the core
of the model
At the core of the model, you will find
value proposition, which is about the
value created by your idea, project or
business.Value proposition is placed at
the core of the model to underline the
importance of understanding what value
it is that your idea, project or business
creates. To your idea, there must be a
clear connection between the value
you offer and your concept. The value
proposition covers economy, society
and environment.
Areas covered by the model
VIAble Growth Model is based on nine
areas that correspond to the nine build-
ing blocks in the Business Model Canvas
(BMC). The nine areas are: value proposi-
tion, target groups, target group rela-
tions, contact to target groups, income,
activities, resources, key partners and
costs. Each area is visually represented
as a layer in the flower with value propo-
sition as the central core. Where the BMC
has an economic focus, VIAble Growth
Model has a triple focus. Therefore, there
are eight questions about economy,
eight questions about society, and eight
questions about environment. In other
words, the model includes 24 leaves with
questions and with value proposition
placed at the core of the model.

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HOW TO USE
THE MODEL
It may be a good idea to start at the core
of the model and consider the value
proposition of the project or business
(see page 13). Subsequently, it is natural
to look at the area “target groups” by
answering the three questions relating
to this area: Who is the customer? Who
is social value created for? Who is envi-
ronmental value created for? (See page
15). When you have answered the three
questions, it may be an advantage to
move around in the model clockwise and
consider one leaf or one area at a time.
If you use this approach, you can just
follow the chronological structure of this
publication where the individual leaves,
layers and areas will be introduced in
more detail on the following pages.
Another approach is to start at that place
in the model where you have the most
energy or the greatest need and move
around between the different questions.
You can also move between the three
layers people, planet and profit as you
like and need.
When you have been through the
questions, It may be beneficial to look
at the 17 Sustainable Development Goals
and particularly the more action-oriented
targets. (Read more on page 27-28 and
42-43). The model includes many
questions, but the purpose is not for you
to answer all questions. The questions
could be used as inspiration for reflection
where you can pick and choose as you
need. You can also use the model to de-
velop your project in a more sustainable
direction by reflecting on and answering
questions in the areas that you would
like to develop – whether that is learning
more about your customer relationships,
costs or resources. In this way, you can
use the model in different ways depend-
ing on where you are in your develop-
ment process.
It is important to underline that the
different areas and leaves in the model
are connected. So when you answer a
question on one leaf, it may affect the
response to one or more of the other
questions.

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VALUE PROPOSITION
Which problem do you wish to solve? What gains does it provide?
Value proposition is value creation
Value proposition is the value created by the business
or project. In general, there are two different forms
of value; either you solve a problem or you create a
value that benefits the user or customer. Here gains
should be understood as a form of positive added
value that reflects something that someone wishes
to obtain. Different forms of value can be created at
different levels at the same time. This means that the
business or project can create
a gain for the customer at the same time as solving a
social and environmental problem.
Holistic value creation
Value proposition is at the core of VIAble Growth
Model because the value of the product or the service
justifies the existence of the business or project. In
this connection, value proposition is to be understood
as a holistic dimension that runs across the three
areas of people, planet and profit.
With the exact purpose of specifying and challeng-
ing the value creation of the idea from a holistic
perspective, the model uses these key questions:
Which problem is solved or what gains are provided
to the customer/user (profit)? Which social or societal
problem is solved or which social added value or gain
is created (people)? What environmental value is cre-
ated by solving the problem or creating a gain?
Examples of value proposition
The value proposition offered to the customer
could for example be solving problems relating
to lack of time, major expenses, frustration and
worrying, or gains in the form of quality, happiness,
comfort, status or relations. Social value creation
is closely related to welfare. Broadly speaking, it
is about promoting democracy, health, education,
culture, innovation, rights, solidarity and social
issues or solving problems within these areas.
To the individual human being, social value can
be about experiencing security, having influence,
opportunities for development, empowerment and
valuable experiences. Environmental gains and
pains include climate change, improvement of soil,
water and air quality, resource consumption as
well as loss and regeneration of biodiversity. The
business or the project can create environmental
value by strengthening the environment or nature
or solve a problem in one way or the other.
PLANET
PEOPLE
PROFIT

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16 17
WHO IS THE CUSTOMER?
To whom is the product or service sold? The custom-
er could be private consumers, physical and online
shops, production businesses or public institutions
and authorities. The concept of customer is thus a
broad concept. More specifically, the customer could
be a municipality, which buys a course in job-training. It
could also be a project as part of your education where
you work with a specific task for a public or private
business who is then the customer. The customer
groups have various characteristics. For instance:
• A small clientele (a niche market)
• A broad mass market
• Several customer groups for each of the products/
services
• Several customer groups to which the same
product is adapted
• Two or more mutually dependent customer
groups, for instance advertisers and buyers of
newspapers
PROFIT
WHO IS SOCIAL VALUE CREATED FOR?
To whom does the business or project create social
value? It could be users, customers and socially de-
prived groups, businesses, municipalities or citizens
in a specific geographic area. For instance: Citizens in
a specific municipality who gain increased democratic
influence as the result of a project. It could also be
participants in a cultural event who have a very special
experience. Or it could be socially deprived citizens
who are employed in the business, or the business
customers who develop new competences, improve
their health or enchance their quality of life.
PEOPLE
WHO IS ENVIRONMENTAL VALUE
CREATED FOR?
Who does the business or project create environ-
mental value for? It could be individuals, businesses,
municipalities or citizens in a specific geographic
area that acquire gains as a result of the environ-
mental initiatives of the business or project. For
instance the citizens in the city center that benefit
from reduced air pollution, business customers who
are offered products without harmful substances,
or the visitors to a specific nature reserve that the
business or project works to improve.
PLANET
TARGET GROUPS
PLANET
PEOPLE
PROFIT

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WHAT ARE THE RELATIONSHIPS
TO THE CUSTOMER?
What characterises the business’s or the
project’s relationship to the customer?
Examples of relationships:
• Personal service
• Automated service, for instance tax
• Self-service
• Communities in which the customers com-
municate amongst themselves, for instance
Endomondo
• Co-creation in which the customers participate
in development processes, for instance LEGO
• Subscriptions, lease contracts and service
contracts
• Projects on the course programme that for
instance include workshops with external
partners or written or oral presentation
PROFIT
HOW ARE THE RELATIONSHIPS
SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE?
How is the business’ or the project’s relationship
to customers and users socially responsible?
A socially responsible relationship is based on
trust and security and is inclusive and non-
discriminatory in relation to for instance hand-
icap, gender, ethnicity and age. Inclusion and
co-creation can be used as a way to secure a
socially responsible relationship.
PEOPLE
HOW ARE THE RELATIONSHIPS
ENVIRONMENTALLY RESPONSIBLE?
How does the business’ or project’s relationship
to the target groups help strengthen environ-
mental sustainability? An environmentally
responsible relationship may for instance be
based on service principles. This means that
you can rent, lease or share products instead
of buying. You thereby achieve a more frequent
contact, closer relationship to the customers,
and a greater customer loyalty. The close rela-
tionship may for instance be achieved through
leasing contracts, subscriptions or service
agreements.
PLANET
TARGET GROUP
RELATIONSHIPS
TARGET GROUP
CHANNELS
HOW DO YOU INTERACT WITH
THE CUSTOMER?
How does the product or service reach the customer?
Marketing: How does the customer become ac-
quainted with the product or service? For instance
via social media, exhibits, advertising or personal
sale.
Distribution: Where can you buy the product or
service?
For instance in retail shops or own shops, from mid-
dlemen, in pop up-shops such as the fish van, online
sales at own platform or other people’s platforms,
market places, etc.
Transport: How does the product reach the custom-
er/the middleman?
HOW DO YOU SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLY
INTERACT WITH TARGET GROUPS?
How does the business or project reach the
customers and users in a socially responsible way?
It is important to be aware of both physical, social,
language and cultural barriers that may prevent
good contact. How is your marketing and commu-
nication non-discriminatory, inclusive, understand-
able and transparent to the customer? How do you
ensure that products or services are available to the
customers that they create value for? Are specific
communication or distribution efforts required to
reach specific groups?
HOW DO YOU ENVIRONMENTALLY
RESPONSIBLY INTERACT WITH TARGET
GROUPS?
How do you ensure a sustainable resource
consumption for marketing and distribution?
Is it for instance possible for the business to
optimise energy consumption in physical shops,
rethink types of packaging and marketing materials,
prioritise using digital channels instead of printed
materials and use biogas or electricity for transport.
PLANET
PEOPLE
PROFIT

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20 21
WHAT IS THE MAIN SOURCE OF
INCOME?
What is the source of the most important income?
For instance letting, leasing or sales of:
• Physical products
• Advertising space
• Man hours/consultancy services
• Virtual products (for instance games, apps)
• Connections between people (for instance GoMore
or Airbnb or other types of circular economies)
• Subscriptions
And what price are the customers willing to pay?
If you work with a project as part of your education,
you will usually not have ”income”, but income can
also be understood as knowledge and understanding
within a specific area.
PROFIT
HOW DOES THE INCOME CREATE SOCIAL
VALUE?
It is important that value is not created at the cost of
people and society. How does the business or project
manage its economic resources so that they benefit
people and society? It is essential to have clear guide-
lines for how to distribute economic surplus and who
should benefit from this. The surplus can be used for
creating direct value for the employees or within the
social area, health, culture or employment. Always
invest the money in socially responsible initiatives.
Set a fair price for products or services and consider
the possibility of differentiated pricing that takes eco-
nomic inequality into consideration.
PEOPLE
HOW DOES THE INCOME CREATE
ENVIRONMENTAL VALUE?
Income must not be at the cost of environment, and
therefore it is essential to think about how to integrate
environmental aspects. How does the business or
project manage its economic resources so that they
benefit nature and environment? For instance, the
business can prioritise investing in the development
or implementation of new solutions, products, process-
es and methods that increasingly benefit nature and
environment. It is not enough to secure growth that is
not harmful to nature. Nature and environment can also
contribute as an alternative form of income, for instance
through conservation of bio diversity. If nature should
be preserved, there is a limit to growth, and we must
respect that as human beings. It is not about growing
fast but about growing sustainably.
PLANET
INCOME
PLANET
PEOPLE
PROFIT

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WHAT ARE THE KEY ACTIVITIES?
What activities are needed in order to run the
business or project? Examples of activities:
• Production processes
• Consultancy and services rendered
• Development of IT platforms and network
• Communication and marketing
• Design and development
PROFIT
WHAT ARE THE SOCIAL
DIMENSIONS OF THE ACTIVITIES?
How do the business’ or the project’s most
important activities contribute to strengthening
people and society? It is important to look at the
different activities separately. Are people and
society considered in all parts of the production
process? Do the development activities have a
social purpose that promote for instance health,
education, culture or social innovation? Can the
design processes be made more inclusive?
PEOPLE
WHAT ARE THE ENVIRONMENTAL
DIMENSIONS OF THE ACTIVITIES?
How do the business’ or the project’s most
important activities contribute to strengthening
nature and environment? By prioritising circular
activities, the business or project strengthens
the environmental dimension.
Examples of circular cycles:
• Products should be designed for reuse.
For example, designed for disassembly, use of
fewer types of material, phasing out harmful
of substances or use of bio materials.
• Waste should be minimised in production
processes and sustainable energy used.
• Prolonged durability through service, repair,
maintenance and updating of products.
• Reverse logistics:
• How is the raw material reintegrated into
production either in your own or in other
businesses?
PLANET
KEY ACTIVITIES KEY RESOURCES
WHAT ARE THE KEY RESOURCES?
What resources are the most important to the
business or project? Examples of resources:
• Physical (for instance buildings, shops,
machinery, materials)
• Financial
• Human
• Immaterial (for instance rights, information,
processes, knowledge, know how)
HOW DO YOU SUPPORT KEY
THE HUMAN RESOURCES?
How does the business or project assume
responsibility for the people involved?
The employees and other people involved are often
the most important resource in a business or
project. It is therefore important to create a healthy
work environment where physical, social and psy-
chological issues are taken care of. A good salary
and possibilities of further education and devel-
opment as well as inclusion contribute to creating
job satisfaction. On the other hand, a bad internal
climate, insecurity, differential treatment, etc.
increase stress and job dissatisfaction. The busi-
ness or project can also take responsibility for the
human resources, for instance by integrating interns,
apprentices and employees on wage subsidy or in
reduced hours jobs into the business or project.
HOW IS THE RESOURCE CONSUMPTION
ENVIRONMENTALLY RESPONSIBLE?
How does the business or project ensures that
resource consumption is responsible to nature and
environment? The business or project can assume
responsibility for its resource consumption in several
ways, for instance by prolonging the useful life of
resources through repair and maintenance, minimis-
ing resource consumption, avoiding environmentally
harmful materials, using renewable energy and
prioritising reused materials or biomaterials that
are renewable and biodegradable. In other words, it
is important to consider how resources can be part
of either the biological or technological cycle and in
this way be a part of the circular economy.
PLANET
PEOPLE
PROFIT

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24 25
WHO ARE THE KEY PARTNERS?
What key partners are necessary to run the business
or project? Examples of key partners:
Suppliers, distributors, knowledge suppliers, test lab-
oratories, authorities (for instance approvals, control,
etc.), networks and advisers. If you work on a project
as part of your education, both your personal and
professional network may help find both internal
and external key partners.
PROFIT
HOW DO THE PARTNERS COMMIT
TO SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY?
How do the partners that the business or project cooper-
ates with assume responsibility for people and society?
And who can you cooperate with to create more social
value?
Whether they operate in the context of public service
or civil society, it is important to ensure that your part-
ners assume social responsibility. By forming networks
together with other players who wish to promote the
same values, it is possible to create a larger impact.
At the same time, the business or project can contrib-
ute to inspiring and motivating key partners to
act more responsibly by entering into a dialogue
with them. Together, it may be possible to create new
solutions with a stronger social dimension.
PEOPLE
HOW DO THE PARTNERS COMMIT TO
ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY?
How does the business’ or the project’s key partners
assume responsibility for nature and environment?
And who can you cooperate with to create symbiosis
and new value chains? The right partnerships make
it possible for instance to minimise resource con-
sumption, develop new sustainable solutions, use
waste products and share knowledge.
A circular business model in particular requires close
partnerships as all parts of the model must have a
responsible and carefully thought through focus.
PLANET
KEY PARTNERS
PLANET
PEOPLE
PROFIT

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26 27
WHAT ARE THE ECONOMIC COSTS?
What are the most important working expenses?
Examples of expenses: Salaries, rent, raw materi-
al, energy, consultants (for instance accountants,
lawyers). Funding costs (for instance rental deposits
or purchase of machinery) do not count, but inter-
est and payment in instalments of any loans should
count as working expenses. A way to minimise your
expenses is to think in other forms of ownership, for
instance leasing, shared ownership or other circular
solutions. This can also contribute to minimising
the social and environmental costs. The economic
expenses are often larger here and now when you
choose to act more sustainably but in the long term
it pays off – also economically – to invest sustainably
and avoid fast “cheap” buys
PROFIT
WHAT ARE THE SOCIAL COSTS?
What negative consequences does the business or the
project have on people and society? And what can be
done to remove or minimise the consequences? It could
for instance be that the business or project contributes
to promoting an unhealthy lifestyle or inequality, or that
it contributes to maintaining harmful norms.
When a business or project chooses to act sustainably
in one area, it may result in higher costs in other areas.
Involvement processes and dialogue with many groups
of shareholders can for instance be expensive and time
consuming, but in the longer run, it can increase the
creation of value and reduce the social costs.
PEOPLE
WHAT ARE THE ENVIRONMENTAL
COSTS?
What negative consequences does the business or
services have on nature and environment? And what
can be done to remove or minimise the consequenc-
es? Environmental costs can for instance be measured
in terms of these four general factors:
• Resource consumption
• Pollution of soil, water or air
• Loss of biodiversity
• Negative climate effects.
PLANET
COSTS

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28 29
THE 17 SUSTAIN-
ABLE DEVELOP-
MENT GOALS AND
THE MODEL
When using the VIAble Growth Model in a development process,
you also ensure that the project or business works to support
the objectives defined in the UN 17 Sustainable Development
Goals. Just like the global goals, VIAble Growth Model has a ho-
listic approach to working with sustainability, which means that
both tools have a multidisciplinary focus on people, planet and
profit and all the areas and themes relating hereto. This ensures
that the long-term goals for sustainable development are the
same regardless of whether you use the Sustainable Develop-
ment Goals or VIAble Growth Model. By using VIAble Growth
Model, the Sustainable Development Goals are indirectly
implemented in the development of businesses and projects.
The Sustainable Development Goals and VIAble Growth Model
should, however, be considered two independent development
tools, each with its own strength. The Sustainable Development
Goals are a global development tool that serves as a framework
for the implementation of national and local measures and sus-
tainable innovation. VIAble Growth Model, on the other hand, is
a local analysis and development tool directly aimed at projects
and businesses and at the same time created in the context of
global development as defined by the Sustainable Development
Goals. When working with VIAble Growth Model, you may there-
fore benefit from using the Sustainable Development Goals as
a supplement. In this way, you will gain the most from the two
development tools.
Use the Sustainable Development Goals
actively when working with VIAble Growth Model
When you have analysed your business or project using VIAble
Growth Model, you can scan the 17 Sustainable Development
Goals and find the ones that best relate to your work. You
can then dive into the targets and find the targets that your
business or your project works for. In this way, your idea and
thought will be placed in a global context, and you will be able
to find inspiration from similar projects from all over the world.
At the same time, the descriptions of the individual targets will
rapidly create links to other targets, and in this way the targets
can be used as innovation tools that can create a direction for
your business or project. The indicators linked to the Sustaina-
ble Development Goals can also be used as measuring tools for
how sustainable your project or product is. You can read more
about this at page 43.

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30 31
Figure 1: The SDGs wedding cake. Azote Images for Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University
The levels in the Sustainable
Development Goals
The 17 Sustainable Development Goals
can be divided into three levels as shown
in figure 1. The three levels correspond to
people (society), planet (biosphere) and
profit (economy). The bottom element
of the figure, biosphere, includes the
Sustainable Development Goals that are
most clearly linked to nature and envi-
ronment, which is Goal no. 6: Clean Water
and Sanitation, Goal no. 13: Climate
Action, Goal no. 14: Life Below Water, and
Goal no. 15: Life on Land. The Sustainable
Development Goals that are most clearly
linked to society are placed in the middle.
They include Goal no. 1: No Poverty, Goal
no. 2: Zero Hunger, Goal no. 3: Good
Health and Well-being, Goal no. 4: Quality
Education, Goal no. 5: Gender Equality,
Goal no. 7: Affordable and Clean Energy,
Goal no. 11: Sustainable Cities and Com-
munities, Goal no. 16: Peace, Justice and
Strong Institutions.
The top of the figure shows the Sustain-
able Development Goals that are most
clearly linked to economy. They include
Goal no. 8: Decent Work and Economic
Growth, Goal no. 9: Industry, Innovation
and Infrastructure, Goal no. 10: Reduced
Inequality, Goal no. 12: Responsible Con-
sumption and Production.
It is important to underline that all the
Sustainable Development Goals are
interconnected across the three levels.
This is illustrated by Goal no. 17: Part-
nerships for the Goals that is at the top
of the figure and functions as a multi-
disciplinary goal for global development
that connects all the goals. The figure
does not show where to place all the 169
targets but it does, however, show the
overall connection between the goals.
Based on the figure, you can find the
Sustainable Development Goals relevant
and be inspired by the underlying targets
VIAble Growth Model
and the three levels
Figure 1 is created by Stockholm
Resilience Center to illustrate the link
between the people, planet, profit model
and the Sustainable Development Goals.
This link is also clear in VIAble Growth
Model where the three layers in the
flower correspond exactly to these three
aspects. Therefore, you can use figure 1
to find out which global goal it is obvi-
ous to consider when working with the
individual questions and areas in VIAble
Growth Model. In VIAble Growth Model,
Goal no.17: Partnerships for the Goals
is also considered a multidisciplinary
element related to cooperative partners
(see page 23). Figure 1 clarifies why this
area is specifically important to consider
in direct relation to the other areas.

VIABLE GROWTH MODEL
VIABLE GROWTH MODEL
32 33
Theoretical
Background of
the Model
PEOPLE
PLANET PROFIT
Focus on growth has changed. More and more people have
realised that the narrow focus on economic growth has not
been sustainable. We must think about whether what we pro-
duce and develop has too large consequences for the nature
around us and not least for people. As a result, it has become
customary to talk about the triple bottom line: profit, planet and
people (economy, environment and people) and not just about
one bottom line; economy. This means that you cannot just
create rapid growth and profit, but you must also consider how
society and nature can benefit from your products, services and
innovative solutions.
Below, the theoretical background of VIAble Growth Model
will be introduced on the basis of the triple bottom line concept.
In the model, the triple bottom line corresponds to the three
layers in the flower: People, planet and profit. The three layers
are all included in the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals.
PEOPLE, PLANET,
PROFIT
Introduction:
Economic growth with care for nature and people
We must make money on the products and services we develop,
but our growth cannot take place at the expense of nature or
people. Therefore, we must create a new definition of economy
and move away from the classical concept of growth that only
defines growth as economic growth.
Below the strategic tool Business Model Canvas, that VIAble
Growth Model is based on, will be introduced as will the new
economic model, the Doughnut. The Doughnut is an alternative
to the dominant economic models. In the Doughnut, people
and planet are considered the inner and outer boundaries to
profit creation. The model consists of two concentric rings: a
social foundation (People) and an ecological ceiling (Planet).
“Between these two boundaries lies a doughnut-shaped space
that is both ecologically safe and socially just – a space in
which humanity can thrive” (https://doughnuteconomics.org/
tools-and-stories/11?users_page=2)
ECONOMY

VIABLE GROWTH MODEL
VIABLE GROWTH MODEL
34 35
The Business Model Canvas
The Business Model Canvas (BMC) is
used to describe, challenge, optimise or
develop business and project ideas. The
BMC is developed by Alexander Oster-
walder and Yves Pigneur and is described
in the book Business Model Generation.
The BMC itself is considered a ”canvas”
where you map your business model
using a dynamic and visual process.
Therefore, it can be a good idea to use
the BMC as an interactive business
model that can encourage idea genera-
tion and discussion about the individual
elements in the model. The purpose of a
business model is to learn more about:
1. What you deliver (value proposition)
2. Who you deliver value to, i.e. who your
customer is
3. How your business is structured
(infrastructure)
4. How you make money
Or as Osterwalder and Pigneur define it:
“…the rationale of how an organization
creates, delivers and captures value….”
(Osterwalder & Pigneur, 2010:14). BMC
consists of nine building blocks that
are interdependent. The nine building
blocks are: Customer segments, value
proposition, channels, customer relation-
ships, revenue streams, key resources,
key activities, key partnerships and cost
structure (figure 2).
The building blocks can be divided into
two main areas; the areas where you
interact with the customer, and the areas
where value is created in the business
(figure 3). The interaction between the
customer and you takes place when
you have a product or a service that the
customer acquires knowledge about as
a result of your contact and relationship
- and that the customer is willing to pay
for. The price that the customer pays cor-
responds to your income. In the business,
value is created for the customer. This
requires specific resources, activities and
key partners. These areas correspond
to your expenses. The goal is that your
income should exceed your expenses.
Value Proposition Canvas
The core element of the model is the value
proposition you offer your customer; i.e.
the value that the customer will achieve
and that you create by way of your product
or service. The better you match the cus-
tomer’s needs, the bigger the chance of
growth and success. Both early and later
in the process of developing a product
or a service, it is important to analyse the
users’ needs to avoid developing a prod-
uct or a service that no one one wants
DesigneD by: Strategyzer AG
The makers of Business Model Generation and Strategyzer
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit:
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA.
strategyzer.com
Revenue Streams
Customer Segments
Value Propositions
Key Activities
Key Partners
Cost Structure
Customer Relationships
Designed by: Date: Version:
Designed for:
Channels
Key Resources
Figure 2: The Business Model Canvas
Figure 3: The Nine Building Blocks
DesigneD by: Strategyzer AG
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit:
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strategyzer.com
Revenue Streams
Customer Segments
Value Propositions
Key Activities
Key Partners
Cost Structure
Customer Relationships
Designed by: Date: Version:
Designed for:
Channels
Key Resources
Value creation
in the business
Interaction with
the customer
Gain Creators
Pain Relievers Pains
Gains
Products
& Services
Customer
Job(s)
Value Proposition Customer Segment
copyright: Strategyzer AG
The Value Proposition Canvas
strategyzer.com
Figure 4: Value
Proposition Canvas
to buy. For this purpose, you can use the
tool Value Proposition Canvas (VPD) also
developed by Osterwalder and Pigneur
and described in the book Value Prop-
osition Design (Osterwalder & Pigneur,
2014). In the same way as BMC, the VPD
is thought as an interactive tool to map
your knowledge of the customer’s needs.
The model corresponds to your BMC
with the building blocks ”Customer
relationships” and “Value proposition”.
You start with the customer profile
and analyse ”jobs”, ”pains” and ”gains”.
What kind of job is it that the customer
would like done? Is it for instance the
preparation of a tasty and healthy meal?
Then you look at which problems that
the customer experiences, for instance
time pressure and arguments. Then you
analyse what it is that the customer would
like to achieve, for instance admiration,
a clear conscience and profit. You then
design your value proposition. This means
what you can offer the customer in order
to do the job that he would like done.
The job can be done either in the form of
a concrete product or a service. In this
case, a simple and tasty recipe, a meal
box or kitchen assistance could be a
solution. In other words, a product or ser-
vice that solves the customer’s problem
(gains relievers) and creates value (gain
creators) (Osterwalder & Pigneur, 2014).
Prototyping
To create your value proposition, you may
benefit from working with prototyping.
Prototyping is a fast, low-cost and simple
model of your idea that does not have to
be functional but that makes it possible
to develop, test and communicate your
ideas and concepts in cooperation with
potential customers and key partners.
Make sure that your prototype is visual
and tangible and expect prototyping to be
an iterative process where you redefine
your prototype several times based on the
feedback you get. The last phase before
the final product or concept is created can
be a minimum viable product (MVP) where
your value proposition takes the form of a
functional product or concept with exactly
the features needed to test the idea and
collect feedback for further development.
Doughnut Economics
Wealth is a core concept of econom-
ics. By making money, human beings
can meet basic needs like food, health
and a home and improve their quality
of life. When talking about economics,
you therefore often talk about how to
maximise profit. By maximising profit,
for instance by optimising production,
increasing sales or by innovation, we can
increase our wealth and realise more of
our dreams.
Figure 5:
The Doughnut of social
and planetary bound-
aries
But higher profit for one person can be
at the expense of wealth for another. In
addition, our focus on growing produc-
tion and consumption can have negative
consequences for the planet, which
is a danger to our basis of existence.
Doughnut Economics is developed by
the economist Kate Raworth from Oxford
University (Raworth, 2018). The Dough-
nut model is an alternative to dominant
economic models with a narrow focus
on profit maximisation. The model uses
the social foundation (people) and the
ecological ceiling (planet) as the inner
and outer boundaries for profit creation.
For one thing, the social foundation in
the model shows that economic devel-
opment should only be considered an
instrument for meeting people’s funda-
mental needs like income, food, clean
water, education, etc. Businesses should
therefore ensure that profit creation
takes place in a way that benefits and
does not work against these basic needs.
Businesses should for instance not
underpay employees, not employ children
(who should work instead of going to
school), make sure that the drinking
water for the local population is not
affected by production, etc.
The Doughnut, and thus economic de-
velopment and growth, also has an outer
boundary. This boundary is the planetary
boundary, which has to do with reducing

VIABLE GROWTH MODEL
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36 37
Bibliography
Institute for Management Development IMD (2019). The origin of the
business model canvas - A conversation between Alex Osterwalder & Bill
Fischer [Youtube].
Located on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMoSzWp6u1c
Osterwalder, A.; Pigneur, Y. (2010). Business Model Generation. Wiley:
Hoboken, New Jersey.
Osterwalder, A.; Pigneur, Y.; Bernarda, G.; Smith, A. (2014). Value Proposition
Design. Wiley: Hoboken, New Jersey.
Raworth, K. (2018). Doughnut Economics, Seven Ways to Think Like a
21st-Century Economist. Cornerstone
Strategyzer (2014). Value Proposition Canvas Explained [Youtube].
Located on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aN36EcTE54Q
Strategyzer (2017). Strategyzer’s Value Proposition Canvas Explained
[Youtube]. Located on: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReM1uqmVfP0
Credit to
The section on ”The Doughnut model” is written by Yonatan Schvartzman,
Associate Professor, Ph.d, VIA University College
air pollution, CO2 emission and use of
the Earth’s resources. In other words,
the nine planetary boundaries as defined
by Stockholm Resilience Institute.
Generating profit and meeting human-
needs should not result in crossing these
boundaries. Crossing the boundaries
will be dangerous to both the planet
and humanity.
The Doughnut model is visually shaped
like a doughnut. The inner part of the
model includes the basic human needs
while the planetary boundaries make up
the outer ring. Sustainable production
and profit creation should take place
in the space between these two rings
and should take human needs as well as
planetary boundaries into consideration
(illustration):
The Doughnut model illustrates the
framework for sustainable production,
but it does not tell us how to get there.
VIAble Growth Model, on the contrary,
offers concrete tools for realising sus-
tainable growth that makes it possible
for you to move within the safe space
between what is ecologically safe and
socially just.
Introduction:
The Earth’s resources
are not inexhaustible
When we use materials, we use the
Earth’s resources. It is finally considered
an unavoidable fact that these resourc-
es are not inexhaustible. For obvious
reasons, the Earth only has a certain
amount of resources available. Right now,
the resources we use correspond to how
much we could use if we had six globes
instead of one. Therefore, we are also
forced to think about our resource con-
sumption both when it comes to extract-
ing resources from the underground and
especially when it comes to reusing the
resources we have already extracted. It is
about using the resources more efficient-
ly and stopping our overconsumption.
Below is an introduction to the ideas be-
hind circular economy and circular design.
In continuation of this, you can read about
the cradle to cradle theory which is pre-
cisely about how we can understand and
use our resources optimally.
Economy
– from linear to circular
”A circular economy is one that is restor-
ative and regenerative by design and
aims to keep products, components,
and materials at their highest utility
and value at all times, distinguishing
between technical and biological cycles.
This new economic model seeks to
ultimately decouple global economic
development from finite resource con-
sumption” (Ellen MacArthur Foundation,
2015: 3).
The circular economy is a break with
the linear economy. In figure 6, there
is a description of a linear economic
process. If the linear economy is main-
tained, the growth in world economy and
the increase in population will lead to
overconsumption of resources and major
problems with pollution and waste that is
not biodegradable. The Ellen MacArthur
Foundation is behind the term circular
economy, which is illustrated by ”The
Butterfly Diagram” (see figure 7 on the
next page). The circular economy is an
alternative to our use and throw-away
culture and is based on a number of
ENVIRONMENT
Figure 6: Linear economic process
Products are
thrown away
Extraction of
raw materials
Manufacturing
of products
Distribution
of products
Consumption
of products
philosophies, for instance the cradle
to cradle concept where focus is on
preventing waste already in the design
phase. One of the main principles of
circular economy is reuse and recycling.
When a product is reused, it is used for
the same purpose several times, for
instance recyclable bottles, clothes,
furniture and cars. When a product is
recycled, substances or materials are
extracted and used for new products.
It could for example be glass packaging
which is remelted to new glass packaging
or completely new products. A circular
product has a design and a quality that
makes it possible to use it over a long
period of time. It can be repaired when
it breaks or separated and used in new
products. At the same time, harmful

VIABLE GROWTH MODEL
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38 39
substances should be avoided, and the
production should be based on renewable
energy. The value is a potentially bound-
less cycle where the raw materials are
reused again and again in new products.
The left side represents the biological
cycles, and the right side represents the
technical cycles. The idea is that prod-
ucts should circulate, and the closer to
the middle, the better the use of the
resources. This means that the longer
you can use your clothes, your mobile
phone, your computer and your car,
the better. In the technical cycles, the
aim is to use products and resources in
new products instead of polluting the
biological cycles. The biological cycles
represent food and biologically-based
materials like cotton and wood that
circulate by being compostable and
included in the biological cycles. So a
plastic bottle produced in the technical
cycles that end in the ocean should be
compostable and be part of the biological
cycles in the ocean instead of polluting.
The circular economy is, among other
theories, based on the cradle to cradle
concept.
Figure 7: ”The Butterfly Diagram”
Cradle to cradle
The cradle to cradle concept is developed
by Michael Braungart and William McDon-
ough based on a wish that everything that
is produced should create as little waste
as possible in the product lifecycle (2009:
108). The concept should therefore be
understood in relation to nature based
on the condition that nature reuses nu-
trients in a circular process where waste,
or the waste product from one system,
becomes food for another (Braungart &
McDonough, 2009: 108). An example of
the circular process is the tree. When
its leaves, flowers and fruit fall on the
ground, they gradually decompose and in
this way become new food that the tree
can draw nourishment from to grow and
produce new leaves, flowers and fruit.
At the same time, the tree cleans the air
for CO2 that it uses for photosynthesis.
Based on this circular understanding,
the cradle to cradle concept aims to
completely eliminate the concept of
waste and instead introduce the word
resource as this gives a picture of the
idea that waste does not exist but a lot
of unused resources do (Braungart &
McDonough, 2009: 128). Braungart &
McDonough relate the idea of a circular
economy to society’s production philos-
ophy by dividing material into two types
of cycles: the biological cycles and the
technical cycles (Braungart & McDon-
ough, 2009: 109). The biological cycles
are materials or products designed to
return to the cycle of nature (Braungart
& McDonough, 2009: 122). This could for
instance be compostable plates, cups
and cutlery. The technical cycles aim to
preserve the high quality of raw materials
by designing products that can be dis-
assembled and reused in new products
(Braungart & McDonough, 2009: 127).
In the design world, this idea from the
technical cycles is called design for
disassembly. The two cycles mark a
paradigm shift for design and production
where the core element is to leave an
intelligent footprint on the planet instead
of minimising the human footprint.
Bibliography
Braungart, M. & McDonough, W. (2009) [2002]. Rigdom og vækst uden
affald – Cradle to cradle. København: Nyt Nordisk Forlag Arnold Busck
Ellen MacArthur Foundation (2015). What is circular economy? A frame-
work for an economy that is restorative and regenerative by design.
Located on: https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/publications/
towards-a-circular-economy-business-rationale-for-an-accelerated-
transition
Ellen MacArthur Foundation (n.d.). Higher Education. A global network of
institutions that explore, develop, and critique ideas and priorities to transi-
tion to a circular economy. Located on: www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/
our-work/activities/universities
Ellen MacArthur Foundation (n.d.). Re-thinking Progress: The Circular Econ-
omy. Located 25 June 2020 on: https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.
org/circular-economy/concept
Ellen MacArthur Foundation (n.d.). The Circular Classroom. Located 25
June 2020 on: https://circularclassroom.com/
Ellen MacArthur Foundation (n.d.). Various videos. Located 25 June 2020
on: https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/search/results?q=video
Guardian (2013). Creating a circular economy: the challenges and
opportunities for business. Located on: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
TtR1ibE8Zt0
Regeringen. Miljø- og Fødevareministeriet og Erhvervsministeriet (2018).
Strategi for cirkulær økonomi. Located on: https://mfvm.dk/fileadmin/
user_upload/MFVM/Miljoe/Cirkulaer_oekonomi/Strategi_for_cirkulaer_
oekonomi.pdf
Regeringen (n.d.). Faktaark: Strategi for cirkulær økonomi indeholder seks
indsatsområder og 15 initiativer. Located on: https://mfvm.dk/fileadmin/
user_upload/MFVM/Miljoe/Cirkulaer_oekonomi/CO_faktaark.pdf
Sekretariatet for Klima og Grøn Omstilling. Go Green with Aarhus.
Located on: https://gogreenwithaarhus.dk/soegeresultatsside/#?
cludoquery=cirkul%C3%A6r%20%C3%B8konomi&cludopage=1&cludore
furl=https%3A%2F%2Fgogreenwithaarhus.dk%2Fklimaplan%2F&clu
dorefpt=Klimaplan
The Circular Design Guide (n.d.). Methods.
Located on: https://www.circulardesignguide.com/methods

VIABLE GROWTH MODEL
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40 41
Introduction:
Social sustainability in a busi-
ness and innovation perspective
Social sustainability is focused on the
human and social dimensions of creating
a sustainable development and business
development. Unlike economic and
environmental sustainability, social sus-
tainability is often a neglected issue. It
can be difficult to determine the reason
for this but as the Sustainable Develop-
ment Goals gain a stronger foothold on
business life, the social aspect will also
play a more decisive role in business
development.
A socially sustainable business has both
economic and social goals that can be
structured as a for-profit and non-profit
business or a CSR business. Regardless
of the type of business, the purpose is to
improve the conditions for the individual
human being or for society in different
ways. It can be by integrating people at
the edge of the labour market, the work
environment of the business, support-
ing charity organisations or supporting
various initiatives in for instance sports,
culture, science and innovation. Below you
can read about how you can understand
management from a social perspective
and how innovation and business devel-
opment can take its point of departure
in the social dimension.
Leadership from
a social perspective
For many years, leadership has been
focused on how to create the best
conditions for growth by leading employ-
ees and players in the business’ value
chain. In recent years, the focus on how
we can lead a business based on social
sustainability with the human being at
the core has intensified. In 2010, Steen
Hildebrandt and Michael Stubberup pub-
lished the book Sustainable Leadership
– leadership from the heart, the purpose
of which was to develop a theory and
practice around the internal and external
aspects of the leadership process. Their
view on leadership is about: “(...) having
the heart in the right place – personal
centering, integrity and reliability, having
a heart for others – resonance and em-
phatic space in relation to interhuman
issues and having a heart for holism –
joint responsibility for sustainable
processes individually, socially and glob-
ally” (Hildebrandt & Stubberup, 2010: 16).
From their point of view, management
should be understood in correlation with
the sustainable transformation that
PEOPLE
Figure 8: Leadership from the heart - triangle
society is undergoing and therefore the
social aspect of operating a business
is essential (Hildebrandt & Stubberup,
2010). They have developed the leader-
ship model Leadership from the heart
- triangle that is based on the classical
triangle from organisational theory that
illustrates the three organisational levels
that create an overview of both the out-
side and inside of the organisation.
Each of the three corners in the model
Leadership from the heart - triangle has
a different focus. Combined they create
the right form of leadership where the
individual human being is at the core.
The left corner – integrity – is based on
an inner focus that is linked to personal
centering. The right corner – resonance –
is based on contact and communication
with people while the top of the triangle
– joint responsibility – is based on a ho-
listic perspective where focus is beyond
yourself (Hildebrandt & Stubberup, 2010:
142). Inside the large triangle, there is a
small triangle – the tool triangle – which
includes three inner change tools where
the implementation inside the business
intersect with the outside processes
(Hildebrandt & Stubberup, 2010: 156).
The item Commitment points both to in-
tegrity and joint responsibility. Therefore,
this item includes both a perspective on
committing to your own core values as
well as connecting them with a higher
purpose where you assume joint respon-
sibility for something beyond yourself.
The item Synergy is placed between joint
responsibility and resonance. It implies
an understanding that everybody is joint-
ly responsible for and must cooperate
about the business’ activities and apply
a holistic approach to their own role in
the business. The last item is called the
“Personal working point”. This item is
between integrity and resonance. It is to
be understood as the way in which you
create plans and agreements for yourself
that optimise and make it possible for
you to immerse in your work processes.
In this model, these plans and agree-
ments are defined as the business’ “cur-
rent turnover”, which is to be understood
as the operationalisation of its long-term
objectives. (Hildebrandt & Stubberup,
2010: 157-159).
Overall, the model Leadership with the
heart - triangle adds an understanding
that leadership is beyond economy and
points to an approach where leadership
should also consider the meaning of life
and that personal values play a decisive
role in the well-being and commitment of
human beings. According to Hildebrandt
& Stubberup, your work should therefore
be based on the concept of best future
practice or next practice instead of best
practice, which has been characteristic of
management strategy in previous years.
With best future practice or next prac-
tice, you should lead a business based
on the assumption of “(...) an open and
flexible future, potentials, us and our
business” (Hildebrandt & Stubberup,
2010: 216-217). As the leader of a busi-
ness, you should therefore ask yourself
the question “With which values and
concepts will we meet and create the
future? ” (Hildebrandt & Stubberup, 2010:
216-217). Based on this question, you
should create a business that takes the
social perspective into consideration.
CSR – the business’s social
responsibility
In continuation of the above under-
standing of leadership based on a social
perspective, it is relevant to mention the
concept Corporate Social Responsibility,
which is often referred to as CSR. CSR is
a strategy to incorporate social respon-
sibility into the operation of the business
and the development of business. More
specifically, the concept describes the
business’ work to integrate social and
environmental perspectives in their
business activities as well as in their
interactions with players in the value
chain (CSR Kompasset, n.d.).
Within the social area of sustainability,
this is a concept and a tool that several
businesses use to secure their social
responsibility in relation to employees
and suppliers. On 1 October 2011, the EU
Commission presented a new policy for
how businesses should operationalise
their social responsibility. They define
CSR as: “the responsibility of enterpris-
es for their impacts on society”. At the
same time, they emphasise that: “To fully
meet their social responsibility, enter-
prises should have in place a process to
integrate social, environmental, ethical
human rights and consumer concerns
into their business operations and core
strategy in close collaboration with their
stakeholders” (CSR Kompasset, n.d.).
CSR strategies therefore imply that busi-
nesses should document, communicate
and systemise the initiatives that they
implement for instance to guarantee
human and employer’s rights as well as
environmental and anti-corruption rights
(CSR Kompasset, n.d.).
CSR strategies have the advantage that
they can add value to the business both
by legitimising the business’ production
and activities as well as by being a com-
munication tool for creating a sustainable
image towards the customers. As a result
of the latter, CSR has at times had a
tarnished reputation as there have been
more examples of CSR strategies being
used for greenwashing. If CSR is used
responsibly and from a loyal perspective,
it can secure the social dimension of the
business’ entire value chain and thereby
make the business take social sustaina-
bility into consideration.
The social dimension
in innovative work
Apart from considering social sustainabil-
ity from a management perspective and
in relation to business operations, the
social dimension is also interesting
from an innovation perspective. Within
entrepreneurship, you talk about the
concept of social entrepreneurship.
Social entrepreneurship is defined as
“... the creation of social value through
innovation” (Hulgård & Andersen, 2012:
12). Social innovation is often created with
a specific focus on participant orientation,
civil society participation and an approach
where innovation takes place across state,
market and civil society. It is therefore
often seen that social entrepreneurs
form partnerships with players from civil
society that are worried or would like a
responsible change somewhere in society.
(Hulgård & Andersen, 2012: 12-13).
Sustainability
Holistic openness
Committing to something beyond one self
JOINT RESPONSIBILITY
INTEGRITY
personal centering
trustworthy core values
the heart as the pivotal point
RESONANCE
Emphatic space
Interhuman processes
Issues and possibilities
Commitment
intention
attentive focus
Synergy
diversity
trusting openness
Personal working point
as little change as possible

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42 43
Work in the field of social entrepreneur-
ship is not only about“...realising social
objectives but also about the process-
es and relations that create the social
values” (Hulgård & Andersen, 2012:12-
13). In other words, it is about creating
social change through your products or
services. Therefore, this section will take
a closer look at how social innovation as
a method can be the driver to bring the
social dimension into business devel-
opment as social innovation is often
the approach used when working with
the social dimension. Social innovation
came on the agenda in the design field
when Victor Papanek published the book
“Design for the Real World” in 1971 where
he points out the social responsibility of
the designer (Papanek, 1972). According
to Papanek, the real human and social
needs should be the pivotal point, and
therefore you should consider the major
changes taking place around the world
and act both reactively and proactively to
correct the negative turn that the world
has taken (Papanek, 1972: 141). So the
social considerations focus on “trying
to place the problems in their social
perspectives” and see how the project
impacts society (Papanek, 1972: 154).
Even though Victor Papanek’s book
is about the field of design, this field
is in many ways similar to the work of
entrepreneurs as both fields focus on
creating new solutions based on innova-
tion. Therefore, Papanek’s ideas are also
relevant to entrepreneurs as they provide
insights into how we approach innovation
from a social perspective. In recent years,
the method has developed from being a
niche method to a mainstream method
that more people make use of to incorpo-
rate social sustainability into their work
(Mulgan, 2006a: 9).
Social innovation as a method is defined
as ”a new idea that works in meeting
socials goals” (Mulgan, 2006a: 8). A more
detailed definition is that social innova-
tion is a process of change that aims to
meet a recognised social need in a new
way. Often the work on social innovation
is the result of personal motivation or
empathy for the people with a need you
wish to meet. Therefore, one of the most
effective methods to start a social inno-
vation process is through the personal
meeting (Mulgan, 2006b: 150).
The reason for this is that the person-
al meeting becomes the driver of the
work to maintain the social perspective
through the entire business development
so that the environmental or economic
sustainability will not overshadow the
social dimension.
Another important element in the social
innovation is the work with prototypes.
What separates prototyping in social
innovation from other practices is that
the prototypes are implemented in their
Figure 9: The interactive process of social innovation - Worldperfect
THE INTERACTIVE
PROCESS OF SO-
CIAL INNOVATION
Definition/recognition
of a social need
Design and
conceptualisation
Prototype
Evaluation and input
for adjustment
Implementation in
a real life context
real context early and therefore rapidly
become part of a market. Often, it is not a
completely finished version that is sent to
the market, but a prototype that is adjust-
ed in the process (Mulgan, 2006b: 152).
The social and human dimension in
prototyping is that the product or the
concept is tested in a real life context
by the people that the product is
intended for and thereby learns from
them and their context. Focus is there-
fore also on meeting the social needs
in the test phase.
Bibliography
CSR Kompasset (n.d.). Hvad er CSR.
Located on https://www.csrkompasset.dk/hvad-er-csr
Hildebrandt, S.; Stubberup, M. (2016). Sustainable leadership - Leadership
from the heart. København: Copenhagen Press
Hulgård, L.; Lundgaard Andersen, L. (2012). Socialt entreprenørskab –
velfærdsafvikling eller arenaer for solidaritet? Dansk Sociologi, 12/2012,
Volume 23, Nummer 4.
Mulgan, G. (2006a). Social innovation. What it is, why it matters, how it can
be accelerated. London: Basingstoke Press.
Mulgan G. (2006b). The Process of Social Innovation, Innovations –
Technology, Governance & Globalization (1), 2, pp. 145-162.
Papanek, V. (2019) [1970]. Design for the Real World - Human Ecology and
Social Change. London: Thames & Hudson Ltd.

VIABLE GROWTH MODEL
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44 45
The UN Sustainable Development Goals
are our common global language of
sustainability. The goals were adopted by
the heads of state and governments in
2015 and took effect from 1 January 2016.
The purpose of the goals is to set the
course for the sustainable development
until 2030 (The Division for Sustainable
Development Goals).
The Sustainable Development Goals are
based on social, economic and environ-
mental sustainability. Therefore, they
include different perspectives that aim
to address the global challenges facing
the world. Some of the overall themes
that the goals are based on are poverty,
inequality, climate, environmental deteri-
oration, wealth, peace and justice. There
is a total of 17 Sustainable Development
Goals that are operationalised in the form
of 169 targets. The targets can be seen
as 169 small keys to understand the 17
Sustainable Development Goals.
At the end of each of the 169 targets,
several tasks are waiting to be performed.
When and how they will be carried out
depends on business strategies, govern-
ment policies and citizen behaviour.
The Sustainable Development Goals are
therefore an obvious opportunity for all
types of businesses and projects to work
with sustainable development and to
show their work to the world. For entre-
preneurs, the 17 Sustainable Development
Goals - and in particular the 169 targets
- each with their individual indicators
are also a core tool to create and initiate
sustainable development. The targets
can be used as a guide to help navigate in
the work with sustainability as the targets,
as mentioned earlier, include several tasks
that can inspire businesses and projects
to create a sustainable context for their
development. As an entrepreneur, the
most important task is to choose the
targets that you wish to pursue in your
product, service or concept. One of the
pitfalls of using the Sustainable Develop-
ment Goals is that many just use them as
a marketing tool and not as an actual tool
to initiate sustainable development. The
goals should be used in both ways and in
a combination where they both express
your work with sustainability and are used
as a tool for communicating this to your
surroundings. One of the strengths of the
Sustainable Development Goals is that
they are our common global language of
sustainability and therefore they are a
great tool to communicate how we work
with sustainable development.
THE SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT
GOALS AND
TARGETS
Figure 10: The UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals
Bibliography
Hildebrandt, S. (2016). Bæredygtig global udvikling - FN’s 17 verdensmål i
et dansk perspektiv. Jurist- og Økonomforbundets Forlag.
The Division for Sustainable Development Goals.
Located on https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/
SDGs in your pocket
App where you can read more about the Sustainable Development Goals,
targets and indicators Developed by UNITAR Geneva.
Further reading
www.verdensmaalene.dk (Danish)
Here you can read more about the Sustainable Development Goals, targets
and indicators. Developed by the UNDP’s Nordic office in Denmark, Global
High Schools and ActionAid/VerdensKlasse.
www.verdensmaal.org (Danish)
Here you can read more about the Sustainable Development Goals and
targets. Developed by Verdens Bedste Nyheder.
www.sdg-tracker.org
Here you can follow the development in achieving the Sustainable
Development Goals. Developed by University of Oxford and the Global
Change Data Lab
Connection between the
Sustainable Development Goals,
targets and indicators
Below, the connection between the
Sustainable Development Goals, targets
*and indicators is illustrated. The example
is based on Goal 12.
Global Goal no. 12 is about
ensuring responsible con-
sumption and production.
To specify how we should
realise this goal, Goal 12 has
11 specifc and action-based
targets that elaborate on the
area covered by the goal. An
example is target 12.5.
Target 12.5: Substantially
reduce waste generation. By
2030, we should substantial-
ly reduce waste generation
through prevention, reduction,
recycling and reuse
The focus of target 12.5 is thus reducing
waste generation to ensure responsible
consumption and production. To measure
and evaluate the targets, there is one or
more indicators for each of them. For target
12.5., the indicator is 12.5.1.
Indicator 12.5.1: National recycling rate,
tons of material recycled.
To follow up on whether each country makes
progress in relation to target 12.5, the de-
velopment in the national recycling rate is
measured. This is measured in tons of material
recycled. To make the indicators more relevant
to businesses or projects, they can be trans-
lated into individual indicators, for instance by
measuring how the recycling rate in a business
develops. It could also be measured how much
the implementation of a specific project can
increase the recycling rate.

VIABLE GROWTH MODEL
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46 47
Inspiration
for How to
Use the Model
The below sections are aimed at lecturers and process consultants in the student incuba-
tors as well as consultants working under the Danish Board of Business Development who
would like inspiration for how VIAble Growth Model can be used in practice in connection
with sparring, development processes and teaching. Apart from an introduction to different
sparring scenarios, there will be a description of various cases for inspiration that illustrate
the application potential of the model in different contexts.
Below there are three different examples of how the model can be
used actively in different contexts in connection with sparring and
consultancy:
1. Individual sparring with students and entrepreneurs
2. GROWTH sparring
3. Sparring and business development
The examples of how the model can be used for sparring are,
however, not exhaustive as the potential of the model goes beyond
these examples.
In continuation of the first two examples of sparring, there is an
introduction to different corporate forms and how considerations
about framework and organisation are essential when developing
a project or a business idea.
USING THE MODEL
FOR SPARRING

VIABLE GROWTH MODEL
VIABLE GROWTH MODEL
48 49
Time: 30 – 60 minutes
If the entrepreneur (or the group of
entrepreneurs) has a new idea, the first
question should be about value proposi-
tion. Therefore, the core element of VIA-
ble Growth Model is the value proposition
of the idea. What economic, social or
environmental value does the entrepre-
neur offer with his product or service?
Afterwards, you can choose freely
between the leaves in the model and
choose the question that makes the
most sense to start your sparring with.
Should it be a question related to the
customer (who is value created for?,
how do you interact with the customer?,
what are the relationships to the cus-
tomer?, and what is the most important
source of income?) or should focus be
on the creation of value in the business
(what are the key activities?, what are the
key resources?, who are the key partners?,
and what are the most important costs?).
Whether you should always include ques-
tions about both economic, social and
environmental sustainability depends on
the actual idea, how far the entrepreneur
is with the idea and who he or she is. But
it is always a good idea to challenge as
well as inspire as this will present the
entrepreneur with possibilities that he or
she may not have considered. You can
start with the questions relating to eco-
nomic aspects, but if the entrepreneur’s
project is focused on social aspects,
it can be beneficial to start with ques-
tions relating hereto as this is what the
entrepreneur is most dedicated to, and
afterwards you can ask questions about
economic and environmental aspects.
It depends on how far the entrepreneur
is with the idea how many questions you
have time for. The purpose is not that you
should go through all questions. At the
end of your session, however, it is a good
idea to sum up on the areas that you
have been through, whether there are
areas that the entrepreneur should pay
specific attention to, and what the topic
of the next sparring session should be.
INDIVIDUAL
SPARRING WITH
ENTREPRENEURS
VIAble Growth Model is a good
starting point for individual
sparring as the consultant or
the lecturer can use the model
to inspire and challenge the
entrepreneur’s idea from both an
economic, social and environmen-
tal perspective. You can add a
further dimension to the sparring
through the UN’s 17 Sustaina-
ble Development Goals and 169
targets.
Time: 60 minutes
In VIA Student Incubator Aarhus N, it has
been a tradition that entrepreneurs with
an idea are hooked up with a process
consultant that they can spar with.
Typically, the entrepreneur and the
process consultant are responsible for
making appointments for sparring ses-
sions. However, in GROWTH sparring, the
idea is that several aspects and persons
take part in the sparring to facilitate
the development of the entrepreneur’s
business or project idea. VIAble Growth
Model provides a structure for the fa-
cilitation process, making it possible to
focus on both sustainability and social
and economic aspects and to put the
process into the perspective of the 17 UN
Sustainable Development Goals and the
169 targets. A sparring session is based
on where the entrepreneur is in the
development of their business idea and
which challenges they are facing at the
time of the GROWTH sparring.
In a GROWTH sparring, 5-12 participants
are placed around a table. Preferably, the
participants should stand up to keep up
the energy (figure 11). The entrepreneurs
and the process consultant are placed
at one end of the table while the other
participants (called the reflective team)
are placed around the opposite side of
the table. To make it possible for the
entrepreneur to get facilitation and input
on as many aspects as possible, the re-
flective team can consist of people with
different competences (Madsen, 2015). It
is equally possible to recruit people with
specific competences for the reflective
team; competences within areas that
pose challenges to the entrepreneur’s
business development. Typically, the
reflective team consists of lecturers, pro-
cess consultants, other entrepreneurs, or
external people with specific knowledge
or competences.
GROWTH
SPARRING
GROWTH sparring is a specific
type of sparring process focus-
ing on developing a business or
project idea. GROWTH sparring is
a seven-step process combining
action learning and facilitation in
a social process with several par-
ticipants. VIAble Growth Model
model is used for structuring the
facilitation process so that both
economic, social and environ-
mental aspects are considered in
developing the idea.
GROWTH sparring combines
different approaches because it
uses elements from both action
learning, supervision, feedback
through social processes and
VIAble Growth Model.
Figure 11: GROWTH sparring

VIABLE GROWTH MODEL
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50 51
The GROWTH sparring consists of seven
steps (Madsen 2015) and has a duration of
max. 60 minutes:
Step 1: Short presentation of the partici-
pants placed around the table.
Step 2: The process consultant explains
the process and the rules of the process.
Step 3: The entrepreneurs pitch their
business idea in max. 5-7 minutes.
Step 4: The entrepreneurs and the
process consultant agree on what the
facilitation should focus on. In action
learning, this corresponds to a form of
contract (Madsen, 2015).
Step 5: The facilitation process starts.
At first, it is only the entrepreneurs and
the process consultant that talk together.
The reflective team listens.
Step 6: One to three times during the
process, the process consultant calls a
“timeout” to give the reflective team talk
time (Madsen, 2015) (Brockbank et al.,
2004). When the reflective team talks to-
gether, the entrepreneurs and the process
consultant listen and do not take part in
the discussion. The process consultant, or
a person assisting, can use the blackboard
or whiteboard for illustrations and to list
key notes from the discussion in the re-
flective team. It is also possible to record
a video or sound or to make notes that
are subsequently given to the entrepre-
neurs after the sparring for their sub-
sequent reflections on the process and
the many inputs they get. The process
consultant decides when the talk time in
the reflective team should stop. Then the
facilitation of the discussion between the
entrepreneurs and the process consult-
ant continues, inspired by input from the
discussion in the reflective team.
Step 7: In conclusion, the process con-
sultant sums up the main elements from
the sparring and asks whether there are
any final questions or loose ends that
should be taken up in the coming sparring
sessions.
Step 8: All the steps in the GROWTH
sparring are evaluated by all parties in a
plenary session. It is important to keep
focus on the evaluation and not continue
or resume the sparring.
Theoretical background
of GROWTH sparring
The main theoretical inspiration for the
development of GROWTH sparring is
action learning.
Action learning is about learning from
actions, for instance through concrete
projects where learning takes place in
a reflective community. In relation to
innovative processes, the action learning
framework is both strict and broad, i.e.
there is a strict time management but
great freedom during reflection. Action
learning is based on four main roles:
A team consultant, a discussion con-
sultant, a player and a reflective person/
team. As the team consultant has a
more overall role in a longer process in
action learning, only the last three main
roles are used in GROWTH sparring, so
the process consultant (the dialogue
consultant), the entrepreneur (the player)
and the reflective team (the reflective
person).
The reflective team can be used in sev-
eral ways. However, in GROWTH sparring
and in action learning, no. 4 is used (see
figure 12).
This means that the process consult-
ant decides when and for how long the
reflective team should be involved and
that the reflective team talks to each
other and not the process consultant
or student. In the discussion, focus is
on the reflective team providing ideas,
constructive suggestions for changes,
and challenges the project and provides
suggestions for potential key partners,
etc. Exactly this element that means that
the reflective team talks about the player
and his project without talking directly
to him has received particularly positive
feedback from entrepreneurs as they
experience that this gives them time to
listen to the reflections instead of having
to spend time defending their project.
Otherwise, the feedback from the entre-
preneurs tells that they feel enriched and
inspired in relation to their project and
its potential. It also helps some of them
recognise themselves as ”real” entre-
preneurs because the project is taken
seriously by the reflective team.
The reflective team
Talks to the player
Talks about the
player
The process consul-
tant manages the
process and decides
when the reflective
team gets talk time
No 1 2
Yes 3 4
Figure 12: Re-written figure. Madsen et al. 2015
As an entrepreneur, one of your first
considerations is which corporate form
you should choose for your business.
Basically, you can choose between a
personally owned and run business and a
limited liability business (see figure 13 at
page 54). For idealistic reasons, more and
more choose to set up their business as a
non-profit organisation.
One-man business
As the name suggests, the business is
owned by one person only. There are no
minimum capital requirements, and it is
easy to register the business. In return,
the owner is liable for all the obligations
of the business. Co-ownership is not pos-
sible in a one-man business. In practice,
it is not possible to have anyone invest in
your business as investments are taxable
income for the business. This corporate
form is well-suited for liberal professions
(doctors, lawyers and accountants) and
less suited for scalable business models
as investments or co-ownership is not
possible.
Partnership
A partnership is a personally owned busi-
ness with at least two owners. It is easy to
start, and there are no minimum capital
requirements. The owners have joint and
several liability for the obligations of the
business. This corporate form has the
same advantages and disadvantages as a
one-man business. It is, however, possible
to have co-owners in a partnership, but
investments are taxable.
Private limited business
A private limited business is an inde-
pendent legal entity. The owners of a
private limited business are therefore
only liable for their investment in the
business. The minimum capital required
is DKK 40,000. There can be one or more
owners of a private limited business.
To set up a private limited business, a
memorandum of association and articles
of association are required.
This corporate form is very suitable for
taking in new owners, selling shares of
ownership and receiving investments.
Moreover, a private limited business is a
corporate form recognised by investors,
suppliers and customers. The disadvan-
tage of a private limited business is
that there is a capital requirement of
DKK 40,000.
Organisation
An organisation is a group of people with
a common interest they would like to
promote or cultivate together. There are
several different types of organisations,
but they all have a non-profit purpose or
a narrow goal of promoting the financial
interests of the members. Organisations
are self-governing and have at least two
members who have prepared articles
of association describing the activities
of the organisation. The advantage of
non-profit organisations is that they can
often be financed through subscriptions,
sponsorships and subsidies. The dis-
advantage is that they are not suitable
for businesses with the sole purpose of
profit making.
Registered socially
responsible business
Businesses in Denmark can apply for
registration as a socially responsible
business if they meet these five criteria:
1. They have a social purpose
2. They carry on business for profit
3. They do not depend on public funding
4. Their activities are inclusive and
responsible
5. They use their profit for social
purposes
CORPORATE
FORMS AND
FRAMEWORK
As consultants in the student
incubators, it is an important part
of the sparring to consider the
framework of a project, includ-
ing the possibility of setting
up a business. In this context,
“business” is thought of in the
classical sense but it can also
be a non-profit business or an
organisation. Not necessarily all
entrepreneurs should set up a
business; it could also be a pro-
ject developed as part of their
education, an idea/project that is
sold to a business or a project you
develop for others. As a consult-
ant, you can also meet students
who have not at all considered
the possibility of setting up a
business but where it would make
a lot of sense to do so.

VIABLE GROWTH MODEL
VIABLE GROWTH MODEL
52 53
One-man
business
Partnership Organisation
Private limited
business
Number of owners One More than one
None (but at least
two menbers)
At least one
Type of owner Physical person
Physical person or
business
None
Physical person or
business
Capital requirements None None None At least DKK 40,000
Annual report required No No
No (but foundations
etc. often require
annual reports)
Yes – must be
published
Management Owner No requirements Board At least one manager
Liability
Unlimited, personal
and direct
Joint and several, per-
sonal and unlimited
No liability
Only liable for invest-
ment in the business
Availability to the
public
Owner listed in the
Central Business
Register
Liable partners and
management listed in
the Central Business
Register
None
Management, legal and
real owners listed in
the Central Business
Register
Figure 13: Four different corporate forms and their characteristics
Bibliography
Bernard, J. M.; Goodyears, R. K. (2019). Fundamentals of Clinical Supervi-
sion. London: Pearson
Brockbank, A.; McGill, I. (2004). The Action Learning Handbook. Powerful
Techniques for Education, Professional Development & Training. London:
Routledge
Dilworth, R. (2010). Action Learning and its Applications. London: Palgrave
MacMillan
Madsen, B. (2015). Aktionslæringens DNA - en håndbog om aktionslærin-
gens teori og metode. København: Hans Reitzels Forlag
Revans, R. W. (2011). ABC of Action Learning. Empowering Managers to
Act and to Learn from Action. London: Routledge
Sprogøe, J.; Kristensen, N. E. (2018). ”Underviserrollen i samskabte lære-
processer” i Begribe og gøre – innovation og entreprenørskab i et profes-
sionsperspektiv, redigeret af J. Sprogø, H. M. Davidsen og J. Boelsmand.
Frederiksberg C: Frydenlund Academic.
Credit to:
The section ”Corporate forms and framework” is written by Hans Henrik
Bondegaard, Lawyer and partner at Hejm Vilsgaard

VIABLE GROWTH MODEL
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54 55
When large and small businesses wish to
work with product and business develop-
ment, it can be profitable to become
part of a mentoring or sparring pro-
gramme with consultants with a holistic
understanding of and competences in
sustainability. In this way, the business
can get a new perspective on how to
develop in a more sustainable direction.
At the same time, it can provide concrete
hands-on ideas and suggestions as well
as contact to relevant key partners. In
this way, the external sparring can be a
push that points the business in a more
sustainable direction.
VIAble Growth Model is based on the
same principles as the sustainability agen-
cy Worldperfect uses when they advise
businesses on business and product
development. This means they have a
holistic focus where the consideration
for people, planet and profit is included as
natural dogma that cuts across all areas
that they work with. When working with
the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development
Goals and in particular the targets, the
business’ or project’s work with the triple
bottom line is made more specific. How
does the business already work with the
Sustainable Development Goals? What
other development goals (targets) can
they start working with, i.e. develop their
business in relation to? Could they ap-
proach some targets in a different way?
VIAble Growth Model and the
UN’s 17 Sustainable Develop-
ment Goals as a tool for dialogue
and development
At the beginning of a development pro-
cess, it is obvious to use VIAble Growth
Model as a tool for dialogue in combina-
tion with the Sustainable Development
Goals. Using this approach, the business
and the consultant will together work out
different areas of the business or project
that it is relevant to focus on to create
the most sustainable development. Here
the model helps create an overview and
open, inspire and systemise the develop-
ment process and challenge new ideas
while taking people, planet and profit into
consideration. In addition, VIAble Growth
Model can be revisited as the develop-
ment process proceeds and be used for
reporting or evaluation of the project
or process at the end. More specifically,
completing the leaves in the flower will
show the shortcomings of a given busi-
ness model or project. The task is then to
redefine these shortcomings so that they
become business potentials.
Business development without
the triple bottom line perspec-
tive is business liquidation
If a sustainable development strategy is
not part of your business, you are in real-
ity liquidating your business. Most large
businesses know this, but Worldperfect
believes that small businesses should
also realise and implement this. Several
business models already exist that at-
tempt to incorporate this – some better
than others. However, VIAble Growth
Model is the first model to show a direct
correlation between the three aspects
of a business, i.e. the economic, social
and environmental and not least place
these three equally important aspects in
a business development context. That is
the reason why the model is so useful.
SPARRING
AND BUSINESS
DEVELOPMENT
VIAble Growth Model can be
used for business sparring when
you would like a more holistic
approach to product, project and
business development. When
applying a holistic approach, you
naturally consider both people,
planet and profit in all aspects
of the business development
process. The holistic approach to
sustainable development can also
be used as a tool for innovation.
For more than ten years, the
sustainable agency Worldperfect
has worked with sustainable
development and counselling.
CASES VIAble Growth Model can be used at
several different stages of a devel-
opment process whether for project
or business development. Depending
on where you are in the development
process or what the purpose of the
development is, the model can be used
to challenge ideas, confirm a direction
or make new and more sustainable
development possibilities visible. Below
is a description of cases that illustrate
how the model can be used in different
contexts. You can use the cases as in-
spiration for how you and others can
use the model for creating value.
Integrating the Sustainable
Development Goals
All cases include examples of which
targets the case works with and how. All
businesses, organisations and projects
should play a key role in providing
innovative solutions and rethinking
current frameworks to create change
and development in the direction of the
Sustainable Development Goals. At the
same time, the goals can inspire new
business ideas, including new forms of
business, and market the business as
an attractive workplace and positively
brand products or the value created by
the project or business. Therefore, it is
essential to get to know the Sustainable
Development Goals and understand
the possibilities and responsibility that
each goal represents to the individual
business and project.
Start-up cases
Four different start-ups that have been
inspired by and use VIAble Growth Mod-
el in their business and idea generation
process will be introduced.
Teaching cases
There will also be an introduction to
three different examples describing
how VIAble Growth Model has been inte-
grated in different teaching contexts. A
common feature of the examples is that
the model has been used in connection
with project or innovation work.
Intercultural cases
There is also an introduction to two
different cases that illustrate how the
model has been used in intercultural
contexts.

VIABLE GROWTH MODEL
VIABLE GROWTH MODEL
56 57
STARTUP CASE:
KLATREFYSSEN
Business name: Klatrefyssen
Business owner: Simone Stilling
Markussen
(physiotherapist
student)
Klatrefyssen supports and empowers young people with depression
The business offers a self-development course for young people with depression with
a duration of 10 x 2 hours a week. The course is about bouldering. Bouldering takes
place on indoor climbing walls and does not require rope, climbing strap, anchoring
or climbing partner.
The goal is to give the young people a success experience through bouldering by
letting them experience what the body is capable of. They should experience how they
gradually become stronger, improve their body coordination and gain control of their
movements. Focus is completely on the now and does not leave room for everyday
concerns because they have to concentrate on technique, movements and breathing.
The activity creates a community because it is necessary to help each other ”close a
route”, which means finding the best way to climb the climbing wall. The participants
also discuss technique and share experiences.
The course is offered in cooperation with a climbing club and different organisations in
contact with young people with depression where the offer will also be advertised.
Simone already works directly with several Sustainable Development Goals but can
still use the different goals and their targets and indicators as inspiration for further
business development. Based on the Sustainable Development Goals, she can also get
inspiration for applications to foundations and key partners.
Klatrefyssen’s work with VIAble
Growth Model
From the beginning, Simone has received
individual sparring based on the mod-
el and has also taken part in GROWTH
sparring with her project. Klatrefyssen is
in the start-up phase and has not yet been
through all leaves in the model.
Value proposition: Klatrefyssen creates
increased body awareness, social inter-
action and thereby enhanced quality of
life. In this way, the concept creates both
social and economic value.
Target groups: Klatrefyssen’s target group
is young people with depression, i.e. young
people between 13 and19 with an interest
in climbing in Aarhus. As the concept is
targeted at a group of people in a vul-
nerable position, it creates both a social
and economic benefit and contributes to
reducing at least one social problem.
Target group relationships: Simone is
responsible for running the course and
for the personal service. She focuses on
Integrating the Sustainable
Development Goals
creating a relationship of trust with the
young people to support the limits and
possibilities of each individual. Therefore,
her relationship is both economically and
socially responsible.
Target group channels: Simone has con-
tact to organisations working with young
people with depression and the climbing
club where she is allowed to advertise the
course. It is, however, important to keep
in mind that not all members of the target
group are members of these organisa-
tions, so the target group relationships
could be developed.
Key activities: The course is a form of
service that the participants pay for, and
the social value is in the personal devel-
opment that the course creates for the
individual person.
Key resources: Thanks to her background
as a physiotherapist and her climbing
skills, Simone has the necessary compe-
tences herself. The human resources of
the participants come into play through
an accommodating, inclusive and encour-
aging approach during the course.
Key partners: Klatrefyssen has a close
cooperation with the climbing club where
the course takes place as well as with
organisations for young people with
depression. The partners help each other,
and Simone for instance borrows climbing
gear from the climbing club which creates
both a social and an environmental ben-
efit. In general, it is assessed that the key
partners are socially responsible.
Costs: Simone has estimated the costs
of running the course. The project may by
lopsided from a social perspective if it is
not offered to a broader range of people
and not only through the organisations
mentioned above. It could have the same
effect if the price is too high.
Income: Simone has set a price for the
course but has not yet offered the course.
To keep the price of the course down, she
can apply for project funds or create free
places by letting paying course partici-
pants cover the costs of this.
Specific focus of the
business:
Target 3.4
Reduce mortality from
non-communicable diseases and
promote mental health
Klatrefyssen works to strengthen mental
health and well-being through physical
activity and relation work.
business:
Target 4.4
Increase the number of
people with relevant skills for financial
success.
Klatrefyssen contributes to supporting
the participants’ personal development
and thereby their preconditions for being
able to obtain relevant qualifications that
can boost their possibilities of entering
the labour market in the future.
business:
Target 17.17
Encourage effective
partnerships
Klatrefyssen creates new value-creating
partnerships across sectors between
businesses and different types of
organisations.

VIA University College's Viable Growth Model

VIA University College's Viable Growth Model

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