We present a Framework for Sustainable Circular Business Model Innovation adding important perspectives: recognizing trends and drivers at the ecosystem level, understanding value to partners and stakeholders within a business and evaluating the impact of sustainability and circularity. In order to test the framework and to provide a concrete example of its usage and future development needs, we conducted a case study with one start-up company.

1. Framework for sustainable circular business model
innovation
Maria Antikainen and Katri Valkokari
ISPIM Innovation Forum, Boston, on 13-16 March 2016

2. 21.6.2017
Maria Antikainen
Circular economy transforms business
Systemic
innovation
• Towards value circle
• New actors, new roles
• Radical innovations, new
disruptive business models
IoT as an an enabler & accelerator

3. 31.6.2017
Maria Antikainen
RQs & method
§ The main objective of the study is to provide a framework for circular
business model innovation. Thus, the following question is posed:
What are the key elements of sustainable circular business model
innovation?
1. Define and describe what a sustainable circular business model (SCBM)
is and what are the literature streams related.
2. Existing business modelling tools in general, in particular those related to
sustainability and a CE.
3. Our framework for CE business model innovation that is tested with one
Finnish start-up to evaluate their CE business model

4. 41.6.2017
Maria Antikainen
Sustainable business model innovation
§ Sustainable business model innovation (SBMI) =
sustainable business + business model
innovation
§ SBMI concentrates on
1. creating value for a broader range of
stakeholders and
2. takes into consideration the benefits from
societal and environmental perspectives (Boons
and Lüdeke-Freund, 2013).

5. 51.6.2017
Maria Antikainen
Circular business model
§ Sustainable business model (SBM) + circular business model
(CBM) literature streams closely related
§ A circular business model can be defined as the rationale of
how an organisation creates, delivers and captures value
with and within closed material loops (Mentink 2014)
§ a CBM does not need to close material loops by itself, can also be
part of a system of BMs which together close a material loop in
order to be regarded as ‘circular’ (Mentink 2014).
§ CBM innovations require collaboration, communication and
coordination within complex networks of interdependent but
independent actors/stakeholders.
§ No business is 100% circular or 100% linear

6. 61.6.2017
Maria Antikainen
Current tools for BMI in CE
§ Business Model Canvas (BMC) - a generic and easy-to-use tool which
has been applied in different industries (Osterwalder & Pigneur, 2010).
§ A sustainable business canvas extends the original canvas by
proposing 10 elements (Sempels 2014)
§ The Business Cycle Canvas (BCC) emphasises the ideas related to
the importance of understanding the circularity of the loop. (Mentink 2014)
§ Value Mapping Tool, introduces three forms of value (value captured,
destroyed. and missed) and value opportunities for four major
stakeholder groups (environment, society, customer, and network actors)
(Bocken et al. 2015)
§ Play it Forward tool derived from the BMC, adding the building blocks
for a Triple Bottom Line (TBL), taking into account the perspectives of
sustainability, i.e. integrating environment, business and society views
(Dewulf, 2010).

7. 71.6.2017
Maria Antikainen

8. 81.6.2017
Maria Antikainen
Case: A concept and process for digitalized recycling centre
§ A start-up providing a digitalized concept for recycling
centres / second hand sellers
§ Boosting the efficiency of selling process from
start to end
§ Evaluation of the tool
§ Discussion took 2.5 hours, substantially more
time could have spent
§ No time for sustainability and circularity
evaluation, also information lacking
(product-life-cycle analysis)
§ Tools was regarded easy to use
§ Most value was created in the value proposition
part

9. 91.6.2017
Maria Antikainen
Conclusions
§ The framework complements current business model tools by adding the business
ecosystem level, analysis of sustainability costs and benefits as well as iterative
cycles of sustainability and circularity evaluation
§ In order to innovate in a CE, taking a multidisciplinary perspective plays a central
role, thus the framework presented combines views from foresight, business,
consumers and sustainability.
§ Next steps:
§ The framework should be tested in several other cases with different
companies and industries.
§ Longitudinal studies could straighten out the key stages of business model
innovation processes by design or re-configuration.
§ Especially for the sustainability and circularity evaluation parts/tasks in the
framework, novel methods need to be developed in order to facilitate
continuous iteration.

10. 101.6.2017
Maria Antikainen
Thank you!
maria.antikainen@vtt.fi