Increased global competition in the agricultural sector is rapidly changing the structure of farms and farming. As the number of small and diversified farms (often family-owned) decreases, the number of large and specialized farms (often corporate-owned) is increasing. In this transformation, the agricultural sector is more and more concerned with strategy, innovation, and competition in the effort to be more productive and more profitable. At the same time, the sector faces demands that it become more environmentally responsible in its policies and practices. This paper proposes a Lean Implementation Framework that small and mid-size farms can use as they aim to increase production and profit and yet support environmental sustainability. This case study takes an action-oriented research approach that focuses on the implementation of a Green Lean approach at 34 Swedish farms using various Lean tools. The paper describes how training sessions, farm visits, workshops, and counseling were used to introduce the farmers to the benefits and risks of the implementation of a new business model that added Green elements to the traditional business model design. The paper concludes with recommendations for adaptations to the Framework and suggestions for future research. © 2018

The  global  challenges  of  today  are  many,  and  one  of  the  most  concerning  aspects  relates  to food production for an increasing global population. The sustainability of doing ‘more of the same  thing’  is  being  increasingly  called  into  question.  Several  sustainable  business  model frameworks  have  been  presented  in  recent  years  to  address  these  challenges,  but  our knowledge is limited about the change processes of the agricultural sector. This paper aims to increase  our  understanding  of  how  sustainable  business  models  have  developed  in  the agricultural  sector  in  Sweden.  It  maps  eight  archetypes  of  sustainable  business  models, clustered  in  three  groups,  with  a  focus  on  the  technological,  social,  and  organisational innovation    components    at    agri-food    companies.    The    study    takes    a    quantitative, methodological approach, conducting a telephone survey with owners and managers of 1143 agri-food  companies  in  Sweden,  and  using  analysis  of  variance  (ANOVA)  for  the  analysis. The paper provides empirical evidence on the various options for sustainable business models that  Swedish  agri-food  companies  use.  No  major  differences  were  found  with  respect  to technical or social innovation components in the three regions: East, south, and north Sweden. However,  significant  differences  were  found   between  the  regions   with  respect  to  the organisational  innovation  component.  The  organisational  innovation  component  is  based  on two  sustainable  business  model  archetypes,  namely, repurpose  for  society/environment  and develop  scale  up  solutions.  North  Sweden  had  a  higher  degree  of  organisational  innovation than  both  south  and  east  Sweden.  The  reason  for  this  could  be  the  larger  environmental, economic, and organizational challenges in north Sweden compared to the rest of the country, which  makes  the  need  for  innovation  stronger.  The  paper  also  suggests  new  areas  for researchers  and  practical  avenues  for  stakeholders in  the  agricultural  sector  (and  other industries)  to  translate  social  and  environmental  value  creation  into  economic  profit  and competitive  advantage.  To  our  knowledge,  this  is  the  first  study  to  use  sustainable  business model archetypes in an empirical setting in the agricultural sector. © 2021 The Authors

Perception and awareness can affect behaviour and decision-making, for example, how companies implement Circular Economy (CE) practices. However, there is limited empirical research about this topic. Thus, we investigated the perception and awareness of representatives from water-intensive and bio-based sectors regarding the CE concept based on interviews and a survey with 10 companies in Sweden. Our results indicate that CE is understood mainly as zero waste and its key principles are resource efficiency and ecodesign. Missing (or partially addressed) important elements of CE are consumption, social aspects, regenerative role of CE, collaboration, and Industrial Symbiosis. The main benefit from implementing circular strategies is economic, and the main barrier is the lack of financial resources. The bio-based companies have a broader understanding of CE and its benefits than the water-intensive companies. Overall, more clarification and standardisation of the CE concept is necessary to avoid misunderstanding with other concepts such as sustainability. © 2024 The Authors

Water reuse can contribute as an important approach and practice to the reduction of the pressures on water resources lowering the demand for potable water for purposes that do not require water's high quality. However the greywater reuse has been rarely applied in Brazil. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to evaluate a greywater collection and treatment system from lavatories, showers and washing machine aiming the non-potable reuse. The objectives were to characterize the quality and quantity of greywater from different sources, to monitor a pilot system for synthetic greywater treatment and to analyze the quality of the effluent after treatment. The pilot system implemented in a building at University of Sao Paulo allowed to segregate greywater collection and characterization. To evaluate the greywater production water flow meters were installed in the water inlet of each greywater source. The treatment system included a moving bed biofilm reactor and a settling tank at pilot scale. The evaluation of greywater treatment was conducted based on the monitoring of physicochemical and microbiological water quality parameters during the operation of the experimental system. Based on the results, amongst the three greywater sources, the water from showers had the highest E. coli concentration while the lavatories water had the highest total coliforms concentration. The removal efficiencies of BOD and COD were 59% e 70% respectively. The phosphorus removal during the experimental period was low. Nevertheless the water quality produced is viable to be applied for outdoor purposes - landscape and garden irrigation in household, commercial and institutional buildings and the results were satisfactory according to Brazilian standard. The treatment showed stability and reliability ensuring the potential for a safe reuse if appropriate operation and monitoring of the treatment system is performed.

The current state of the water and sanitation sector has put water-related innovations high on the global policy agenda. However, the systemic complexity that typically surrounds such contexts call for actionable knowledge of how to enable and orchestrate innovative solutions by connecting different players via organized networks. In this study we explore and analyse the Water Innovation Accelerator, which is a virtual network-centred incubator model designed and implemented in Sweden. Framed by theory and research on open innovation, incubation models, and entrepreneurial networks we provide an analysis of the design, working and performance of the Water Innovation Accelerator. In sum, our findings provide empirical support for virtual accelerators as an effective means to aid the development and market uptake of water related innovative solutions. Its overall effectiveness builds on its ability to bring private and public actors with different assets and competencies together via its entrepreneurial network, where the incubator team play a critical role for identifying and encouraging network-embedded innovation opportunities. However, the perceived effectiveness of the acceleration process for SMEs seems to be contingent on whether they are positioned in later stages of the innovation process, as well as their proximity to the incubator network. In these respects, the study provides valuable insights that may aid researchers, incubation managers and policy makers in current and future efforts to accelerate water innovation.

Despite the importance of working with environmental issues, many SMEs have little knowledge of, or even interest in, these issues. When they engage with such issues, they generally have difficulty fully integrating them into their business activities. This case study takes an action research approach in describing how nine SMEs co-operated with a university team in a learning network to implement an Environmental Management System (EMS) with the aim of achieving ISO 14001 certification. The theoretical contribution of the article is its construction of a framework for understanding the outcomes in a learning network in which a university team works with SMEs. The practical contribution is that SMEs may use this empirically-supported learning network to overcome many EMS implementation barriers (e.g., lack of resources, isolation, and low self-confidence).

As companies and other organizations increasingly recognize society’s demand for greater social and environmental sustainability, university and college business schools have responded with new pedagogic approaches. Business schools have begun to offer courses in business models and business model innovation that focus not only on profit-normative goals but also on social and environmental goals. This paper describes an Experiential Workshop for university undergraduates in which the Service-Learning pedagogic approach is taken and Flourishing Business Canvas is applied as a tool for collaborative visual business modelling. In the Workshop, the students work with business model innovation for a biogas production cooperative of farmer-members in southern Sweden. The students take the role of problem-owners and problem-solvers as they co-create new business models ideas for the cooperative. The paper presents the students’ achievement of three Learning Objectives as they engage in meaningful, “real-world” simulations with a high degree of autonomy that allows them to combine their theoretical knowledge with practice. Implications for educators who wish to test the Experiential Workshop in their classrooms are proposed. The paper concludes with the suggestion that Education for Flourishing is a useful expansion of Education for Sustainable Development. © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

As government officials, policymakers, and the general public increasingly express their concern about global warming caused by greenhouse gas emissions, scientists search for alternative sources of vehicle fuel and electric power. One sustainable energy source that shows considerable promise is biogas produced from organic waste. For various reasons, biogas plants in Sweden struggle with profitability. This is especially true for agricultural biogas plants. Suggestions on how to deal with this problem include the use of business model innovation (BMI) to develop agricultural networks and to implement new strategies for arranging, producing, and marketing farm-produced biogas. This qualitative study, influenced by grounded theory, identifies and examines the success factors in an agricultural network in which biogas is produced at four farms in Sweden with distribution by pipeline to a refinery for purification and conversion to vehicle fuel. Fourteen interviews were conducted with various individuals in this network: farmers, a local politician, municipal employees, and external consultants. Of the six success factors identified in the network for farm-produced biogas, the long-term perspective on profitability was found most important. The six factors were used to create a conceptual business model framework for such networks that adds new value propositions while retaining the original value propositions. We propose that long-term government subsidies and other incentives can make farm-produced biogas profitable, not only in social and environmental terms but also in economic terms. Our main conclusion is that BMI can be used to create public-private networks that invest in farm-based biogas production. Such investments can stimulate rural development and provide new business possibilities for SMEs in the agricultural sector. This study also shows that BMI that takes a long-term perspective can result in high-value environmental and social benefits as well as financial profitability.

In recent years in Sweden, interest has grown concerning the possibilities of biogas production from organic waste. This interest reflects a general concern over environmental sustainability in society. However, given the lack of financial backing and the competition of other energy producers, few Swedish biogas plants have been profitable. This is particularly the situation with farm-based biogas producers. One response to this problem in the farm-based biogas industry is to engage in business model innovation that can lead to new ways of organizing business structures and activities. This qualitative study, which takes an action research approach, explores the early phases (initiation and ideation) of the business model innovation process for sustainability at a biogas-producing farm cooperative in southern Sweden. The main activities and the actors who are central to the execution of these activities are identified in six sub-phases. The paper describes two Flourishing Business Canvas workshops in which the participants were the researchers, members of the farm cooperative, external consultants, and university students. This study contributes theoretically to the literature with its detailed examination of the early phases of the business model innovation process for sustainability. It also contributes to practice with its conceptual model that demonstrates how biogas producers and farm managers can innovate and transform their current business models towards sustainability in order to improve competitiveness and long-term profitability. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The transition to a circular economy relies on systems that facilitate waste recovery and recirculation of resources. These systems are based on certain enabling technologies. The aim of this paper is to explain how socio-economic structures influence the diffusion of such technologies. It applies a framework built on societal embedding and varieties of capitalism to compare the diffusion of anaerobic digestion (AD) in Sweden in northern Europe and Paraná in southern Brazil. Both Sweden and Paraná have experienced accelerated diffusion of AD, but there are significant differences in the respective diffusion patterns. The comparative analysis points to a tradeoff between system complexity and speed of diffusion. It illustrates how AD can be presented as a solution to various problems, and it further shows how the specific problems that gain attention shape diffusion patterns. By showing how socio-economic structures influence the appointment of problem owners, their agency, and legitimate forms of institutional support, the analysis demonstrates how economic systems condition technology diffusion. © 2021 The Authors

Organizations, such as social enterprises, engage in business model innovation when they wish to create, deliver, and capture value for their various stakeholders in ways that effect positive environmental and social change. Despite the increasing research attention paid to social enterprises, the literature on business model innovation in this context is still scarce. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to explore business model innovation driven by sustainability issues at a social enterprise operating in the Scandinavian electricity retail market. A single case study research approach is taken, and data are collected from sixteen individual interviews and two focus groups with executives, managers, and directors. The study contributes to business model innovation as an organizational change process as well as an outcome of this process. The findings show that business model innovation over time at social enterprises reflects a shift in focus from novelty, via lock-in of customers, to efficiency in internal management routines. Additionally, the study concludes that social enterprises with innovative business models driven by sustainability issues can introduce novel practices that lead to changes in the dominant business model of their industry. The study also suggests how social entrepreneurs might innovate their business models as they focus on environmental and social sustainability. © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

By analysing 796 companies' data from 21 European countries, this research uncovered the nexus between institutional quality (IQ) and corporate sustainable performance (CSP). The relationship was theoretically examined with the lens of institutional theory and then empirically tested. The findings show that IQ has a positive and significant impact in safeguarding CSP, and firms’ characteristics play an essential preamble in this regard. We additionally found the heterogeneous impact of IQ on CSP. To come to a conclusion, we have applied random effect, two-step system GMM and quantile regression models. Our findings are consistent and empirically robust; therefore, the study disseminates key messages to policymakers and practitioners about the role of IQ in safeguarding CSP. © 2022 The Authors

Sustainable servitisation for organisations, as an indispensable part of their sustainable development, has increasingly come to the attention of both academics and practitioners. Whilst the servitisation literature is diverse and growing, our understanding of what sustainable servitisation is and a holistic view of how it is developed and implemented is limited. To address these gaps, we provide a systematic literature review enabled by an active machine-learning tool using 66 journal articles on sustainable servitisation. We have redefined the term sustainable servitisation based on an in-depth literature analysis. From the purview of sustainable servitisation as a mechanism for organisational change, we also synthesised what is known about sustainable servitisation into a holistic framework. Notably, rather than focusing on how sustainable servitisation can be better designed, as most existing studies have done, we argue that a dynamic and processual view of sustainable servitisation is required to advance theoretical and practical knowledge. © 2024