Dear SBM community,

I just wrote a brief piece on my personal blog in preparation for a conference I am attending in June! It is an extension on the previous blog on sufficiency based sustainable business models:

Sufficiency based sustainable business models seek to reduce consumption and, as a result, production. The focus is on influencing consumption behaviour, which may involve product design for durability, a major shift in promotion and sales (e.g. no overselling) and supplier selection based on durability. Profitability would typically result from premium pricing, customer loyalty, and better (particularly more durable) products, while societal and environmental benefits include reuse of products and resources across generations, reductions in product use (impact) and societal education (Bocken et al., 2014). Perhaps the opposite of premium models are ‘frugal innovations’ (or Jugaad innovations) where business model solutions are developed with minimum resource inputs. This may also be viewed as a form of ‘sufficiency’.

In the blog a typology for sufficiency-based business models is presented, which may facilitate the process of building up these business models. This is just one of the examples of ‘sustainable business model archetypes’ so of course does not include all sustainable business model options. Feedback is always welcome!

Best wishes,

Nancy