Introduction
Teamwork (By Fauxels on pexels.com)
The awareness to address the unsustainable basis of current economic activity is rapidly increasing among businesses. Corporate sustainability is continuously rising on the company agenda and firms are seeking to “address the environmental and social problems to which they are intrinsically entangled” (Kennedy, Whiteman and van den Ende, 2016).
In order to be able to contribute to the sustainable transition of the businesses they will work for in the future, students should be able to analyze the economic, societal and environmental impact of a business model, which all are included in the triple layered business model.
In this activity, the students will first look for a company in their professional field known for its positive environmental and/or social impact. Second they will analyze the firm’s business model and seek how to improve the company’s environmental and social impact. Based on the action areas of SDG9, they will formulate advice for the company on waste reduction and sustainable investments. Finally the students will reflect on the type of business they would like to work for and how they could reduce waste at home or invest in sustainable (business) projects themselves.
Learning Objectives
- The learner understands the concepts of sustainable infrastructure and industrialization and society’s needs for a systemic approach to their development.
- The learner knows the pitfalls of unsustainable industrialisation and in contrast know examples of resilient, inclusive, sustainable industrial development and the need for contingency planning.
- The learner is aware of new opportunities and markets for sustainability innovation, resilient infrastructure and industrial development.
- The learner is able to encourage their communities to shift their infrastructure and industrial development toward more resilient and sustainable forms.
- The learner is able to evaluate various forms of industrialisation and compare their resilience.
- The learner is able to innovate and develop sustainable enterprises to respond to their countries’ industrial needs.
- Systems thinking competency
- Anticipatory competency
- Strategic competency
- Critical thinking competency
Instructions
Step 1) Introduction to SDG 9 (5 minutes)
Show the video that explains SDG 9 as an introduction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xparLO41zQ&list=PLVpRlgPG0eJmXSEnHuS2J92WVIzBNdxDV&index=19
Make groups of 3-4 students.
Step 2) Looking for a sustainable business (15 minutes)
Note: In doubt whether there is enough time to incorporate this task during the session in class? This could be a good preparation at home for the students.
Ask your students to look for a company in their professional field, known for its positive ecological and/or social impact. Ask them to look for a company that publishes a sustainability or integrated report in order to have the information needed to fill out the canvas.
Step 3) Analyzing the business model (45 minutes)
Ask your students to analyze the business model of the business they have chosen. For this they can fill out the triple layered business model canvas (see template). Preferably, the students work together on a large printed version of the canvas, writing key words on post-its they can stick to the template. You can show the example of the Nespresso case (see powerpoint). Please read the paper about the canvas to know what should exactly be filled out in each square of the canvas.
Step 4) Looking for improvement (15 minutes)
Ask your students to have another look at the environmental and societal layer and to discuss in their team: Where is there room for improvement in the environmental and societal layer?
Step 5) Focus on waste reduction (15 - 30 minutes)
Introduce the concept of the circular economy to your students. You can do this using these videos, depending on the time you can dedicate to the topic:
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCRKvDyyHmI&feature=emb_logo
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcVu20XQ5og
Now ask your students to have another look at the environmental layer of the triple layered business model canvas they have filled out and specifically at the square ‘End of life’. Could the company reduce its waste production? And could the company reduce its negative environmental impact?
Step 6) Focus on sustainable investing (15 min. – 30 minutes )
Introduce the concept of social value creation. You can make a selection of these videos, depending on the time you can spend on this topic:
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Pm-0oviY3U (1 min.)
- https://www.futurelearn.com/info/courses/demystifying-entrepreneurship/0/steps/49762 (3 min.)
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKCfy-XkHuw (15 min.)
Ask the students to have another look at the societal layer of the triple layered business model canvas. Ask them to discuss in their team: What kind of social value does the company create at the moment? In what kind of projects could the company invest to create more social value?
Step 7) Reflection (15 minutes)
Ask your students to discuss in their team: Would you like to work for this company? Why – why not?
Step 8) Presentation (60 minutes)
Ask each group to present the triple layered business model canvas they filled out for the chosen company (+ if you have enough time: ask to tell the whole class group what they answered on the question in step 7, if the videos and concepts helped them during the exercise and what they have learned). This step will take more or less time depending on the number of students, on if you ask students to present the whole canvas or only a part of it and if you leave some time to discuss the canvases and/or additional questions plenary.
- CALL TO ACTION 1
Reflect on your own behavior:
A. Waste reduction: Ask your students to look up the concept ‘cradle to cradle’. Now ask them to look for some companies that apply the ‘cradle to cradle’ principle (also in their own professional field if possible) What do the students think about these companies and the cradle to cradle principle? Could the principle be applied more often in their sector?
Ask your students to think about the question: How could you reduce waste at home? What kind of bins do you have at home? How much of your waste goes to the landfill, how much is recycled or composted? Now ask them to look up solutions for waste reduction at home. Would it be possible for them to use these solutions at home, why or why not?
You can have a classroom conversation about these questions afterwards.
B. Sustainable investing: Ask your students to look up the CSR policy of their own bank. Does their bank mention their policy on the website? What do the students think about this policy?
If you have some savings, you could also invest it in sustainable projects or businesses. Ask your students to have a look at a crowdfunding platform such as https://www.kickstarter.com/ or https://ulule.com/. Ask them to look for sustainable projects and to choose one they find interesting. Would they consider investing in this project? Why or why not?
- CALL TO ACTION 2
Analyze the business model of your internship company: Ask your students to analyze the business model of their internship company using the triple layered business model canvas.
Requirements
- Printed version of the triple layered business model canvas for each team of students (preferably on a big sheet of paper)
- Powerpoint presentation with example of the filled out canvas (you can also fill out the template yourself for a company the students are more familiar with, in their professional field)
- Pens and post-its
- Computer with internet access
- Computers or tablets for the students
Notes for Educators
Estimated Total Duration: 4 hours + Call to Action
- This activity is suitable for 15-20 students, divided in groups of 3-4 students. This activity is suitable for students with a high educational level and a good level of English. The paper explaining how to use the triple layered business model canvas can be found here: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/280044131_The_triple_layered_business_model_canvas_a_tool_to_design_more_sustainable_business_models
- This activity will be more or less difficult, depending on how good the students know the chosen company. In an ideal world, students should visit the company and/or interview the business manager before they fill out the canvas. If this is not possible, you can ask students to fill it out based on the information they find on the Internet or information you provide to them, e.g. a CSR report. The exercise will also be easier if students could choose a company they have worked for.
Additional sources:
- If you want to know more about sustainable and circular business models, we suggest to read the following paper: Geissdoerfer, Vladimirova & Evans (2018). Sustainable Business Model Innovation: A review. Journal of Cleaner Production, 198: 401-416 https://reader.elsevier.com/reader/sd/pii/S0959652618318961?token=8B2B433F176FF5BA2E0DB5F2FD2A2F6ED5D682C89B356B5CB5FAE0AC67A3AA234B42DA837C399DA71C695839DF9839C8
- More information can be found on https://sustainablebusinessmodel.org/
- If you want to know more about the circular economy and cradle to cradle, have a look at the information that can be found on https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/. Here you can find articles, videos, podcasts, tools etc. If you want to learn more about circular economy yourself, or you are looking for more activities to do with your students you can download the Circular Design Toolkit: https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/assets/downloads/Circular-Design-Toolkit.pdf
- If you want to know more about social value creation, have a look at http://www.socialvalueuk.org/