Development of a “Sustainability Business Model”

Sustainability is emerging as a key issue for organisations in the 21st century. Organisations are increasingly recognising that their policies and practices contribute to social and environmental degradation and, as a result, they have started to adopt some elements of sustainability into their business practices. Nevertheless, significant doubts have been raised as to whether the current activity by organisations is enough to arrest, and reverse, the ecological and social degradation caused by business activity. This book presents a new business model based on a sustainability paradigm – the “sustainability business model” (SBM) – that addresses the social and environmental problems of “business-as-usual”. The SBM draws on two case studies of sustainability leaders – Interface Inc. (a global carpet manufacturer) and Bendigo Bank (an Australian bank). The analysis sheds light on how sustainable development is operationalized in firms and builds our knowledge of what a sustainable business looks like and how sustainability can be implemented. The book will be useful to academics as well as business professionals who are seeking to create a sustainable organisation.