State of the Art and Latest Advances in Exploring Business Models for Nature-Based Solutions

Beatriz Mayor, Helen Toxopeus, Siobhan McQuaid, Edoardo Croci, Benedetta Lucchitta, Suhana E. Reddy, Aitziber Egusquiza, Monica A. Altamirano, Tamara Trumbic, Andreas Tuerk, Gemma García, Efrén Feliu, Cosima Malandrino, Joanne Schante, Anne Jensen and Elena López Gunn
Additional contact information
Beatriz Mayor: European Projects Department, I-CATALIST S.L., 28232 Las Rozas, Madrid, Spain
Helen Toxopeus: Sustainable Finance Lab, Utrecht University, 3584 EC Utrecht, The Netherlands
Siobhan McQuaid: Centre for Social Innovation, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
Edoardo Croci: GREEN Research Center, Bocconi University, 20136 Milan, Italy
Benedetta Lucchitta: GREEN Research Center, Bocconi University, 20136 Milan, Italy
Suhana E. Reddy: IRI THESys, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, 10117 Berlin, Germany
Aitziber Egusquiza: Sustainable Construction Division, TECNALIA, Parque Científico y Tecnológico de Gipuzkoa, 20009 San Sebastián, Gipuzkoa, Spain
Monica A. Altamirano: Policy Analysis Unit, DELTARES, 2629 HV Delft, The Netherlands
Tamara Trumbic: Science Tower, Joanneum Research, 8020 Graz, Austria
Andreas Tuerk: Science Tower, Joanneum Research, 8020 Graz, Austria
Gemma García: Sustainable Construction Division, TECNALIA, Parque Científico y Tecnológico de Gipuzkoa, 20009 San Sebastián, Gipuzkoa, Spain
Efrén Feliu: Sustainable Construction Division, TECNALIA, Parque Científico y Tecnológico de Gipuzkoa, 20009 San Sebastián, Gipuzkoa, Spain
Cosima Malandrino: Circular Economy and Climate Adaptation, LGI Sustainable Innovation, 75011 Paris, France
Joanne Schante: Circular Economy and Climate Adaptation, LGI Sustainable Innovation, 75011 Paris, France
Anne Jensen: iCLIMATE Aarhus University Interdisciplinary Centre for Climate Change, Aarhus University, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark
Elena López Gunn: European Projects Department, I-CATALIST S.L., 28232 Las Rozas, Madrid, Spain

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 13, 1-21

Abstract: Nature-based solutions (NBS) offer multiple solutions to urban challenges simultaneously, but realising funding for NBS remains a challenge. When the concept of NBS for societal challenges was first defined by the EC in 2017, financing was recognised as one of the major challenges to its mainstreaming. The complexity of NBS finance has its origin in the multiple benefits/stakeholders involved, which obscures the argument for both public and private sector investment. Since 2017, subsequent waves of EU research- and innovation-funded projects have substantially contributed to the knowledge base of funding and business models for NBS, particularly in the urban context. Collaborating and sharing knowledge through an EU Task Force, this first set of EU projects laid important knowledge foundations, reviewing existing literature, and compiling empirical evidence of different financing approaches and the business models that underpinned them. The second set of EU innovation actions advanced this knowledge base, developing and testing new implementation models, business model tools, and approaches. This paper presents the findings of these projects from a business model perspective to improve our understanding of the value propositions of NBS to support their mainstreaming.

Keywords: sustainable business models; nature-based solutions; urban planning; NBS implementation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (12)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/13/7413/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/13/7413/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:13:p:7413-:d:587263

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().