Circular Business Models (CBMs) in Environmental Management—Analysis of Definitions, Typologies and Methods of Creation in Organizations

Marzena Smol (), Paulina Marcinek and Joanna Duda
Additional contact information
Marzena Smol: Faculty of Management, AGH University of Science and Technology, Antoniego Gramatyka 10 Str., 30-067 Cracow, Poland
Paulina Marcinek: Mineral and Energy Economy Research Institute, Polish Academy of Sciences, Wybickiego 7a Str., 31-261 Cracow, Poland
Joanna Duda: Faculty of Management, AGH University of Science and Technology, Antoniego Gramatyka 10 Str., 30-067 Cracow, Poland

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 3, 1-25

Abstract: A circular economy (CE) is an economic model that involves more sustainable management of raw materials and waste. Implementation of CE assumptions is highly recommended in the form of dedicated CE technologies as well as CE business models, so-called circular business models (CBMs), which are an integral part of environmental management in organizations. Depending on the application and the type of sector or enterprise, CBMs are defined differently, focusing on various areas of raw materials and waste management. In general, they should create added value for the given enterprise that meets the CE assumptions or integrate CE principles with the organization’s business practices. This paper aims to analyze different approaches to CBMs with the use of comparative analysis and desk research methods. The scope of this paper includes a comparative analysis of CBM definitions and their typologies, as well as the basics for creating CBMs in enterprises. Moreover, good practices of implemented CMBs in various enterprises are presented. The general definition of CBM is developed as “a business model that assumes creating, delivering and capturing added value for the consumer while considering the CE principles”. Furthermore, the basics of building CBM using a modified Business Model Canvas are proposed. In general, CBM should consider the key CE assumption, i.e., increased raw material efficiency. In the coming years, a further increase in interest in CBMs dedicated to specific sectors and their areas of activity is expected. Various stakeholders could use them as a benchmark to compare and define the best practices for the successful adoption of CBMs in the future.

Keywords: circular economy; environmental management; business model; circular business model (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/3/1209/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/3/1209/ (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:16:y:2024:i:3:p:1209-:d:1330670

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 ().