Innovation & Technology Innovation & Technology

How Are Circular Economic Models Driving Innovation and Social Good?

Calling all innovators and implementers! In March 2013, Sustainable Brands will launch a new “Issues in Focus” editorial package, including daily features, interviews and case studies on the circular economy as a driver of business model innovation and social good.The Issue in FocusYou can't get a soy latte these days without hearing the words collaborative consumption, the circular economy, crade-to-cradle or the sharing economy. But how are these quasi-utopian concepts becoming real? What implications could they have for the future of business and the economy?

By Jennifer Elks | Published 12 years ago | About a 2 minute read

The Issue in Focus

You can't get a soy latte these days without hearing the words collaborative consumption, the circular economy, crade-to-cradle or the sharing economy. But how are these quasi-utopian concepts becoming real? What implications could they have for the future of business and the economy?

Guest editor Adam Werbach and the SB editorial team are seeking content to consider for publication in this issue. We invite you to share stories of alternative business and economic models within your community, enterprise or organization that exemplify the move from a linear use pattern to a more circular framework. See Adam's video below:

Content guidelines

Our readers are business leaders seeking information about how others are profitably innovating for sustainability. They seek insights and ideas that might be applied across market sectors about how to drive top-line growth and shift toward sustainability across their value chains. We will evaluate submissions based on currency and relevance of the example or idea presented, balance of perspective, strength of content, and delivered principles, based on specific experience that might apply to a variety of markets or product sectors.

What

Written (600-1000 words), audio and/or video perspectives. Focus areas include:

Leasing business models that move customers from ownership to access
Brand campaigns and strategies for companies creating a sharing economy
Community efforts to increasing resiliency
Collaborative creation and coopetition
Alternative economic trends and models that are fostering innovation and creating new forms of value and economic benefit on any scale

Who

Entrepreneurs, innovators, Corporate Sustainability Officers, educators, NGOs — anyone participating in ventures or initiatives utilizing the principles of a circular economy.

How

Share a one-paragraph to one-page overview of your ideas, initiatives, implementations and takeaways from your company, industry, students, staff, etc, focused on driving the shift toward a circular economy.

Criteria

Contributions providing specific insights will be given highest priority, such as:

Development: Programs that are currently in development or have been implemented.
Vision: Highlight new business model and service innovations
Metrics: Providing metrics that can guide the reader and give insight into the impact of the model
Financial Impact: While most of these initiatives and business models are in their early phases, do examples of financial benefit or savings exist?
Partnerships: Identify where public and private sector, or cross-industry partnerships, have allowed for more rapid adoption of the model
Communication: How are you engaging various stakeholders, including customers, community members, investors, etc?

Preference will be given to pieces that provide perspectives with enterprise-wide and ideally market-wide implications and applications.