FOODY EU Sustainable Business Canvas

Overview

BUSINESS CANVAS is a strategic management template that helps businesses to describe, design and analyse their business models.

The canvas was invented by Alex Osterwalder, a Swiss business theorist and entrepreneur, as a part of his PhD research. As a business theorist, entrepreneur and consultant, Osterwalder has extensively researched Management Information Systems. Osterwalder’s Business Canvas was elaborated in his book Business Model Generation, which was co-created with 470 practitioners from 45 countries. Across a diverse mix of industries and sectors, many successful companies, including IBM and Ericsson, use the Business Canvas.

The Sustainable Business Model Canvas, specifically, facilitates the creation of a workable business model from an initial idea. It considers the interconnectedness of various aspects within and outside the business. The canvas emphasises environmental and social outcomes, aiming to optimise positive effects on society and the environment while minimising negative impacts. Thus, sustainability becomes an integral part of the business’s core. 

The visual representation of the canvas enhances coherence and clarity among team members, fostering a better understanding of the concept. It enables effective communication with external stakeholders and is a foundation for a robust business plan. By considering financial factors alongside environmental and social considerations, businesses can align their objectives with sustainable practices, contributing to a more responsible and impactful approach to business management.

Understanding the Business Canvas

NINE (9) ELEMENTS OF BUSINESS CANVAS

• Key Partners
• Key Activities
• Key Resources
• Value Proposition
• Customer Relationships
• Channels
• Customer Segments
• Cost Structure
• Revenue Streams

Sustainable Business Canvas

The Sustainable Business Canvas is a foundation for systematically developing sustainability-oriented business models. It employs an integrated approach in which both classical and sustainability-oriented questions concerning the business model are asked concerning each element. Adapting sustainability means the business’ impact on society and the environment is being considered.

TWO (2) ADDITIONAL ELEMENTS TO ACHIEVE A SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS CANVAS

1. Negative Externalities; Societal & Environmental Costs
2. Positive Externalities; Societal & Environmental Benefits

Detailed Explanation of Key Terms

Key Partners (People we work with)

Partnerships are key for many arts and cultural organisations. These might be with other arts and cultural organisations, funders, education providers, artists, venues, touring companies, or development organisations.

Things to consider:

• Who are our key partners?
• What is their role?
• What resources are needed from partners?
• What benefits will they get from cooperating with us?
• What experiences do customers have with partners?

It’s useful to think about what role Key Partners play in the fundamentals of your business, as well as the ‘added value’ partners often bring. Determine where to structure them into your business model and where doing so might bring risks.

Key Activities
The Key Activities describe the most important things a company must do to make its business model work. They can be activities to create and offer Value Propositions, reach markets, maintain Customer Relationships, and earn revenues. You must perform these activities well because they are essential to your business. The more resource-intensive the production of the value proposition, the more comprehensive the channels, the more personal the customer relationships, and the longer the list of activities will be.

Key Resources
The Key Resources field describes the most important assets a project must have to guarantee the overall success of its business model. Some resources will be owned in-house, and some will be external resources which can be rented, bought, or used for a specific period. It is, therefore, crucial to reflect on the needs of your project when deciding the resources you need to invest in—for example, the fewer in-house resources you need, the lower your investment costs.

Types of Resources
Examples:

• Physical – Buildings, vehicles
• Human – Employees, experts, consultants
• Financial- Cash, credits

Value Proposition
It describes two things:

Your Product/ Services: What is your product or service, and how can it contribute to covering customer activities? When describing the product, mention the need and add-on services. The Value Propositions may be quantitative (e.g. price, speed of service) or qualitative (e.g. design, customer experience).

Your Pain Alleviators: How does your product or service alleviate customers’ pains? To make the value proposition unique and easily differentiate it from the competition, mention any special features or aspects and the added value your customer gets from using your products. This added value is described through several attributes that respond to the customers’ needs, such as customisation, higher performance (“getting the job done”), better brand and reputation, different designs, newness, lower price, cost and risk reduction, better accessibility, as well as more convenience.

Customer Relationships
The Customer Relationships field defines how you will interact with your target groups, from initial outreach to turning them into loyal customers. It would be best to choose the most beneficial and viable way to reach your different customer segments, whether through a face-to-face meeting/event, cold calling them or employing a third party as a contractor to initiate conversations. Is it best to reach through selling products/services online, or are you offering more personalised selling services? …etc.  

The possibilities are endless when building a relationship with a target group. Yet, it is crucial to note that the strategy you choose will influence the experience that your target group has, including the trust, loyalty, and commitment they develop for your product/service and your company as a whole.

Channels
A channel consists of the people, organizations, and marketing activities necessary to transfer the ownership of goods from the point of production to the point of consumption. You must invest in ongoing strategies to build long-lasting relationships with target customers through appropriate communication channels that align with your project goals. Choose channels that suit your marketing and sales plans and resonate with your audience’s interests and habits across contexts, whether social media, email, events, meetings, calls, advertising, apps or community building. A strategic plan for relationship-building channels is crucial for connecting with target groups beyond initial exchanges to promote products, services and brand affinity over time.

Customer Segments
Target groups are the most important element of your business model. You will need a well-defined target group and a clear understanding of their problems, contexts and needs to achieve your project’s goals. Understanding your target groups allows you to tailor your project and value proposition to their needs, expectations, and context, essential to maximise your project’s success potential.

The Customer Segments field in the Sustainable Business Canvas is utilised to define the different target groups of your project. You can organise and categorise them in your Sustainable BMC as you see fit. For example, you can break them down into sub-segments if needs and expectations within a customer segment vary and therefore need different solutions and treatments. 

Developing an Empathy Map for each segment and sub-segment is a great way to start. This tool will help you visualise and understand the various needs, situations, and expectations of your target group/s.

Cost Structure
The Cost Structure field describes the monetary costs of project operation and implementation. It captures all the costs incurred to achieve all the above-described fields in your Business Canvas. Preparing and maintaining a realistic and updated version of your project’s cost structure is highly important to understand the actual and potential costs of designing, implementing, and maintaining your project and to be aware of the main and secondary drivers of these costs. This field should include all tangible and intangible costs your project comes across, such as rent, materials, overhead, operation, communication, infrastructure (electricity, internet, water, …etc.), administration, personnel, and cars.

If you are focusing on designing and implementing a sustainable project, you must also account for your project’s social and environmental costs.

Revenue Streams
Revenue Streams capture the financial gain your project converted by providing your Value Proposition to your Customer Segment. This field is about identifying how much your target groups should pay to obtain your solution. Your pricing should be determined by your ultimate goals and business models and by your target groups’ expectations and purchase abilities. 

Regulating and controlling your project’s revenue streams can make or break your business model.

Regulating and controlling your project’s revenue streams can make or break your business model.

Two main types of Revenues:

• Revenues that are generated from one-time payments.
• Recurring revenues that are generated from ongoing payments.

Regulating and controlling your project’s revenue streams can make or break your business model.

Negative Externalities (towards Social, Environmental and Economy)
The social and environmental costs are additional external costs that result from the impact that your project activities could have on the surrounding environment and communities. Identifying and accounting for these costs is crucial when designing and implementing your project to create a balance between the financial aspirations and social and environmental consequences and, therefore, achieve comprehensive sustainability of your project.

It occurs when delivering your value proposition (product or service) harms a third party. Many businesses have negative externalities. Listing them offers a unique opportunity to position your business better and unleash new opportunities.

• How does your Value Proposition negatively impact your environment?
• Your Partners?
• Your Resources?
• Your Channel?

Positive Externalities
All the positive aspects of your business. Which third parties will benefit from your business?

How will your Value Propositions positively impact your environment? In what manner your Value Proposition targets one or multiple UN sustainable goals?

Examples:

• Decrease CO2 emissions
• Improve water quality
• Lower pollutions
• Improve global health

Social and environmental benefits are the external benefits that your project produces for the communities and the environment in which it operates. It is crucial to consider the benefits of your project on these communities and environments to:

• Position yourself as a project that has a positive social and environmental impact
• Enriches/strengthens the credibility of your project’s value proposition to the target groups
• Attracts financial support from governments, donors or impact investors that may support you in taking your project to the next level

How to Use a Business Canvas Model

1. Draw the business model canvas on a large sheet of paper. Use different coloured post-its to fill in the building blocks of the canvas.
2. Start with the different Customer Segments and the Value Propositions your company offers them. The colour you use for the Value Propositions should correspond to their respective Customer Segments.
3. Once Customer Segments and Value Propositions are filled in, complete the remaining elements for the positioning of the business: Channels, Customer Relationships and Revenue Streams. Use the same colour if you have specific ones for each Customer Segment. For example, in the above business model example, blue and orange cards were used to distinguish between two distinct Customer Segments with clearly different Value Propositions, Customer Relationships, Channels, Revenue Streams and Social and Environmental Benefits.
4. Then proceed to fill in the operational side of the business model canvas: the Key Activities, Key Resources, Key Partnerships, Cost Structure and Social and Environmental Costs.
5. Once done, use the canvas to understand and analyse your business model and adapt if necessary.

Alternatively, you can use an online application tool like MIRO, which provides templates for business canvas.

Examples of Business Canvas
BMW’s approach towards sustainability
Sustainable Innovation in BMW’s Business Model Canvas | Finch & Beak Consulting

• “Think ahead” is the statement claimed by the BMW Group for their holistic approach to sustainable mobility.
• With the launch of Project, BMW addresses its business strategy from a different perspective since it defines sustainability as the next premium for products and services for individual mobility.
• The 4 Actions Framework can be used to determine which actions have been taken by BMW to reconstruct their Business Model Canvas towards a more sustainable one.

Sample Business Model Canvas for Artists
image here

Introduction to the Workshop

During this interactive workshop, participants will learn about community mapping and how it can be used to identify opportunities and solutions for reducing food waste within the circular economy. Participants will learn how to conduct a community mapping exercise, identify stakeholders, and develop strategies to address food waste challenges in their local communities.

Using the  Sustainable Business Canvas framework combined with practical exercises and case studies, participants will acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to create innovative and sustainable business models that contribute to reducing food waste throughout the entire value chain.

Target Audience
This workshop aims to provide NEETs (young people not in education, employment, or training) with the necessary knowledge and skills to develop sustainable business ideas using the Business Model Canvas framework. Participants will learn about sustainable business practices and explore innovative solutions to address environmental and social challenges that can lead to the creation of viable and profitable ventures.

Aim

• Familiarise participants with the concept of the Sustainable Business Canvas and its relevance to the food industry within their community.
• Explore various strategies and best practices for reducing food waste throughout the food value chain in their communities.
• Guide participants into the community mapping process to analyse their community and select issues that can be solved with the circular economy.
• Facilitate knowledge sharing and networking to foster collaboration and inspire new ideas.

Knowledge

• Awareness of the key challenges and opportunities related to food waste in the industry
• Knowledge of strategies and best practices for reducing food waste at various stages of the food value chain.
• Familiarity with successful case studies of organisations implementing effective food waste reduction measures.
• Awareness of food waste’s environmental, social, and economic impact and implications for sustainable business practices.

Skills

• Ability to apply the Sustainable Business Canvas framework to develop sustainable business models focused on food waste reduction.
• Analytical skills to identify and evaluate opportunities for reducing food waste throughout the food value chain.
• Collaboration and teamwork skills through group exercises and discussions.
• Problem-solving skills to address complex challenges associated with food waste in the food industry.

Attitudes

• Motivation and commitment to actively seek opportunities for food waste reduction within their organisations and the broader food industry.
• Empathy and a customer-centric approach to understanding the needs and preferences of consumers regarding food waste reduction.
• Openness to collaboration and knowledge sharing with peers and stakeholders to drive collective action in reducing food waste.
• Adoption of a proactive mindset towards continuous improvement and innovation in sustainable business practices within the food industry.

Duration
Approximately 3 hours

Materials Needed

• Large sheets of paper or a whiteboard
• Markers and sticky notes
• Printed maps of the local community (if available)
• Handouts with information on the circular economy and food waste reduction strategies
• Digital devices for research, preferably a laptop (smartphones can also work)

Instructions to Organise the Workshop

Introduction (10 minutes)
Welcome participants and introduce the workshop’s objectives and agenda.Highlight the importance of sustainable business practices in addressing global challenges.

VIDEO LINK: https://www.canva.com/design/DAFym0YG9tg/aJYCsBIetVQuYoAefusVFQ/watch?utm_content=DAFym0YG9tg&utm_campaign=share_your_design&utm_medium=link&utm_source=shareyourdesignpanel

Ice Breaker Activity (15 minutes)

Introduction to the Business Model Canvas (20 minutes)

• Introduce the Business Model Canvas (BMC) framework as a tool for developing sustainable business ideas.
• Explain the nine building blocks of the BMC: customer segments, value proposition, channels, customer relationships, revenue streams, key resources, key activities, key partnerships, and cost structure.
• Discuss how the BMC can be used to create innovative and sustainable business models.

Idea Generation and Value Proposition (30 minutes)

• Facilitate a brainstorming session to generate business ideas that align with sustainability goals.
• Help participants identify their target customer segments and define their unique value proposition.
• Encourage participants to think creatively and consider the environmental and social impact of their business ideas.

Building a Sustainable Business Model (50 minutes)

• Guide participants in mapping their business ideas onto the Business Model Canvas.
• Provide templates and worksheets to help participants complete each section of the BMC.
• Facilitate group discussions and offer guidance on integrating sustainability principles into the business model design.

https://miro.com/blog/how-to-make-a-great-business-model-canvas/