Hållbarhet och Affärsmodeller : En fallstudie på ett industriföretag i stålbranschen

Sammanfattning: In recent years, there has been an increasing focus on sustainability, not only from the society but also from companies and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs). For instance, The United Nations (UN) has adopted 17 global objectives for sustainable development. Within the European Union, the current Commission has an ambition that Europe will be the first climate-neutral continent and has launched the European Green Deal with the main message of resetting the European Union’s economy for a sustainable future. One industry that has a major impact on the environment, as well as on society, is the industrial sector. The awareness of the impact on future generations from the industrial sector has increased among governments, producers and consumers. Because of this many companies in the industrial sector are acting on these expectations. Companies which choose to integrate sustainability in the business can gain long-term competitive advantages in term of first-mover advantages as well as economic benefits. Despite that there is huge potential with integrating sustainability in the business, it is difficult to do so. This in turn, leads to a focus on short-term profit instead of long-term competitive advantages and sustainable profit. With this in mind, it is interesting to study how aspects of sustainability can be integrated in the traditional business model and therefore be classified as a sustainable business model. Which leads to the purpose of this study; to examine how the business model can be used as a tool to develop the work of sustainability in a mediumsize steel company. Furthermore, drivers and barriers regarding how enterprises can integrate aspects of sustainability have been examined. To address the purpose, this study has focused on a company in the steel industry in Linköping. The study is a qualitative study focused around interviews with people in the corporate and operational level. Moreover, a litterature study has been conducted where teories regarding strategy, business models, sustainability and sustainable business model, as well as teories regarding drivers and barriers, have been analyzed. The result from the study indicates that there are several elements which are crucial for integrating aspects of sustainability in the business model. These aspects can be highligheted by Triple Layered Business Model Canvas, TLBMC, which is a tripartite business model made up of an economic, environmental and social canvas. Some examples of elements which are crucial are Costs, Partners, Value Proposition, Customer Relationships, Materials, Production, Distribution, Supplies and Out-sourcing, Environmental Benefits, Employees, Governance and Local Communities. The primarily drivers are customers and an increased demand for sustainable products, regulations and lower operating costs. The largest barriers are lack of communication and balancing the three pillars of sustainability.