Introduction

Despite the rising environmental concerns, the climate change/crisis, and the high-tone alert that the world’s resources are becoming even more scarce, the majority of the world’s economies continue to rely on the conventional linear economic model of cheap energy and easily available resources. This approach is distinguished by a one-way flow of materials: from raw materials to products and, eventually, to waste.

On the other hand, sustainability, is a concept which is gaining more and more traction in today’s economic world, and it is mainly achieved through exploring and implementing the concept of circular economy. Circular economy strongly emphasizes on an economy which is restorative and regenerative by design, and aims to keep products, components and materials at their highest utility, and value at all times.  This economic model seeks to ultimately decouple global economic development from finite resource consumption.

The majority of businesses have made some efforts to become more sustainable, yet we frequently find organizations that are trapped in this transitional phase. The emphasis put on specific cost centres, frustrates the holistic decision-making, and is frequently the source of the delays in embracing a more sustainable way of operations. Businesses are often faced with a situation where specific departments make divisive judgments based on what works best for them, and their financial success, and not for the whole well-being of the company, its social, environmental and economic impact. This fragmented decision-making frequently fails to see and analyse the complete resource cycle of an organization, as well as the broader benefits of taking a totally different strategy.

Therefore, in this module, we will explore the importance of rethinking the current business models of SMEs across Europe, and examine the benefits of transitioning to a more sustainable way of thinking. After completing this module, you will be able to:

• Distinguish between the linear economic model vs the circular model
• Understand basic terms around sustainability
• Explore a business model based on Circular Economy
• Understand the environmental consequences of choosing the linear economic model
• Practice your sustainable way of thinking through Case Studies

Looking towards a more sustainable future, we need to consider that “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them”, thus adapting our business models is the key to achieving a real change.