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Cited by 71Sustainable Supply Chain ManagementEnvironmental Sustainability in BusinessSustainability and Innovation in Business

Business models for environmental sustainability: Contemporary shortcomings and some perspectives

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De Giacomo, Maria Rosa, Bleischwitz, Raimund·2020·Business Strategy and the Environment
DOI 10.1002/bse.2576
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Abstract

Recently, business models for environmental sustainability have gained increasing attention in the management field and among practitioners and stakeholders. This study aims to analyse the state of the art on the topic by reviewing the growing but mainly phenomenon‐driven research. In particular, by identifying main research trends and relevant gaps in the literature and by providing future research avenues, this paper advances the debate on the need for alternative concepts of doing business that go beyond the creation of economic value for a company in a way that generates value for the society. Our article undertakes two stages of screening the available literature and selects 151 peer‐reviewed articles published between 2007 and early 2019 for the review. The paper provides the first comprehensive systematic review of business models in the field of environmental sustainability with a detailed descriptive and critical analysis and with a discussion of future research opportunities.

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  • Established methods like life cycle assessment and true cost accounting can evaluate sustainability performance and provide critical data, but they are rarely incorporated into business model design or evaluation.

    “Established methods like life cycle assessment (LCA) and true cost accounting (TCA) can evaluate sustainability performance and provide critical data, but they are rarely incorporated into business model design or evaluation (de Giacomo and Bleischwitz 2020).”

    From Integrating Life Cycle Assessment, Monetised Externalities and Value Alignment for Strategic Reconfiguration of Circular Business Models: The Case of Smartphones (2026) · cites this paper as de Giacomo and Bleischwitz 2020

    In the passage labelled ACKNOWLEDGEMENT (page unavailable), the review says some authors used life cycle analysis to evaluate environmental burdens and inform sustainable business-model design. Our copy does not address true cost accounting or establish that either method is rarely incorporated into business-model design or evaluation. (LLM, conf=0.85)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Single-dimensional assessments obscure trade-offs, whereas multilayered frameworks reveal both tensions and synergies.

    “Singledimensional assessments obscure trade-offs, whereas multilayered frameworks reveal both tensions and synergies (de Giacomo and Bleischwitz 2020; Goffetti et al. 2022).”

    From Integrating Life Cycle Assessment, Monetised Externalities and Value Alignment for Strategic Reconfiguration of Circular Business Models: The Case of Smartphones (2026) · cites this paper as de Giacomo and Bleischwitz 2020

    Section 3.2.4 discusses the need to consider financial alongside environmental and social performance, and Section 4.4 identifies tensions between social value creation and private value capture. The paper does not establish that single-dimensional assessments obscure trade-offs or that multilayered frameworks reveal both tensions and synergies; it presents further study of these relationships as a research avenue. Page numbers were not available in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.84)

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
De Giacomo, M. R., & Bleischwitz, R.
Affiliations
  • Institute for Sustainable Resources (ISR) University College London (UCL) London UK
  • University College London (GB)
ORCID
Venue
Business Strategy and the Environment
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2020-07-09
Volume
29
Issue
8
Pages
3352-3369
ISSN
  • 0964-4733 (ISSN-L)
  • 1099-0836
DOI
10.1002/bse.2576
OpenAlex
W3041089638
Cited by
71
References
6
Citations by year
2026: 9 · 2025: 17 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 19 · 2021: 10 · 2020: 1
FWCI
10.14
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Business Strategy and the Environment (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • UCL Discovery (University College London) (acceptedVersion)
  • CINECA IRIS Institutional Research Information System (Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies) (acceptedVersion, other-oa)
Funders
European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement 753274)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Strategy and Management › Sustainable Supply Chain Management
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Marketing › Environmental Sustainability in Business
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Management of Technology and Innovation › Sustainability and Innovation in Business
Keywords
business models, environmental sustainability, sustainable business models, research gaps, research trends, social value creation, economic value creation, future research directions

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