Social Business Model Canvas: The Business Model Canvas reinvented
Few methods for business innovation have found such widespread adaptation as the Business Model Canvas (BMC).
It is now a tool not only used in startups, but also a popular one in the corporate world. While using it may provide users with a concrete framework, in practice, environmental and social values are implicitly de-emphasized behind the canvas’ more explicit ‘profit first’ or economic value orientation.
For this reason, the Social Business Model Canvas (SBMC) was introduced. The SBMC builds on the BMC by adding layers of social and environmental impacts.
The goal is to support social innovators by developing a more holistic and integrated view of a business model — explicitly integrating the economic, social, and environmental values of a business, thereby adopting a triple-bottom-line (TBL) approach. The SBMC also retains the advantage of the classic BMC of enabling users to focus on the value proposition and other important aspects.
Social Pillar
The SBMC investigates the major societal impacts arising from relations with key stakeholders.
It may be the result of an activity, project, program or policy and the impact can be intentional or unintentional, as well as both positive or negative.
The social impact can be felt by people directly associated with the business, or have a more far-reaching effect on people in different communities, states and even countries. Some of the more common indicators include cultural heritage, health and safety, and community engagement.
Nespresso’s negative social impacts could stem from its engagement with local farmers, disrupting or displacing existing cultural farming and social practices; or potentially the impact of caffeine addiction should perceptions change to consider caffeine a social ill as with tobacco, alcohol, and junk food.
Social benefits for Nespresso include the personal development and community engagement impacts of providing training opportunities for its employees directly and indirectly with its coffee suppliers through its partnership with the Rainforest Alliance.
Environmental Pillar
Another fundamental purpose of this canvas is to understand the environmental impacts deriving from the company’s sustainability path, whether adverse or beneficial.
Performance indicators used may be related to bio-physical measures such as carbon dioxide emissions, ecosystem impact, or water consumption.
Nespresso’s environmental impacts can point to its largest contributor, the use stage with 46.6% of the carbon footprint. However, there is a 20.7% reduction in carbon emissions achieved by redesigning the machines to be energy efficient.
The Triple-Bottom-Line Approach
The Triple-bottom-line (TBL) theory believes that companies should commit to focusing as much on social and environmental concerns as they do on profits.
New dynamics in this multi-layered canvas provides an integrative approach to evaluate businesses’ performance in a broader perspective, hence creating greater business value.
In particular, integrating the economic, environmental, and social layers supports a more robust and holistic view of an organisations’ business model through its actions and relationships.
With Nespresso, one may see a lack of alignment across the various aspects in terms of the connection between its customer relationship, end-of-life actions, and social impact.
The customer relationship stems from a long-term relationship founded on membership and exclusivity, yet over time Nespresso capsules became a grocery store commodity.
Its products are one-time consumables which seem to promote individual consumption rather than a community experience such as a local cafe. Even with an active product take-back and recycling program, its coffee pods are landfilled in many countries.
Opportunities here may include leveraging its customer relationship to develop stronger product take-back and recycling programs, perhaps through refundable deposit charges, and/or through community-focused activities with customers in stores, both of which may impact environmental and social value.
These potential actions show how environmental and social concerns, seen through the SBMC, can lead to a more active and creative exploration of sustainability-oriented innovations in organisations.
All in all
The SBMC expands the economic-centred approach to a standard business model by developing and integrating environmental and social aspects. When analysed together, the three layers of the business model make more explicit how an organisation creates multiple values — economic (value proposition), environmental (functional value) and social (social value). As such, the SBMC has the potential to support those seeking ways to transform an idea into a viable and holistic business model.
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