The last decade alone has witnessed profound global changes, compelling businesses to swiftly adapt to increasingly volatile external environments and complex internal dynamics. As the imperative for sustainability becomes increasingly evident, business leaders are entrusted with finding innovative ways to balance growth with environmental and social responsibility. In this pursuit, the Triple Layered Business Model Canvas (TLBMC) developed by Joyce and Paquin (2016) emerges as a valuable tool, empowering organisations to explore and integrate sustainability into their core strategies.
Recently, I had the opportunity to delve into the TLBMC while assessing a building materials company’s decarbonisation efforts and readiness to comply with the European Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). This experience highlighted the TLBMC’s potential and its applicability across diverse industries.
Understanding the Triple Layered Business Model Canvas
The TLBMC builds upon the foundational concepts of the original Business Model Canvas, introducing two additional layers focused on environmental and social dimensions. This comprehensive approach enables organisations to generate economic, environmental, and social value simultaneously.
The Original Business Model Canvas
Osterwalder and Pigneur’s canvas outlines nine building blocks that define the economic aspects of a business:
- Customer Segments
- Value Propositions
- Channels
- Customer Relationships
- Revenue Streams
- Key Resources
- Key Activities
- Key Partnerships
- Cost Structure
Environmental Layer
The environmental layer examines the entire lifecycle of a company’s products and services. Here is what it includes:
- Functional Value: What are the environmental benefits of your core offering?
- Materials: Are there greener alternatives to the materials you use?
- Suppliers and Outsourcing: How sustainable are your suppliers?
- Production: What is the environmental impact of your production processes?
- Distribution: How can you minimise your logistics footprint?
- Use Phase: What’s the environmental impact when customers use your product?
- End of Life: Can your product be recycled or repurposed?
- Environmental Impact: Where can you improve?
- Environmental Benefit: What positive environmental contributions can you measure?
Social Stakeholder Layer
The social layer ensures we balance stakeholder interests and create societal value:
- Social Value: How does your product benefit society?
- Employees: Are you meeting the needs of your workforce?
- Governance: Is your decision-making inclusive and transparent?
- End-users: Do you understand your diverse user base?
- Communities: How do local communities influence your success?
- Scale of Outreach: How deep are your stakeholder relationships?
- Societal Culture: Do you respect the cultural context of your business?
- Social Impacts: Are you addressing health, safety, and fair competition?
- Social Benefits: What’s your net benefit to society?
Governance: Transparent and Inclusive Decision-Making
Within the social stakeholder layer, governance focuses on an organisation’s structure and decision-making policies, emphasising stakeholder engagement. It defines which stakeholders are identified and how they are engaged. Key aspects of governance include:
- Ownership: The form of ownership (e.g., cooperative, not-for-profit, privately owned for-profit, publicly traded for-profit) impacts decisions and who holds power within the organisation.
- Internal Structures: Organisational hierarchy and the degree of functional versus unit specialisation shape how responsibilities and authorities are distributed.
- Policies: Policies regarding transparency, consultation, non-financial criteria, and profit-sharing ensure that decision-making processes are inclusive, equitable, and aligned with the organisation’s values.
Economic and social relationships are formed with business partners, suppliers, and local communities. Success depends on developing mutually beneficial relationships. For organisations with operations in different regions, each community must be treated as a unique stakeholder with specific cultural needs. Societal culture acknowledges an organisation’s impact on society. It leverages sustainable value to positively influence societal well-being, often collaborating with NGOs that promote social agendas. The scale of outreach refers to the depth and breadth of stakeholder relationships. It encompasses long-term, integrative connections and addresses societal differences locally, regionally, and globally.
Making It Work: Applications and Limitations
The TLBMC is a valuable tool for integrating sustainability into your core strategy. It can facilitate the development of sustainable products and services, strengthen stakeholder relationships and societal impact, and ensure compliance with environmental and social regulations. While the TLBMC provides a high-level perspective, it should be complemented with detailed tools for practical implementation. Its effectiveness ultimately hinges on an organisation’s sustainability commitment and ability to integrate TLBMC insights into everyday operations.
Seize the Opportunity
The TLBMC is more than just a framework; it is a pathway to sustainable innovation and growth. Are you ready to seize this opportunity and take your sustainability efforts to the next level? Reach out, and let’s see how I can support you!