Cooperative strategies, where organisations bundle their expertise’s to create positive outcomes, are becoming more important to tackle sustainability challenges, which cross company boundaries. They are about creating synergies and ‘win-win’ situations.
‘Win-win-win’ sustainable business models create advantages to at least three different types of groups, for example, manufacturers, retailers and consumers, while positively contributing to the environment and society.
A few examples of win-win-win business models include: product refill business models, sharing business models, and more specifically, second-hand clothing collection and sales at retail, and concentrated cold-water laundry detergent.
Collaborative activities may include:
- Manufacturers and retailers jointly develop and pilot test low carbon footprint business models such as refillable products.
- Coordinated packaging and in-store promotions can educate consumers about their “win”. For example, store promotions can show the cost saving of reusing packaging. Manufacturers might print the environmental benefits of reusing packaging on the label.
Product refill business models in stores
Product refill business models include packaged consumer products that can be directly refilled and reused after use and reduced-material refill pouches. There may be financial incentives, such as discounts on the next purchase or a free product after a certain number of refills, to stimulate packaging reuse.
In a broad sense, reusable grocery bags may be viewed as a “refill product”, especially when supermarkets give store credits to incentivise reuse.
Win-win-win:
- Manufacturer-win: recurring customers, engagement with sustainability
- Retailer-win: Generates traffic to the store, one successful refill model can pave the way for more refillable products
- Consumer-win: may save cost, reduces waste, in some cases, allows consumers to (re)use the containers they prefer.
- Sustainability-win: material reuse, waste reduction, consumer education
Examples:
Companies who have done this or still do this include: The BodyShop, WholeFoods (US Grocery store), Kiehl’s (premium skincare), Ecover (eco-cleaning), and “Unpackaged”, a UK ‘organic refill grocery’.
The concept of “win-win-win business models” is introduced in the following article:
Dear Dr Nancy Bocken,
It’s my pleasure to read your ideas on sustainable development
Now, in the end of my professional life -i’m an emeritus professor, since 2015- i’d be happy to contribute in your work
Sincerely
Dr Leonidas A.Papakonstantinidis
Professor Emeritus in Political Economy
HTEI University of Peloponnesus Technological Sector
My dear,
Congs…but since 2002 i’ve developed the “win-win-win papakonstantinidis model” as a social welfare
The model has been presented for the first time, in August 14, 2002 in the Visby University, Gotland Campus, SW, in the frame of the annual summer-school European Network “EURACADEMY” (Dr Fuli Papageorgiou Head) and been published in the Euracademy Guide of the same year
Of course, the model concerns the “Community’s participation at any bargain, toward social welfare From that point and then, i’ve published different applications of it I’ll present next May an alternative version from it, in the New York world conference on added value,, thank you…papakonstantinidis la
f/n.. i’ve also tried to communicate with Mrs Boken, but i had no news from her