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- Nyström, Thomas, 1970, et al.
(författare)
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A DEAD END OR A WAY TO PROSPERITY? EFFICIENT AND EFFECTIVE STRATEGIES TOWARDS ECO-SUSTAINABILITY IN
SWEDISH SME´S
- 2012
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Ingår i: 19TH INTERNATIONAL PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE IPDMC in Manchester 2012.
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- For producing companies, managers’ motivation for eco-sustainability (ES) improvements in products and value chains differs, and for companies that decide to work on ES issues, there are different routes to take. In this article we focus on two of those routes, the “eco-efficient” and the “eco-effective” one. Eco-efficiency can be seen as “doing things the right way”, i.e. to get more from less, to minimize, to aim for zero waste, energy and water use etc. Eco-effectiveness can be seen as aiming at “doing the right things”, i.e. develop products and industrial systems that maintain or enhance the quality and productivity of materials through subsequent life cycles. Some companies chose to execute their ES vision through the eco-efficient route, e.g. through Environmental Management Systems (EMS), or Eco Design while others take the eco-effective route through for instance design for sustainability, with principles of Cradle-to-Cradle, Biomimicry etc. For many companies, choosing the efficient route is more familiar with its ongoing business logic. But after the low hanging fruits have been harvested there is a risk of marginal cost increases for every additional reduction step taken. Proponents for the eco-effective route aim at ES through more radical innovations but these solutions may require substantial changes in value chains. Less researched reasons to a firm's ES progress are the motivational factor and the organization as interpretation system. Although this study comprise only five companies, some interesting observations in this respect have been made. The organization as interpretation system may help understand a company’s choice of ES route, eco-efficient or eco-effective. Eco-efficient companies can expect, at some point in time, to face raising ES costs which they should take as signs that the time may have come when a switch to a more eco-effective approach as a way forward.A shift from eco-efficient to eco-effective may require a substantial change of the company’s senior management setup.
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- Nyström, Thomas, 1970, et al.
(författare)
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THE BUSINESS MODEL, THE SILENT RULER OF DESIGN LOGIC
- 2013
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Ingår i: 6th International Conference on Life Cycle Management – LCM 2013. ; , s. 4-
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- In a traditional linear business model (LBM), focus is on maximization of aproduct’s value at point of sale (POS) and devaluation towards obsolescence,creating a path dependency towards faster replacement cycles to retain salesvolumes. Resulting in increasing volumes of waste and pollution from productsbeing disposed of, with low incentives or possibilities for recovery by e.g.reuse and remanufacturing. Based on a case study of a bicycle manufacturingSME, using an interventionist research setting, findings are that a businessmodel change affects the existing design logic quite effectively. It seems thatthe business model is conditioning the decision logic of senior managementand has to be addressed first in firms that want to make significant ecosustainabilityimprovements.
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- Wallington, Timothy J, et al.
(författare)
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Low-CO2 Electricity and Hydrogen: A Help or Hindrance for Electric and Hydrogen Vehicles?
- 2010
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Ingår i: Environmental Science & Technology. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 0013-936X .- 1520-5851. ; 44:10, s. 2702-08
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The title question was addressed using an energy modelthat accounts for projected global energy use in all sectors(transportation, heat, and power) of the global economy. Global CO2 emissions were constrained to achieve stabilization at 400-550 ppm by 2100 at the lowest total system cost(equivalent to perfect CO2 cap-and-trade regime). For future scenarios where vehicle technology costs were sufficiently competitive to advantage either hydrogen or electric vehicles, increased availability of low-cost, low-CO2 electricity/hydrogen delayed (but did not prevent) the use of electric/hydrogen-powered vehicles in the model. This occurs when low-CO2 electricity/hydrogen providesmorecost-effective CO2 mitigation opportunities in the heat and power energy sectors than in transportation. Connections between the sectors leading to this counterintuitive result need consideration in policy and technology planning.
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- Williander, Mats, 1956
(författare)
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Dismantling Lock-ins and Tragedies of the Commons
- 2014
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Ingår i: Chapter 3 in Alänge, Sverker & Lundqvist, Mats eds. (2014) Sustainable Business Development: Frameworks for Idea Evaluation and Cases of Realized Ideas, Chalmers University Press, Gothenburg. - 9789187463037 ; , s. 21-42
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Bokkapitel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Most of us are affected by “thought models” that lock us into mindsets and behaviors that create inertia for change. We may remain for long periods of time in this state without any need for significant changes. But the lock-in can become a threat to the individual, the organization or the society that is locked-in when the context in which one “operates” changes faster than one can unlock. The inertia to change inhibits sufficiently rapid adaptation. From an evolutionary perspective, such inhibitions can be life-threatening. Many examples can be given where individuals, companies and societies die off because of inabilities to adapt caused by lock-ins in mental models unsuitable for the contextual changes they experience (cf. Diamond, 2006).This lock-in effect may be one important explanation for why society, despite our knowledge regarding human-caused environmental degradation, climate change and the extinction rate of other life forms, seems so reluctant to do something about it.It may also be one important explanation for why companies seem reluctant to change their product offerings despite the insight that those who do – in directions that solve the environmental challenges in ways appreciated and valued by their customers – will experience “one of the biggest business opportunities in the history of commerce” (Hart and Milstein, 1999:25).Lock-in can appear at all three system levels of society: the individual level, the organizational level and the societal level. Each of these three levels’ lock-ins pose threats and opportunities for the entrepreneur. This article tries to dismantle these lock-ins and the tragedies of the commons that seem to be consequences of these lock-ins. The focus is the entrepreneur and it is discussed how the threats can be addressed and opportunities exploited in ways that will benefit the entrepreneur’s business.
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- Williander, Mats, et al.
(författare)
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New business models for electric cars
- 2014
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Ingår i: 2013 World Electric Vehicle Symposium and Exhibition, EVS 2014. - : Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.. - 9781479938322
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Why does the commercialization of plug-in cars remain sluggish when they are ascribed the potential to contribute significantly to the development of a sustainable society? The risk- and cost transfer that comes with the purchase of a car under the current dominating business model is not well suited for technologies that are novel to customers, like plug-in cars. Therefore, the commercialization of plug-in cars can benefit from alternative business models. The purpose of this paper is to present four alternative business models that are better suited for plug-in cars. They are based on already existing business models that have proven themselves in other industries and they have been chosen in regards to their suitability to address important hindrances for a rapid plug-in car adoption like perceived risk, high purchase price and limited range. The four models are: All-electric car leasing chain, where the operational lease company keeps ownership of the car through a sequence of lease cycles until its end-of-life; All-electric car subscription, where the carsharing company uses suburban commuters to extend their carsharing market by moving vehicles to where people are; Free floating all-electric city cars which can be picked up at one place and left at another without requiring booking in advance; Fringe benefit plug-in cars which utilizes that the lower fringe benefit tax on cars with low CO2 tailpipe emissions makes the plug-in car economically competitive as fringe benefit car. Each of these business models are judged as potentially viable but fragile and dependent of contextual factors like the price tag gap difference between plug-in and ICE cars, battery warranty limitations of the plug-in car, the technology improvement speed, and the energy cost gap for plug-in cars versus ICE cars. Governments and car manufacturers can mainly influence these factors.
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