Classification of Sustainable Business Models: a Literature Review and a Map of Their Impact on the Sustainable Development Goals

Abstract

Sustainable Business Models (SBM) have been seen as a suitable vehicle for organizations to convey sustainability. The SBM requires a company's business strategy to be shaped around sustainability goals. These goals can be integrated into the business strategy by creating an internal commitment focused on sustainability. Enablers play a crucial role in this integration process. The 2030 Agenda issued by the United Nations set clear goals on sustainable development, i.e. the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Firms are encouraged to design SBM to fulfil these goals. Yet, an extensive investigation of the effect of the SBM applications on the SDGs is lacking. This paper is based on a semantic analysis of the relevant literature. The results show the internal enablers that support the integration process of sustainability into the organization´s strategy. In addition to that, the underlying classification process highlights the clusters of applications for the SBM. These are, in turn, mapped over the SDGs to show the impact of each cluster on each SDG.