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Overview

The Circular Canvas for business models is a tool developed by Circulab and is aimed at assisting organizations in transitioning towards more sustainable business models. It encourages the adoption of systems thinking and strives to harmonize economic viability with environmental and social sustainability. The tool serves as a platform for mapping out projects, recognizing their impacts, and fostering stakeholder interactions to devise sustainable solutions. It is part of a broader design process that includes complementary tools like the Partner Map and Value Chain Canvas. The Circular Canvas is multilingual and supports the design of business models that adhere to circular economy principles, enabling organizations to identify and anticipate the impacts of their business models, products, or activities, and to innovate accordingly.

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Dimensions

Resource type: The Circular Canvas is a strategic canvas that facilitates the visualization and design of sustainable business models.

• Tags: tool, canvas, framework

Objective: This canvas is primarily used to map out and assess the sustainability of business models and projects.

• Tags: map, assess

Target audience: The Circular Canvas is intended for a wide range of users who are involved in creating or transforming business models with sustainability in mind.

• Tags: entrepreneurs, researchers, students, policy-makers, educators, practitioners, startups, SMEs, corporations

Sustainability focus: The tool emphasizes a balanced approach to sustainability, covering environmental, social, and economic dimensions, with a particular focus on circular economy.

• Tags: environmental-sustainability, social-sustainability, economic-sustainability, circular-economy

Innovation type: It supports innovation across various domains, particularly explicit in its primary support for developing new or adapting existing business models that are environmentally and socially responsible.

• Tags: business-model-innovation

Entrepreneurship stage: The Circular Canvas is versatile and can be applied at different stages of entrepreneurship, from initial concept development to the scaling of sustainable solutions.

• Tags: ideation, design, development, implementation, startup, growth

Scope of relevance: There is no explicit mention of scope, so it can be assuemd that the relevance can be local, regional, or global.

• Tags: global, regional, national

Methodological approach: The Circular Canvas promotes a systems-thinking approach, encouraging holistic understanding and design of sustainable business models.

• Tags: systems-thinking, holistic-thinking

Skill development: Users of the Circular Canvas will enhance their skills in systems thinking, sustainability assessment, and innovative design.

• Tags: systems-thinking, environmental-awareness, innovative-thinking, business-and-financial-skills

Source and credibility: Circulab, the creator of the Circular Canvas, is recognized for its expertise in the field of circular economy and sustainable business design.

• Tags: recognized-experts, practice

Prerequisites and requirements: The tool is designed to be accessible to a wide audience, with no specific prerequisites required for its effective use. However, basic knowledge of business models is desired.

• Tags: none, beginner-level

Collaboration level: The Circular Canvas encourages collaboration among various stakeholders to develop a better understanding of how one should act to be more sustainable .

• Tags: team, community, cross-sector-partnerships

More information can be found at Circulab Academy.

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Resources