This article is part of an ongoing series that describes the concept of “Sustainable Business Model Innovation” (SBM-I) and how companies are putting it to use.

The societal context for business is changing. Planetary boundaries (the borders within which humanity can continue to develop and thrive), societal needs, and changing social licenses to operate are constraining companies; their opportunity space is narrowing, restricting their ability to pursue business value creation as usual. Companies need a new approach to release these constraints and expand the opportunity for new growth and value creation.

Adopting sustainable business model innovation (SBM-I) enables companies to refresh business strategies and create innovative business models to optimize for business, environmental, and societal value. SBM-I helps companies create environmental and societal surpluses (net environmental and societal benefits) and connects them to the drivers of business advantage and value creation. In this way, companies boost and deliver total shareholder return, total societal impact (the total benefit to society from a company’s products, services, operations, core capabilities, and activities), and environmental, social, and governance performance.