Sustainability issues have been a popular and important topic on the world’s agenda the recent years, which has caused businesses to follow the policies of operating more sustainable. One of the latest introduced guidelines is the Global Goals imposed by the United Nations to be met by 2030. In light of these goals, awareness regarding sustainability issues among consumers and other stakeholders has increased, leading to that change is inevitable for businesses to start operating sustainably. The concept of sustainable business model innovation therefore becomes relevant. There is a lot of research regarding sustainable business model innovation. However, the research is heavily focusing on theoretical aspects of it, and less is given to the practical creation and implementation of sustainable business models. Further, less focus is given to start-up companies specifically. Due to the identified research gap, this study aims to answer the research question: “How can start-ups successfully create and implement sustainable business models to become an established actor on its specific market?” The purpose of this study is to create an understanding and contribute with extended knowledge of how sustainability is practiced in start-ups. More specifically, how sustainable business models are created and implemented in start-ups. A qualitative abductive approach was used to fulfill this purpose. Additionally, six semi-structured interviews were conducted with founders of start-ups and business coaches from Swedish incubators, which were structured based on the themes from the Lean Start-up Framework (LSF). This framework, along with the Triple Layered Business Model Canvas (TLBMC) showed to be of importance after the theoretical review. The key findings retrieved displayed that the LSF is suitable to describe the sustainable start-up process as well. Yet, the TLBMC needs to be integrated to fulfill the purpose of sustainability. Further, the benefit versus impact is shown to be of great importance whereas the framework’s components were modified in that sense as well in those cases needed. This study theoretically contributes to extended knowledge and additional components of the Lean Start-up framework that are advocated to be crucial to create a sustainable business model. These additional components are further of value for the existing field of research. Practically, by the extended and modified framework, it offers valuable insight for entrepreneurs with a business idea where the purpose is to offer a sustainable value proposition. Lastly, this study contributes to a social level by providing guidelines on the implementation of sustainability in the business model, leading to the encouragement to operate sustainably and towards a better environment and society.

The economic development of the world in the last centuries has brought manypositive things, but also some new problems. The linear approach long used isbased on a long-term, unsustainable approach to economic activity and newmodels are required. The purpose of this report is to investigate newsustainability requirements that drive innovation with regard to business modelsand product development.A case study was carried out at the company Ecostrate, which is launching anew product with clear sustainability ambitions. A Triple Layered BusinessModel Canvas (TLBMC) is made for their product and from this case the roleof Circular Economics (CE) and sustainability in the formation of new businessmodels is evaluated. The case study was based on interviews made withcompany employees and other people in a focus group and on secondary dataprovided primarily from Ecostrate, but also other organizations and companies.From the case study, it can be seen how the business model of the product was,from start, designed in accordance with circular economic principles and with afocus on sustainability, where the starting point was a used material that wasthen altered to once again provide the consumer with a value offer. Accordingto profitability estimates, the product will competitive while significantenvironmental and social savings are possible. General conclusions can bedrawn that CE and sustainability are an important part of future business modeldesign, without which companies will not be competitive in the future andfuture markets with increasing raw material prices, stricter regulations and moreaware and sustainability-prioritizing customers.The primary limitation has been the calculations, which were not carried out asexhaustively as would have been needed in order to give the case study a morestable empirical foundation. In this study, they have been used as approximativevalues to draw generalizable conclusions so to understand the product, itsimpact and in order to get more precise implications for the rest of the market,there exists possible future research.

In the growing digitalization of the grocery industry, it is necessary for traditional grocery retailers to adapt their business models to the new digital era. Augmented reality (AR) and other digital tools have proven to have the ability to transform the grocery business, and it is crucial for traditional grocers to act in order to remain competitive. AR technology has been used in a number of different retail industries, such as the clothing industry and the furniture industry. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how the implementation of AR can affectthe business model of a traditional grocery retailer. A case study has been conducted with a food company in Sweden, at the request of our commissioner working in the field of digitalization of different industries. Furthermore, the Triple Layered Business Model Canvas, has been used as a tool to identify the current business model, and to give suggestions on how the future business model can look like, after an implementation of AR. The results show a change on the canvas of the three different sustainability factors, but also an identification of the different challenges a grocery retailer can face. The results show an increased collaboration with external partners and the implementation of new activities for the case company. Furthermore, the study emphasizes the impact on distribution and suppliers, as well as the social consequences. Preparation for the technology is further presented in the study.  The study contributes to increased knowledge of business model change in the grocery industry. Previous research on the impact of AR on the grocery industry has been confirmed, and this paper contributes new research investigating the impact of technological innovations on the business model of traditional grocery retailers. This study also adds knowledge on theuse of the Triple Layered Business Model Canvas as an analytical tool for sustainability and business model change. / I den växande digitaliseringen av livsmedelsbranschen är det nödvändigt för traditionella livsmedelshandlare att anpassa sina affärsmodeller till den nya digitala eran. Förstärkt verklighet (AR) och andra digitala verktyg har visat sig ha förmågan att omvälva livsmedelshandeln, och det är avgörande för traditionella livsmedelshandlare att agera för att behålla sin konkurrenskraft. AR-tekniken har använts inom ett flertal olika industrier inom detaljhandeln, såsom klädindustrin och möbelindustrin. Den här uppsatsens syfte är att undersöka hur implementeringen av AR kan påverka en traditionell livsmedelshandlarnas affärsmodell. En fallstudie har gjorts på ett livsmedelsföretag i Sverige, på begäran av vår kommissarie som arbetar inom digitalisering av olika branscher. Vidare har Triple Layered Business Model Canvas använts som ett verktyg för att identifiera den nuvarande affärsmodellen, och för att ge förslag på hur den framtida affärsmodellen kan se ut, efter en implementering av förstärkt verklighet (AR). Resultaten visar en förändring av canvasen med tre olika hållbarhetsfaktorerna, men även en identifiering över de olika utmaningarna en livsmedelshandlare kan stå inför. Resultatet visar ett ökat samarbete med externa partners samt implementering av nya aktiviteter för fallföretaget. Dessutom belyses påverkan på distribution och leverantörer, samt de sociala konsekvenserna. Vidare i studien presenteras även olika relevanta och betydelsefulla förberedelser för en implementation av AR tekniken. Studien bidrar till ökad kunskap inom förändring av affärsmodeller inom livsmedelsindustrin. Tidigare forskning om förstärkt verklighets påverkan på livsmedelsbranschen har bekräftats, och denna uppsats bidrar med ny forskning som undersöker effekten av teknologiska innovationer på affärsmodellen för traditionella livsmedelshandlare. Denna studie tillför även kunskap om användningen av Triple Layered Business Model Canvas som analysverktyg för hållbarhet och förändring av affärsmodeller.