So-called "born circular" start-ups – i.e. start-ups whose business models are geared towards circular economy and have integrated circularity into all phases of the product life cycle – play a pivotal role in establishing circular economy processes. However, they often face the challenge of lacking legitimacy. Certifications such as Cradle-to-Cradle (C2C) can help here.

However, no tools for the structured development of corresponding business models have existed to date. In the paper "Cradle-to-cradle business model tool: Innovating circular business models for startups", which was recently published in the Journal of Cleaner Production, Alexa Böckel, Researcher in the Circular Transitions Research Unit at the Wuppertal Institute, and Kim-Mai Hoang from the Technical University of Munich present such a tool: The "C2C Business Model Tool" is designed to help founders tackle the processes surrounding business model development in a structured way, incorporating all important aspects of Cradle to Cradle and circular economy. The tool also focuses on partnerships, communication and strategic next steps for start-ups. "For me, it’s crucial that our research contributes both to theory and practice, e.g. how Cradle to Cradle can be integrated on a business model level," says Böckel, explaining the implementation-orientated approach.

To ensure that the tool is useful for circular born startups, the researchers tested it in several workshops and further developed it based on feedback from the participants. Finally, the revised tool was tested in practice with eight start-ups – with very positive feedback.

The paper can be downloaded free of charge via the following link.