A Conceptual Framework for Safe-and-Sustainable-by-Design to Support Sustainable Business Model Innovation and New Product Development

To reach a sustainable future and meet the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), business model innovation (BMI) needs to explore theoretical and practical intersections of the traditional innovation management (IM) and new product development (NPD) processes with sustainability considerations. New environmental and health policy ambitions such as those presented in the European Green Deal and the EU Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability (CSS) challenge traditional IM theories on BMI and NPD processes. The Safe-and-Sustainable-by-Design (SSbD) concept is a central element of the CSS and demands a novel approach that integrates innovation with safety and sustainability (including circularity) of materials, products, and processes without compromising their functionality and/or commercial viability. Importantly, adopting such a concept can also prevent regrettable substitutions, future liability, and brand image issues for companies. To achieve this, companies must design products with minimal environmental impact, adopt circular economy principles, and ensure social responsibility throughout the value chain, while maintaining economic viability. By doing so, companies contribute to environmental, social, and economic sustainability. In this perspective, a conceptual framework is proposed on how to achieve sustainable BMI and NPD by integrating traditional IM tools with SSbD using life cycle thinking principles while considering external (changing legislation, new business standard requirements, competitive environments, technological developments, societal views) and internal drivers (company-specific targets, company culture, corporate strategy, management capabilities). SSbD and life cycle thinking should be embedded in newly developed training for IM professional designation. This is because innovation managers can play a key role in bringing this transition into practice.