Employing a transition management approachto discover a new role for the social enterprise ‘Recycling Shops’ in a region aiming at climate neutrality

10/04/2023 Employing a transition management approach

Leen Gorissen, Saskia Manshoven & Karl VranckenIST 2013

to discover a new role for the social enterprise ‘Recycling Shops’ in a

region aiming at climate neutrality

10/04/2023 2© 2013, VITO NV

Intro

10/04/2023 3© 2013, VITO NV

The Organisation

» Recycling centers in Belgium represent a social enterprise that recycles donated goods for reuse and sells these at local recycling shops (eg thrift shops). At the core of the activities of the recycling centers lies sustainability: they employ disadvantaged personnel (people), they recycle and repair used goods (planet) and they sell second hand goods at low prices (profit).

10/04/2023 4© 2013, VITO NV

The Quest

» What is the new role for the social enterprise ‘Recycling Shops’ in a region aiming at climate neutrality ?

» Business model under pressure

“Dependent on the goodwill of policy makers”

“Increasing competition for key resources”

“Dependent on subsidies”

“Tension between product reuse and material recycling”

“Vulnerable to political changes”

“Not resilient, not adaptable to changing dynamics”

Interview Quotes

10/04/2023 5© 2013, VITO NV

Methods

10/04/2023 6© 2013, VITO NV

The Approach

» The involved research team used the transition management framework as inspiration to guide the process of discovering the recycling shop’s new future role in a region aiming at climate neutrality.

10/04/2023 7© 2013, VITO NV

The TM Approach

» Process guided by a ‘transition-team’ that co-designs and feeds in relevant information to the local transition ‘arena’.

» The arena is the actual initial incubator of change:» empowerment of niche-actors by creating ‘space’ to exert innovative power» connecting niche-actors to each other so that they can form a broader and

stronger network, a ‘niche-regime’ that can exercise transformative power» connecting niche-actors to regime-actors that can exercise constitutive power

to establish a new distribution of resources at a structural level and anchor the new roles and collaborations at the regime level.

» The arena is well balanced in terms of innovative niche players and change-inclined, open-minded regime players.

» Aims to develop a new discourse with higher ambition level, a reform agenda inspired by systemic thinking, a shared language, new networks/coalitions, shared transition experiments, returned trust

10/04/2023 8© 2013, VITO NV

The Activities

Internal group Transition arena Meetings (ranged from 3 to 8 hours): - (1) Business Canvas exercise

To envision the future business model and review the current businessmodel (strengths, weaknesses, risks and opportunities)

- (5) Synthesising of results and feedback on

arena results and transition approach To stimulate an internal dialogue and prepare a concept note for the new management agreement and an internal engagement declaration to formalize the shared strategy; to synthesise the new vision and strategy in an attractive brochure for communication

- (6) Conceptnote and engagement declaration To further discuss different views and perspectives; to finalize the conceptnote and sign the engagement declaration

Workshops (ranged from 3.5 to 4 hours): - (2) System analysis

To explore the system (actors and factors) and learn about niche innovations and landscape trends; to learn about perceptions of threats and opportunities

- (3) Envisioning To reflect upon values and principles; to develop a narrative on a desirable future state that can give direction to short/medium term action

- (4) Transition pathways

To translate the vision into future-oriented plans; to identify trend breaks/shifts that are required to realize the vision; to identify breakthrough experiments in function of the required shifts/realization of the new roles

Internal group + Intermunicipal waste company Meetings: - (7) Exchanging visions

To exchange the vision of the recycling shop and of the intermunicipal waste company; to identify points of synergie and points of divergence; to stimulate anchorage of the new vision in the regime

- (8) Towards a new management agreement between the recycling shops and the intermunicipal waste company To discuss how a new role for the cycle shops can be translated into the new management agreement; to discuss a mutual transition experiment

Phas

e I:

Visi

on &

Pat

hway

sPh

ase

II:

Anch

orin

g

10/04/2023 9© 2013, VITO NV

Results

10/04/2023 10© 2013, VITO NV

In the future, the recycling centers of the province of Limburg are anchored into the local communities and create substantial shared value in terms of the community feeling and fabric. They root into the local couleur locale by embracing the motto ‘think global, act local’. The recycling centers are an important engine for innovation and entrepreneurship in the creative and circular economy. Thanks to new business models focusing on shared value creation and handicrafts, more meaningful employment is created for people from marginalized groups. The centers make both money and talent work - but differently than in the past. This way, the social cohesion is strengthened while people from marginalized groups are empowered to deliver an acknowledged and meaningful contribution to society. Happiness and talent are the keystones on which the recycling centers' business model builds. The centers initiate and exploit new collaborations focused on closing cycles and they provide tailor-made high quality products and services. The recycling centers have a positive environmental impact: through their activities the environmental quality is enhanced instead of deteriorated. To achieve this, new ways have been developed to work in harmony with the environment, family and community life. Through their focus on simplicity, legitimacy, resilience and slow rhythms/patterns, the centers renew the attention for craftsmanship and quality. The centers will ‘de-care’ the customers which means that they will provide coherent services that aim to make sustainable choices easy. In their multi-perspectif ambition, improvement of quality of life of the people in their local communities is central. The centers are connected by a shared and supported vision that avoids monocultures and embraces diversity.

Results Phase I: The VisionThe recycling centers of Limburg round the circle and co-create an inclusive and circular economy

10/04/2023 11© 2013, VITO NV

Material Match MakerClosing material and resource cycles requires labour and coordination. The centers can use their expertise on collection, sorting and dismantling to enhance circularity and explore new pathways of higher shared and added value.

Service Match MakerMaking sustainable choices easy requires an extension of the service portfolio towards customers. The centres can use their expertise on repairment, refurbishment and restoring to enhance product life cycles and promote and preserve these ‘forgotten’ skills. Because of their local anchorage, they can also unfold, organize and promote product-service systems to reduce material consumerism.

Results Phase I: The Pathways

10/04/2023 12© 2013, VITO NV

» Towards a concept note and internal engagement declarationThe internal group translated their ambition into an internal engagement declaration that commits the five non-profit organisations to the future vision.

-> even though there is shared support for the vision, there are different views when it comes to short term action

» The vision from the intermunicipal waste company (IWC)It was striking to note that the vision formulated by the intermunicipal waste company was very similar to the vision that had been developed in the arena session.

-> co-creation in arena did result in ‘ownership’ of the vision

» Towards a new management agreement with the IWCThe NMA currently being drawn up will allow experimentation and reorientation of the recycling centers’ future role while at the same time offering stability in current practices. A first joint breakthrough experiment is being set up.

-> towards a more synergistic relationship between recycling centers and IWC

Results Phase II: Anchorage

10/04/2023 13© 2013, VITO NV

Conclusions

10/04/2023 14© 2013, VITO NV

Is the transition management framework a workable approach to discover a new role for the social enterprise ‘recycling shops’ in a region aiming at climate neutrality and did it deliver the objectives?

Research Question I

» promoted systemic thinking by thinking about the bigger picture;» the formulation of a new discourse with a higher ambition level; » development of new business model concepts that fit in an envisioned

future society that functions within the boundaries of significantly different material management principles

» initiation of a more synergistic collaboration with the local intermunicipal waste company

» first seeds of anchorage in regime through the new business management agreement allowing experimentation and reorientation of the recycling centers’ future role

» joint steps wit IWC in setting up breakthrough experiment(s);» dispersion of new ideas and concepts into new and relevant networks (i-

cleantech antenna Limburg, umbrella organisation KOMOSIE)

YES

10/04/2023 15© 2013, VITO NV

Is the transition management framework a workable approach to discover a new role for the social enterprise ‘recycling shops’ in a region aiming at climate neutrality and did it deliver the objectives?

Research Question I

» no shared sense of urgency and no collective motivation to develop the new future role between the five centers jointly;

» no shared trust and confidence between the five directors;» no joint strategy across the five centers;

No

» Several aspects have contributed to this : (1) the fact that not all the directors were congruent to the ‘frontrunner’ profile that is the preferred profile in transition arena settings due to restrictions in the assignment; (2) the diversity in starting points/short term focus between the centers; (3) the thereby related diversity in perceived sense of urgency; and (4) the different views on the need for transparency between centers.

» In fact, our empirical example shows that frontrunner profiles are critical to prompt action and that early involvement of non frontrunner profiles actually complicates and decelerates progress.

10/04/2023 16© 2013, VITO NV

Did the TM approach contribute to the development of new business models for the social enterprise ‘recycling shops’?

» The TM approach did contribute to the development of new business model concepts (material match maker and service match maker) that fit in an envisioned future society that functions within the boundaries of significantly different material management principles.

» The identified concepts are all inspired by closed lean cycles of materials and/or products thus fit the concept of the circular economy.

» Some of the emerged concepts are being investigated for their business potential and new collaborations around these concepts are being explored at this very moment.

Research Question II

Call from i-Cleantech Flanders to fund feasibility studies for new business cases in Limburg:• 2 recycling centers and IWC formed a

consortium and IWC will co-fund half of the budget.

10/04/2023 17© 2013, VITO NV

Did the TM approach contribute to transformative and constitutive power?

» The delivered objectives clearly show that a niche-regime interaction has unfolded to both enable transformative and constitutive power » In the new management agreement :

• an opening is created for a more synergetic collaboration between both organizations;

• an addendum is inserted that will enable joint new experiments focusing on (1) new ways to deal with resources /new resource distribution options that favour more effective product reuse or upcycling and on (2) new roles for recycling centers that can be developed.

» The ideas have dispersed into new and influential networks that » (1) can upscale the ideas from the province of Limburg to the whole of

Flanders (e.g. the umbrella organization KOMOSIE that represents all the recycling centers named ‘kringloopwinkels’ in Flanders)

» (2) can provide funding opportunities (e.g. the policy group of the i-Cleantech Antenna Limburg);

Research Question III

10/04/2023 18© 2013, VITO NV

Did the TM approach contribute to transformative and constitutive power?

E.g. new funding opportunities:» New business model concepts of ‘material match maker’ and ‘service match

maker’ have been picked up by the policy group I-Cleantech Limburg, that will fund feasibility studies for the most promising business ideas.

» This policy group is comprised of many influential members (eg Governor of Limburg, a representative of the Ministry of Innovation, several CEO’s and general managers…).

Research Question III

10/04/2023 19© 2013, VITO NV

Did the TM approach contribute to transformative and constitutive power?

» The examples illustrate that the TM approach fueled niche-regime development that can probably lead to up scaling of the formulated new activities and roles from the province to the wider Flanders region

» The interaction with regime actors resulted in first explorations around transformations of current resource distribution » A shift in resource distribution in the new management agreement with IWC» Proposal for joint transition experiment, co-funded (50%) by the IWC» If proposal gets granted; they managed to successfully redirect innovation funds

towards new business models concepts concerning the circular economy

» The new management agreement opens the door for a more synergetic relationship between the recycling centers and the IWC» Transitionizing the regime or Lock-in? » Time will tell…

Research Question III

10/04/2023 20© 2013, VITO NV

Questions?Something old, something almost new,

something borrowed, something to redo. Saves more euros in your shoe.

[email protected]