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Emission reduction strategies in the EU steel industry : Implications for business model innovation

Axelson, Matilda ; Oberthür, Sebastian and Nilsson, Lars J. LU (2021) In Journal of Industrial Ecology 25(2). p.390-402
Abstract

The European steel industry must achieve deep greenhouse gas emission reductions to become climate neutral by 2050. New business models are often proposed as one of the key solutions but are mostly addressed in general terms, without elaborating on or systematically analyzing how these new business models are actually linked to specific mitigation measures or strategies. In this paper, we assess when and to what extent different emission reduction strategies in the EU steel industry have implications for business model innovation. Through a review of 42 recent publications on industrial decarbonization, we identify 9 types of decarbonization strategies for steelmaking and their emission reduction potential. The strategies achieve... (More)

The European steel industry must achieve deep greenhouse gas emission reductions to become climate neutral by 2050. New business models are often proposed as one of the key solutions but are mostly addressed in general terms, without elaborating on or systematically analyzing how these new business models are actually linked to specific mitigation measures or strategies. In this paper, we assess when and to what extent different emission reduction strategies in the EU steel industry have implications for business model innovation. Through a review of 42 recent publications on industrial decarbonization, we identify 9 types of decarbonization strategies for steelmaking and their emission reduction potential. The strategies achieve emission reductions through material efficiency, emission efficiency, or a combination of both. For each strategy, we analyze the need for incremental or radical changes in business models on the basis of a thorough reading of the business model literature. Our findings show that EU steel firms can pursue several strategies to decarbonize without having to radically innovate their business models. Importantly, material efficiency strategies, arguably key to decarbonization, imply more radical changes to business models than emission efficiency strategies. Our study is a first contribution to the systematic assessment of industrial decarbonization strategies from a business model perspective. It is also an attempt to bring more rigor to the understanding of the role of business models in industrial decarbonization.

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author
; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
business models, circular economy, energy-intensive industries, industrial ecology, steel, value creation
in
Journal of Industrial Ecology
volume
25
issue
2
pages
13 pages
publisher
MIT Press
external identifiers
  • scopus:85103963616
ISSN
1088-1980
DOI
10.1111/jiec.13124
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
589ae016-85bc-4973-9915-bb38dbf49c20
date added to LUP
2021-04-21 09:24:54
date last changed
2022-04-27 01:36:10
@article{589ae016-85bc-4973-9915-bb38dbf49c20,
  abstract     = {{<p>The European steel industry must achieve deep greenhouse gas emission reductions to become climate neutral by 2050. New business models are often proposed as one of the key solutions but are mostly addressed in general terms, without elaborating on or systematically analyzing how these new business models are actually linked to specific mitigation measures or strategies. In this paper, we assess when and to what extent different emission reduction strategies in the EU steel industry have implications for business model innovation. Through a review of 42 recent publications on industrial decarbonization, we identify 9 types of decarbonization strategies for steelmaking and their emission reduction potential. The strategies achieve emission reductions through material efficiency, emission efficiency, or a combination of both. For each strategy, we analyze the need for incremental or radical changes in business models on the basis of a thorough reading of the business model literature. Our findings show that EU steel firms can pursue several strategies to decarbonize without having to radically innovate their business models. Importantly, material efficiency strategies, arguably key to decarbonization, imply more radical changes to business models than emission efficiency strategies. Our study is a first contribution to the systematic assessment of industrial decarbonization strategies from a business model perspective. It is also an attempt to bring more rigor to the understanding of the role of business models in industrial decarbonization.</p>}},
  author       = {{Axelson, Matilda and Oberthür, Sebastian and Nilsson, Lars J.}},
  issn         = {{1088-1980}},
  keywords     = {{business models; circular economy; energy-intensive industries; industrial ecology; steel; value creation}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{04}},
  number       = {{2}},
  pages        = {{390--402}},
  publisher    = {{MIT Press}},
  series       = {{Journal of Industrial Ecology}},
  title        = {{Emission reduction strategies in the EU steel industry : Implications for business model innovation}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jiec.13124}},
  doi          = {{10.1111/jiec.13124}},
  volume       = {{25}},
  year         = {{2021}},
}