Green Transition and a New Market Situation

We cannot leave it to national states or environmental organizations to create a sustainable planet and common welfare. Fundamentally, new market conditions and legislation is emerging targeting companies and corporations to transform into sustainable business models. The linear business models will not be allowed in the future causing large changes and limitations on the products put on the markets. New value chains will occur ensuring that companies get access to recycled raw materials. Requirements on how products are manufacture, and how products re-enter the loops of reused and recycled materials are being introduced rapidly. A showdown of global value chains may be expected and new market conditions and regionalized economies will emerge. Take-make-waste is not an appropiate business model any longer. Companies must take responsibility for the full value (supply) chain and sustainability is becoming a business imperative. This chapter describes the drivers behind the new market conditions and how companies must navigate into a circular economy in the future. The chapter lines out why sustainability will become the most important strategy topic for a long time.