Exploring a Sustainable Business Model (SBM) for Electronic Waste (e-Waste) Management in York Region, Ontario

Life without electronic devices, while not impossible, would be difficult at least when trying to communicate. This dependency is one of the multiple variables leading to the fast-growing e-waste generation. Also, the lack of e-waste consumption and management synchronization leads to a flow of toxic substances, increasing the environmental and human risks. Conversely, the recycling of valuable substances of the electronics produces a significant source for re-manufactured products and protecting the natural resources while creating a wide range of business opportunities.

The main objective of this research is to investigate the specifications and characteristics of a sustainable business model (SBM) for e-waste management through studying the stakeholders’ perspectives. In the SBM that is visualized by a Sustainable Business Model Canvas (SBMC) and its eleven components, the environment and society drivers are considered as important as economic drivers. However, the experimental studies on operationalizing sustainability in BMs have not been considered as they deserve.

Therefore, this study, with its exploratory and interpretative nature, employed an abductive research strategy combined with a case study method to investigate the stakeholders’ perspectives. The semi-structured interviews were the primary source of data. The York Region, Ontario, CA was selected as the case study. The recorded interviews were transcribed through a qualitative content analysis method. The research findings reveal the matrices, graphs, mind maps, and seven mental models from the three major stakeholder groups. Then, the eight emerged themes were discussed thoroughly in response to the research questions.

Consequently, the three significant contributions of this research when answering the research questions include: (1) A mental model consisting of the common opinions of three stakeholder groups (Government, Community, and Industry) that characterizes a consistent but incomprehensive SBM for e-waste management of York Region (YR) ; (2) Dual stakeholder group mental models that identify the gaps among stakeholders’ understandings about a SBM-YR-e-waste management system that highlight the conflicts or defects for future design; and (3) An integrated SBMC (I-SBMC) that may meet the sustainability consideration in the SBM, particularly for waste and e-waste management systems.