7. Conclusion
7.2. Future Research Implications
In this thesis, I have illustrated which challenges sustainable entrepreneurs are faced with. One of these challenges is rooted in unsustainable systems and supply chains.
Therefore, further research is suggested to explore how the transition to a sustainable alternative instead can be accomplished.
Furthermore, we need to understand the process of balancing tensions due to environmental orientation within an organisation and how this can be successfully achieved. Research on this matter is needed to illuminate the phenomenon of conflicting goals and competing value systems within the sustainable organisation.
As Løs Market and Phenix have different approaches to sustainable entrepreneurship, they do seem to encounter different challenges as well. Potentially, due to Løs Market’s sustainability-driven nature (see chapter 5.2.), they might encounter additional issues to a higher degree. Further research could explore how different types of sustainable entrepreneurs affect the challenges they face.
I have argued that sustainable entrepreneurs struggle in reaching their environmental goals due to the underlying issues of competing value systems and norms. However, there is not much evidence in the academic discourse yet. Challenges of sustainable entrepreneurs should not be explored on a firm level only but expand research by taking stakeholders as well as the whole society and cultural norms into consideration. Thus, this provides a starting point for future research directions and further exploration of this phenomenon.
My empirical data clearly suggests that the challenge perceived to be the most pressing one by the interviewees, is the one of breaking habits and behaviours of individuals as well as businesses. This also suggests that the academic discourse needs to address what it takes to enable this change in behaviours and, on top of that, needs to take cultural and societal environments of sustainable entrepreneurs into account.
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P RIMARY D ATA C OLLECTION
Phenix
Interview Boyer Chammard, C. (2017a). Phenix - First Interview Round. Copenhagen.
Appendix H. 90-103.
Interview Boyer Chammard, C. (2017b). Phenix - Second Interview Round. Copenhagen.
Appendix K. 122-127.
Løs Market
Field Notes Løs Market (2017). Løs Market – First Meeting, Field Notes. Copenhagen.
Appendix G. 89.
Interview Hamburger, F. (2017). Løs Market - First Interview Round. Copenhagen.
Appendix J. 114-121.
Interview Septimius Krogh, A. (2017a). Løs Market - First Interview Round. Copenhagen.
Appendix I. 104-113.
Interview Septimius Krogh, A. (2017b). Løs Market - Second Interview Round.
Copenhagen. Appendix L. 128-139.
A PPENDICES
Appendix A
Interviews Overview
Company Interviewee Interviewee’s role Number of
interviews
Løs Market Frédéric Hamburger Founder and CEO 1
Løs Market August Septimius Krogh Marketing and PR Manager 2 Phenix Charlotte Boyer Chammard Director Phenix Denmark 2
Appendix B
Interview Guideline Phenix - First round (Boyer Chammard)4
10.02.2017, 11:00 CET
Charlotte Boyer Chammard, Director of Phenix Denmark
Personal
Tell me a little about how you stumbled upon Phenix, how you started there and what your role is.
Can you describe a regular work day?
What is your vision for the company and the work you are doing there?
How does the communication work with a team spread all over the world like yours?
Company
How is Phenix helping the environment?
Why did you choose this area or why do you think this is a good way to help the environment?
What is Phenix’ value proposition / what are they doing for their customers?
How does the business model look like?
Can you sustain the company financially? [ask for financial data]
How is the relationship with your customer(s)?
Did they approach you or the other way around?
How do you assess your environmental impact? [ask for data and materials]
Why do you assess this? Who do you show it to, who is it important for?
Challenges & Barriers
Tell me about your biggest success and setback so far.
What is success to you?
Which response do you get from your environment (stakeholders, friends, families, other) on the business concept?
What are the main barriers to the circular economy concept you aim to employ for your clients?
Have there ever been situations where financial goals interfered with sustainable goals?
What do you think is the most pressing barrier you have to overcome as an organisation?
4 The interview guidelines appear in chronological order.
Appendix C
Interview Guideline Løs Market - First round (Septimius Krogh)
10.02.2017, 17:00 CET
August Septimius Krogh, Marketing & Public Relations Manager
How is Løs Market helping the environment?
Why did you choose this area or why do you think this is a good way to help the environment?
Tell me about how you came across and started to work at Løs Market.
Can you describe a regular work day?
Which response do you get from stakeholders and other players in your environment?
(The public, customers, friends, families, etc.)
What is the biggest challenge in your day-to-day job?
What is it that your customers get when they shop at Løs Market (besides the products they buy)?
What have been your biggest successes and setbacks so far?
What do you think is the most pressing barrier you have to overcome as an organisation?
There is a new Danish study suggesting that packaging is actually “good” for the environment as it helps fighting food waste. What is your take on this issue?
Appendix D
Interview Guideline Løs Market - First round (Hamburger)
17.02.2017, 15:00 CET
Frédéric Hamburger, Founder & CEO
How is Løs Market helping the environment?
Why did you choose this area or why do you think this is a good way to help the environment?
What is it that your customers get when they shop at Løs Market (besides the products they buy)?
How are you financing the company? Can you sustain the company financially?
How important are financial goals in your company?
Did you ever have to choose between options that were less sustainable but more profitable or the other way around?
How do you handle food waste?
What does your supply chain look like and what are you trying to change about it?
How are you changing it and can you already see results?
On top of financial numbers, do you also try to measure the impact you have on the environment or society?
Are official institutions, regulations or others influencing your business activities somehow?
There is a new Danish study suggesting that packaging is actually “good” for the environment as it helps fighting food waste. What is your take on that issue?
What do you think is the most pressing barrier you have to overcome as an organisation?
Appendix E
Interview Guideline Phenix - Second round (Boyer Chammard)
04.04.2017, 10:00 CET
Charlotte Boyer Chammard, Director of Phenix Denmark
Definitions
Last time you mentioned that you aim for a circular economy approach and try to establish a new value chain. Could you maybe define these two concepts for me?
What is sustainability and sustainable entrepreneurship to you? And what is it not?
Habits
You mentioned that your biggest barrier is to break habits of people. Could you elaborate a bit more on what you mean by these habits? Examples?
Do you see it as your responsibility as a business to change these habits? If yes, why?
What are the main challenges in trying to change these habits? Example?
Value
You mentioned that you calculate the value you create for your clients yourself. Which value are we talking about here? Is that economic or environmental value created for the customer?
Client
Can you explain in more detail which kind of services exactly you are offering to your client in Copenhagen?
What did you find difficult in dealing with this client?
Was there ever a point where there was a more environmental viable/friendly option but a different option was chosen due to financial or other reasons?
Appendix F
Interview questions - Second round (Septimius Krogh)
07.04.2017, 10:00 CET
August Septimius Krogh, Marketing & Public Relations Manager
Current topics
I have heard that you will open up two more stores, one in Nørrebro and one in Aarhus.
Can you tell me a bit more about that? When? Bigger stores?
Does that mean that you have reached financial sustainability with your store since you are engaging in expansion?
Definitions
What is sustainability and sustainable entrepreneurship to you? And what is it not?
You also mentioned that you aim for a circular economy approach. Could you define this for me?
Habits
You mentioned that your biggest barrier is to break habits of people. Could you elaborate a bit more on what you mean by these habits? Examples?
Do you see it as your responsibility as a business to change these habits? If yes, why?
What are the main challenges in trying to change these habits? Example?
Activism
Is it safe to say that Løs Market is also engaging in activist-like activities? So I mean that you are activists in the sense, that you try to engage people for a certain topic and convince them of your way?
Ideal world
How would your ideal work look like? What would be different for Løs Market? What would businesses, the government and consumers do differently?
Appendix G
Løs Market – First Meeting / Field Notes
January 24th, 2017, Copenhagen, Denmark Attendees:
• Frédéric Hamburger (Founder & CEO)
• August Septimius Krogh (Marketing & Public Relations Manager) Duration: ~20 minutes
Tour around the shop: everything is labelled and explained so the customer knows immediately what to do once entering the shop
The atmosphere was very friendly in the shop, I have been immediately approached and have been offered support by the salesman before I identified myself.
A point that has been stressed throughout the conversation: “Sustainability always comes first”
Most important thing to them: a change in mindsets, the need to change the whole system and supply chain, they do work within the system but they are changing it (or trying to change it).
It is very difficult to change the mindsets and habits of people; even people that really love their concept don’t come to their shop. It is difficult for them to bring customers in.
There is only a few people that would even cycle multiple kilometres with their Christiania bikes (cargo bicycles) to shop there every week for 1000 Danish kroner, but that is not the rule.
They have to reach certain financial goals, but their mission and sustainability aims are always more important, not the other way around like with many other organisations.
They explicitly distanced themselves from companies engaging in CSR and
“greenwashing”, as they are first and foremost concerned about the environmental issues.
Appendix H
Transcript Phenix - First round (Boyer Chammard)
10.02.2017, 11:00 CET
Charlotte Boyer Chammard, Director of Phenix Denmark
Researcher:
Maybe we just start out with you telling me how you stumbled upon Phenix and then how you got the whole thing started here in Denmark.
Charlotte:
Yeah, so I was finishing my studies at CBS as well and was looking into zero waste and myself trying to transition kind of to a zero waste lifestyle and I realized as well does it really make any sense if I’m just like… even if every consumer does this, like.. the only way to really have an impact would be if the companies and industries started transitioning towards zero waste. So I thought, okay that’s what I want to do, I want to do like a company that helps, like a consultant firm on how to transition towards zero waste.
I talked to a friend who told me “Oh that already exists, look up Phenix”. So I checked, the day where I checked they posted on Facebook that they were trying to go abroad into Europe, it’s a French company, so I just messaged them and said “Hi, I’m in Copenhagen.
Is there some..” Cause they didn’t say any destination, so I had a Skype interview and they said they were considering expanding to Portugal because they have similar rules in Spain and Portugal, like similar markets. But they thought Denmark was quite interesting, because of the whole sustainability, Denmark being green and a strong, strong focus on food waste here. So after two Skype interviews, it was kind of just a done deal.
Researcher:
When was that, exactly?
Charlotte:
That was in May, 2016. That we talked about this and I was finishing my studies in September so we started Phenix in Denmark in November.
Researcher:
Can you maybe describe to me what like your regular work day looks like.
Charlotte:
They vary so much. So, some days I just come here to Greencubator and work on emails and contact potential clients. So basically calling supermarket owners and asking them what they do about food waste, how it’s working, if they’re interested.
Researcher:
So, it’s basically market research as your primary task?
Charlotte:
Yeah, yeah exactly. Because our services won’t necessarily work the same here in Denmark. But some days.. yesterday I was at a startup competition, so a little bit of networking and presenting the company..
Researcher:
Ok, which one was that?
Charlotte:
Accelerate Copenhagen. And some days I’m out like in office spaces, in.. trying to repurpose unsold furniture and find new life cycles and things like that.
Researcher:
So a lot of networking as well, I suppose.
Charlotte:
Yes, it really depends, because we have to focus on companies, the retail industry, the charity organizations, on the logistic and transport. So it’s like a bit of seeing a lot of people.
Researcher:
It’s many areas you are covering, right? But you focus on food waste?
Charlotte:
Yes, but we focus mainly on retailers, so we focus on food waste. But also big supermarkets which also sell clothes, towels, toys and things like that, so we take that in as well. For example if they sell a monopoly of the Euro Games 2012, then when the Euro Games finish, they can’t sell it anymore, so they would just throw it away. But we can donate it to children, to hospitals or similar. So it’s a little bit of everything. But on an everyday basis it’s food waste, that’s done the most.
Researcher:
What is your overall vision then for the work you are doing for Phenix?
Charlotte:
Basically, we try to create new value chains, so that it fits in a circular economy loop. So, the waste products - or products that are considered waste - we assume, that they actually have value and that they can be used as resources for other industry players. So it’s a B2B, we don’t really aim at customers. This can be like charity organizations which works well in France or it can be wholesalers, discounters, outlets, kind of anything, or
here in Denmark, Biogas for example. Just anyone that can use this product as a resource and that can create value for the company instead of having the company pay money to get rid of their waste.
Researcher:
Why do you think these new value chains that you are trying to establish are not being established by someone else already or by public authorities for examples?
Charlotte:
In France we have… the supermarkets we work with, there is a big financial incentive to donate, because we have a tax deduction when you donate products, so you get money back. Supermarkets in France, some were donating - some don’t - but some were donating between 10-40% of their products that they would throw away. But working with us they donate around 80%. Because basically they just don’t necessarily first of all have the time to find the right partners. Our key thing is that we guarantee there’s an association every day that will come and pick up the products once an association is closed for two weeks because of Christmas holidays for example and they don’t find a replacement and things like that.
But it’s also about the fact that they are not necessarily sure about regulations. What products can I donate, what can I not donate? There’s a big misunderstanding between
‘best before’ and ‘use by’. Products which are ‘best before’ you can donate after it has expired and it’s only the ‘use by’-products that you cannot yet donate on the - worst case scenario - on the last day. So it’s about all this optimizing and training, so that everything that can find purpose will. And that’s not necessarily something that the supermarkets themselves have time actually to do. It’s quite busy in stores.
And then in terms of the public authorities, I think that’s why there’s also this fiscal rule in France because they want to incentivize people to donate. It doesn’t exist in Denmark. I think it’s mostly because there’s not really a need in Denmark. On the social side, there’s less people that are in need, so it makes less of an incentive to try to repurpose what we have. There’s a big market in France about just repurposing, reusing, etc. Although Denmark recycles a lot, it’s in an environmental way, not in a social way because people need this.
Researcher:
So basically, your main work is B2B and not B2C. I saw on your website that you can sign up as an individual to get some information about how I can reduce my waste. Do you do consulting in this area or is that more on an online basis?
Charlotte:
Not really. What we do, is that we do events for example. So, if there is an event organizer that wants to do a zero-waste-event, we can help with that. We do also activities in companies where we’ll have an event explaining the benefits of reducing food waste. It’s like teambuilding workshops with competitions between two teams, where they have to