Business-models of gravel, cement and concrete producers in Switzerland and their relevance for resource management and economic development on regional a scale

Traditionally, gravel, cement and concrete producers focus on their role as material or resource suppliers. The higher the material turnover, the higher the economic success. Hence, the business-model conflicts with the societal goal of increased resource efficiency. Driven by stricter regulations, companies started to extend their business models with additional services in waste management and logistics.

In the research project "Co-Evolution of Business Strategies in material and construction industries and public policies" the most relevant business-models of gravel, cement and concrete producers in Switzerland are identified based on case studies of ten different companies. The analysis reveals how these business-models differ with regards to value added, resource consumption and CO2-emissions. To analyse the relevance of the different business-models on regional scale, an assessment model is developed based on Material Flow Analysis. It is used to analyse the value chain of construction minerals in an alpine region and its effect on value added, resource consumption, waste generation and CO2-emissions. A comparison between the results of both analyses – companies scale versus regional scale – reveals how alternative business-models could affect resource management and economic development on a regional scale and which types of business-models accelerate or hinder the transition towards a sustainable built environment. The study will show, that it is essential to identify alternative business models in the building materials industry and understand their impacts on the use of primary and secondary resources.

In this paper, we identify two business models, which, at first glance, seems identical as they produce and sell concrete and gravel, but show that the success of a business model highly depends on the source for raw-materials (gravel pit, river extraction or processing excavated materials with high gravel content), the possibility to landfill excavated material and the resulting effects on resource consumption. (paper)