The most transformative growth models are not built inside companies but across ecosystems. Firms adopting sustainable business models invite others into value creation: suppliers, customers, even competitors.

This shift—from ownership to orchestration—defines the modern growth infrastructure. It requires moving from linear supply chains to networked ecosystems that share data, co-design products, and multiply societal impact.

Leaders who build such ecosystems unlock multiple layers of growth:

• Innovation leverage: tapping external creativity and technology assets without internal overhead.

• Scalability: scaling impact without scaling resource consumption.

• Cascaded value creation: enabling others—partners, customers, communities—to act more sustainably too.

For example, a company that provides packaging-free retail solutions doesn’t just reduce waste—it allows other businesses and consumers to participate in ecological value creation. Similarly, a shared mobility firm doesn’t just rent vehicles—it reconfigures urban behavior toward lower emissions.

These are growth multipliers rooted in shared goals, not zero-sum competition. They demonstrate how sustainability evolves from corporate responsibility to economic network design.