Mankind is facing a series of challenges brought on by climate change and other environmental issues. If we are to mitigate these challenges, there is a need for action. One of the potential contributing solutions is circular economy, which according to some studies, can reduce the in- dustrial emissions within the EU by more than 50%. The EU has taken notice of the possible benefits of circular economy, and have launched a Regional Fund Programme, which includes fundings to develop green business models in small and medium-sized enterprises (SME’s) in Denmark. However, if these green business models are to mitigate environmental issues, they must also be implemented, which has led to the research question of this thesis: How can im- plementation science be used to understand and facilitate implementation of green business models in SME’s in order to optimize their use of energy and resources?
In order to answer the research question the thesis includes a multiple case study of SME’s and operators involved with the EU Regional Fund-programme. The cases are analyzed by drawing on various implementational aspects of two implementation frameworks and one implementa- tion theory. Based on the analysis, and a discussion of the findings, the thesis concludes that in combination the two implementation frameworks and the implementation theory provide a useful approach to understand significant aspects of implementing green business models in SME’s. In regards to using implementation science to facilitate implementation of green busi- ness models in SME’s there are strengths as well as weaknesses. The strengths of the imple- mentation frameworks and theory used in this thesis, lies in their ability to address various aspects of implementing green business models, that may be important for the SME’s to consi- der. The weakness of the frameworks and theory lies in their generic approach, which is not ideal for the SME’s, given that they face different challenges depending on the type of SME e.g. production or service, and their overall familiarity with green business models.