A Regenerative Business Ecosystem for Village-Scale Waste Autonomy

Inclusive Green Innovation, Transformation, and Entrepreneurship (IGNITE), Department of Business Administration, Faculty of Social and Political Science, Universitas Diponegoro, Semarang City, Central Java, Indonesia

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Abstract

Unmanaged waste and limited landfill capacity increase the need for source-based, community-scale solutions, particularly in agrarian villages where waste management intersects with synthetic fertilizer dependence and soil degradation. This paper proposes a digital-governance and MRV-enabled Regenerative Business Ecosystem (RBE) to achieve zero waste outflow by integrating material, value, and information flows at village scale. The embedded case is Batur Village (Getasan, Semarang Regency), which operates a 3R waste facility and the Hijao App for pickup scheduling, recordkeeping, and incentives. Using Design Science Research (DSR) with an embedded case study, we develop three artefacts: (1) an RBE with nutrient (organics → compost → farmland), energy (selected fractions → pyrolysis → internal energy use), and recycling (valuable inorganics → offtakers) loops; (2) a digital governance blueprint covering source-separation rules, quality control, safety procedures, incentives and benefit-sharing, and role-based accountability; and (3) an MRV specification linking data capture, verification, audit trails, and KPI dashboards. The baseline indicates an intake of ~4 t/day with capacity constraints creating processing backlogs, motivating a scaling-oriented design. Scalability is examined through scenario assessment toward a 10 t/day inter-village service concept using capacity projections and market assumptions, with results presented as output and value potential.