Zero profit model

1) In an economic system based on money, we humans can get almost anything we want using money and therefore the natural motivation is to maximize profit even if our actions cause land degradation, overfishing, ecosystem collapse, etc. Therefore to solve the problem at the root, we must modify our economic system.

2) I propose a zero profit business model in the food sector. The model is as simple as not making any profits. The idea is to scale it up globally using donations from people by showcasing how the world is being destroyed & exploited due to profit-making. 

3) If scaled globally, apart from food being cheaply available due to removing profit-making in its supply chains, Pricing of food based on demand to seek profits will not happen. So, the "price mechanism" fails; a new mechanism will evolve for distribution of scarce foods. Thus, Economic system begins to change.

Our Economic system is the root cause of the harm we are inflicting on the planet. Each and every individual is part of this system and is knowingly or unknowingly forced to participate in it. The single factor contributing to this problem is the concept of money. Money is a gateway to almost everything in this world, from basic survival to utmost luxury and therefore it is very natural that businesses want to maximize their profits. In a race for profits we plunder the planet and exploit people. Therefore the solution lies in being bold & courageous enough to think about a world without money and being practical enough to make it achievable. 

Start a zero-profit business in the food sector. To be precise & simple, start a "Supermarket" based on zero-profit model. This supermarket sells stuff at zero-profit prices. If it makes any profit, the profit will be refunded back to customers (Via mobile App). In case it makes losses, workers suffer pay cuts and it has to adjust prices of goods accordingly to not go into losses again.

Effects:

1) Prices of goods will come down due to zero-profit motive. Food is available for cheap to the customers, so Demand increases, but with increasing demand, prices decrease further in a zero-profit model (opposite to traditional for-profit model) as it needs to make lesser margins on each sale to sustain itself.

2) "Price system" is a way to manage distribution (Friedrich Hayek), meaning rich can buy everything but poor are limited. But in this supermarket, "price system" fails due to zero profit model. A new distribution mechanism will evolve.

3) By showcasing our supermarket and bringing awareness about how profit-making is bad for the planet & us, we educate more people about the problem. We will use donations to scale-up.

Technology : POS system, Profit refunding mobile app, digital marketing, crowdfunding website. 

The solution is to modify our monetary economic system and we all are participants in it as we all need money to survive. So this solutions serves us all.

In the current economic system, most of us work in normal boring jobs to earn money. The businesses we work in, always want to grow to increase their profits. There is no limit to growth and profits for any profit making company. They contribute to exploitation of the planet and we are the ones helping them do it because we need to earn money. If money was not important we would all be doing things which are more meaningful to us.

Once the solution is kick started, the "Price system" will become no longer applicable inside zero-profit supermarkets. Lets understand, What this means and how it will impact us ?

Price system, one of the significant contributions by Friedrich Hayek, is a component of any economic system that uses prices expressed in any form of money for the valuation and distribution of goods and services. 

In a typical for-profit supermarket (or any business), if demand increases prices increase. The businesses do this as it fetches higher profits. The byproduct of this mechanism (The price system) is it allows for a so called "fair" way to distribute the scarce goods, in this case, the goods go to one who pays the highest price, usually rich people. Therefore in a world where price system is played out in all food selling stores (like supermarkets), we humans have to earn enough money to get food via price system's distribution method. And this dependence on money to survive makes us do things we do not want to do, even if our actions destroy the planet. In a choice between our own survival and slow destruction of ecosystems, we have naturally chosen our own survival. But it doesn't have to be this way.

In a supermarket based on zero-profit model, the price of a good is decided such that it does not yield profits. Meaning, if demand is high for a good, it would be priced lesser than before, as the supermarket sells more of it but needs to make lesser margins on each sale to sustain itself. Therefore we see that prices behave in exactly the opposite way in a zero-profit model. As the price system is reversed, its distribution method fails in this supermarket, meaning, a good that is in demand will be priced so less that everyone can buy it. How then can we distribute such a good ? A new metric has to evolve. A metric like "take 1 packet per person", "take 1kg rice per person", etc will emerge (as they emerged in German supermarkets during Corona times when food shortage was seen in supermarkets).

Therefore a zero-profit supermarket is a place where the price system fails and a new system emerges and thus a new economic system births. This new system doesn't care how much money you can pay to get a good because the distribution mechanism has changed or evolved to a fairer one. Therefore humans are no longer dependent on money now. This has tremendous repercussions into our work life and our relationship with money. The hope is that the fight between profit-making and planet will slowly come to an end to give birth to a better world. Of course no one can predict how exactly this transition will happen but there is a ray of hope and this idea begs to be implemented for the sake of that glimmer of hope it offers.

Destruction of Ecosystems is due to our global economic activity. Damage control at local community level is definitely required but since most such communities serve the big cities, which draw in a lot of resources of the world, we can devise a city-based solution to tackle the problem on a systemic level.

The solution proposed looks disconnected from nature on first glance but it is deeply connected to our ecosystems through global supply chain. The goals are 100% aligned with the challenge but the approach described in the solution is unique and offers a systems theory perspective.

The idea is the unique business model. This has not been implemented yet by me because it takes a some investment to start a grocery store or a supermarket in a big city. Therefore the solution is in "Concept" stage.

The solution is innovative as it offers a systems theory approach to the problem. In systems theory, changing one part of a system may affect other parts or the whole system. The solution described in this application identifies one such part i.e a unique business model in the food sector which has potential repercussions to change the whole system i.e Economic system.

The solution also takes inspiration from meditation practices in eastern traditional spiritual systems. Meditation can be seen as a way to change our internal mental system and one of the things a meditator has to constantly do in meditation is to let go of desires and cravings. Applying this idea to the economic system, a business that tries to let go of its craving or desire for profit is on the right path to achieving change. This idea has be explored here.

The proposal is an innovative mix of western science, economics and traditional ancient wisdom. The result is not a complex impractical idea but a simple highly practical one.

I expect the zero-profit business model idea to receive huge support from the big environment movements like the vegan movement & the climate change movement as it aligns to their goals. Already these movements support things like sustainable living, vegan food, permaculture, regenerative agriculture, etc and now "Zero-profit businesses" will get added to that list and it will rise to the top of the list because it is the most doable practical thing for a common man.

Currently serves 0 as its in the concept stage.

In one year it will serve one neighborhood in terms of its groceries and the umbers could be around 300-500 people. But the most important part of the project in its initial phase is to bring awareness about zero-profit model and to garner support for it and in that sense it will serve humanity by spreading awareness and hope that we can do something about this deep rooted problem. The spreading of knowledge and awareness regarding the problem & the solution will happen largely through online platforms where we shall showcase our groundwork. And Online the numbers we will serve would be in 1000's, so 10,000 in one year. and hopefully 10 million in 5 years as the growth of such an idea is exponential in the online world.

In 5 years, if we scale well , we would open 100 stores atleast and serve about 50,000 people in terms of the food needs.

If we get the prize we will make sure to train and hire at least 50% refugees as staff in all our supermarkets that we launch. 

Zero profit model businesses in the food sector pave the path towards sustainable communities as explained in my application and hence I believe my proposal strongly qualifies for this prize

Overfishing is a consequence of companies wanting to make a lot of short term profit and then pushing the workers to fish more & more even though the consequences for future could be devastating.

Entering the fish industry with a zero profit model can put it on the path towards sustainability and any prize money received will be put to use to enter the fish industry with a zero profit B2C model.

As the zero profit model aims to modify the economic system and replace money with an evolved metric, maybe blockchains could come into play here and new novel methods of distribution can come into picture. To explore this possibility the funds of this prize shall be used if we receive it.