Collaborative Platforms in the European Union from the Standpoint of Sustainable Development

This publication addresses the issue of the collaborative economy in the European Union from the perspective of sustainable development. From the simple idea of renting, lending, reselling, or swapping underutilised resources (e.g., tools, space, time, and skills), the collaborative economy developed into a complex, novel, and innovative economic sector which has completely revolutionised traditional markets and shifted consumer preferences and lifestyles. Today’s collaborative economy consists of a wide array of business models which vary significantly in their ideological roots, values, technological resources, size, and legal forms. This multifaceted socio-economic phenomenon has become a subject of fierce debate in both media and academic discourses. While supporters of the collaborative economy firmly believe that it is a promising opportunity for individual activism, sustainable development and environmental progress, opponents call it a misleading mystification of an unruly and unjustly idealised “low cost” access economy. Whether collaborative platforms should be seen as profit-driven corporations which hide their disruptive business model under greenwashing slogans, or as pioneers in transforming commercial business models into sustainable and environmentally friendly companies, is highly disputed.