Purpose: This paper includes design thinking in the sustainable business modelling process to improve the creative process of embedding sustainability into the value proposition. A new workshop process has been developed and tested. Design/methodology/approach: On the basis of literature reviews and expert interviews as well as an existing value mapping framework, a new workshop framework was developed. Subsequently, the framework was piloted and transferred into a workshop routine, which was then tested with student groups as well as a company. The results of these tests were analysed and the workshop framework consequently refined. Findings: A ‘value ideation process’ was developed for sustainable business modelling which comprises value ideation, value opportunity selection, and value proposition prototyping. Practical Implications: This workshop supports ideation, understanding, and communication of opportunities to enlarge the value proposition of businesses to comprise additional forms of value and include formerly unattended stakeholders. Originality/value: This workshop routine combines existing approaches of value mapping and Design Thinking in a novel way to assist companies in enhancing their value proposition in regard to the creation of positive value and the allowance for stakeholder interests.