Eco-entrepreneurship

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The term eco-entrepreneurship (also ecopreneurship ) designates a form of entrepreneurship, in which the generation and dissemination of ecologically oriented innovations are at the center of expansive business activities in sales markets. Eco-entrepreneurs strive for market shares in their core business through innovations to solve or reduce ecological problems. Here, the personal drive of an entrepreneur appears to be decisive for overcoming market barriers and entry barriers both in the development of market niches and in the subsequent transfer of successful niche products from the “eco-niche” to the mass market. The market change due to the growth of strongly sustainable companies is therefore at the center of eco-entrepreneurship. The transformative function of ecopreneurs consists in the “creative destruction” of environmentally harmful productions and consumption patterns, in that the innovations driven by eco-entrepreneurs reduce the relative market attractiveness of ecologically disadvantageous goods and services from the customer's point of view, or by offering technical and / or social innovations To improve the quality of life and the environment, increase customer demands on the ecological quality of the services offered, even in the mass market.

Eco-entrepreneurs distinguish themselves from the environmentally-related activities of conventional companies by the great importance of "meta-economic" goals, the intrinsic, often idealistic drive of an entrepreneur as well as the resulting focus of the core business on ecologically-oriented innovations, which not only secure their own turnover, but should significantly contribute.

Eco-entrepreneurship in the sense of founding and expanding innovative eco-companies is therefore not identical to environmental management , which, as a supplementary functional area of ​​conventional companies, primarily deals with issues of securing legitimacy, environmental management systems , resource efficiency and communicating social responsibility.

history

The phenomenon of eco-entrepreneurship in Germany goes back to the 1920s, when, based on the reform movement and anthroposophy, the first companies to promote a nature-loving way of life and biodynamic agriculture emerged. In the course of the new social movements of the 1960s and 1970s, numerous other business start-ups emerged as an expression of an alternative economy, which became more professional in the following decades and increasingly integrated into the market economy. In business theory, individual contributions since 2000 explicitly deal with the phenomenon of eco-entrepreneurship. Because these contributions differ greatly in their understanding of terms, in their conception and in the orientation of normative recommendations for action and only partially relate to one another, it would seem wrong to speak of a unified theory of eco-entrepreneurship; rather, they are theoretical interpretations of a conscious entrepreneurial orientation of the core business to ideas for solving or reducing ecological problems.

Since the beginning of the 21st century, the concept has been taken up by mainstream economics . B. underpinned by theories of so-called market failure and further developed in practice (by so-called eco-venturing , eco-incubators , etc.). Since then, the generic term Sustainable Entrepreneurship or Sustainability Entrepreneurship , or Sustainopreneurship for short, has been used for both social entrepreneurship and eco-entrepreneurship .

Many companies have taken up individual ideas of eco-entrepreneurship and integrated them into their market strategies or CSR concepts in an effective advertising manner or documented them through voluntary participation in certification systems, the working methods of which are often not transparent to the customer. An example here is the debate about the ecologically problematic use of palm oil , the sustainable cultivation of which is to be regulated and certified by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO).

The success of waste banks in some emerging countries shows that entrepreneurial concepts can also be more effective in solving environmental problems than state solutions for collecting waste and recycling valuable materials.

Theoretical and empirical questions

Applying the theory of market failure to eco-entrepreneurship gives rise to a number of theoretical and empirical questions still to be answered, such as: B. the profitability , which in the organic segment should actually be significantly lower than the profitability usually expected from large investments , but which have not materialized due to the market failure, or the compatibility of (often value conservative ) environmental and sustainability orientation , radical willingness to innovate and entrepreneurial thinking rolled into one. Many ecopreneurs have evidently gained a major influence on the markets from the smallest of beginnings, even without venture capital being available to them, and thus reshaped the markets that later became profitable for large investors. Petersen proves that of the newly founded companies that later had a major impact on the market, the far larger number were initially primarily focused on environmental and less on profitability goals. Even Kirkwood and Walton show based on a sample of New Zealand founder that Ecopreneurs lower income expectations than average Founder and that they above all - positive - some surprising for them demand growth prospects has opened for the successful establishment (so-called pull effect ), a pattern that people in Germany are more familiar with part-time start- ups . Wagner shows that the students at a technical university he interviewed have a strong environmental policy orientation and that they are more willing to do business. The alumni of this university, however, this close connection is only made when the " moderator variable " innovation is strong. Otherwise, a certain resignation effect occurs .

Product design

Sustainability plays a fundamental role in the decision on the product range and product design. Systematic life cycle analyzes are an essential element of social and ecological product design. They analyze which economic and eco-social effects and costs are caused in the entire creation, use and recycling process across the entire value chain.

Cradle to Cradle design

Cradle to Cradle Design is a concept that uses a sustainable design and a sustainable production model to eliminate waste during production or to reuse the materials used.

The concept defines a "system for the manufacture of products and industrial processes that enables materials to be kept in closed cycles as" nutrients ". Materials in products that are optimized for biological cycles serve as biological nutrients and can get into the environment without hesitation. Materials in products that are designed for closed technical cycles serve as technical nutrients (e.g. metals and various polymers). These materials should not get into biological cycles. "

The Cradle to Cradle design concept ("From the cradle to the cradle") was developed by Michael Braungart in collaboration with the American architect William McDonough.

Teaching and Research

In Germany, there is training, research and start-up support in the subject of eco-entrepreneurship or for eco-entrepreneurs and the like. a. at the following universities and institutions:

The Green Economy Start-up Monitor (GEMO), co-published by the University of Oldenburg, provides an overview of the German eco-entrepreneurship activities. It shows a share of 16.3% "green start-ups" in all 126,200 business start-ups in Germany. The focus is on start-ups with the aim of increasing energy efficiency.

In Austria:

In Denmark:

In the USA:

The academic working group Sustainable Entrepreneurship was founded in 2015 with the aim of networking and exchanging ideas on research and innovations in eco-entrepreneurship.

Umbrella organizations and certification

In Austria the movement of the common good economy emerged , which has since spread with 100 regional groups across several countries outside of Europe. It includes (2019) around 2200 companies that have their balance sheets for the common good checked by external experts.

Obstacles

On the one hand, attention is drawn to the permanently higher operating costs of the ecopreneurs, which hinder their economic success; on the other hand, the constant need to observe eco-efficiency and eco-balance partially restricts technical and entrepreneurial creativity. Above all, the fact that ecopreneurs align their development projects with self-defined goals and do not react to a need, while at the same time demanding a high level of eco-commitment from customers, can hinder market success.

literature

  • B. Cohen, MI Winn: Market imperfections, opportunity and sustainable entrepreneurship. In: J. Bus. Venturing. 22, 2007, pp. 29-49.
  • K. Hockerts, R. Wüstenhagen: Greening Goliaths versus Emerging Davids - Theorizing about the Role of Incumbents and New Entrants in Sustainable Entrantsship. In: Journal of Business Venturing. (25), No. 5, 2010, pp. 481-492.
  • R. Isaak: Green Logic: Ecopreneurship, theory and ethics. Kumarian, West Hartford 1999.
  • AL Larson: Sustainable Innovation through an Entrepreneurship Lens. In: Business Strategy and the Environment. 9, 2000, 304-317.
  • H. Petersen: Ecopreneurship and Competitive Strategies. Striving for Market Leadership by Promoting Sustainability. In: S. Schaltegger, M. Wagner (Ed.): Managing the Business Case for Sustainability. The Integration of Social, Environmental and Economic Performance. Greenleaf, Sheffield 2006, pp. 398-411.
  • S. Schaltegger, H. Petersen: Ecopreneurship. Concept and Typology. CSM / Rio Managementforum, Lueneburg / Lucerne 2001.
  • S. Schaltegger, M. Wagner: Types of Sustainable Entrepreneurship and Conditions for Sustainability Innovation. In: J. Wüstenhagen, S. Hamschmidt, S. Sharma, M. Starik (Eds.): Sustainable Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Edward Elgar Publishing, Cheltenham 2008.
  • S. Schaltegger, M. Wagner: Sustainable Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Innovation. Categories and Interactions. In: Business Strategy and the Environment. Vol. 20, No. 4, 2011, pp. 222-237.
  • D. Stefanescu, E. Herman, H.-J. Weissbach u. a .: Sustainable Development and Business Opportunities. Targu-Mures / Kosice 2009, ISBN 978-80-553-0181-5 .
  • T. Teppo, R. Wüstenhagen: Why Corporate Venture Capital Funds Fail - Evidence from the European Energy Industry. In: World Review of Entrepreneurship, Management and Sust. Development 5, No. 4, 2009, pp. 353-375.
  • R. Wüstenhagen, RJ Wuebker: Handbook of Research on Energy Entrepreneurship. Edward Elgar Publishing, Cheltenham, UK / Lyme, US 2011.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ S. Schaltegger: Sustainable Entrepreneurship. In: S. Idowu, N. Capaldi, L. Zu, A. Das Gupta (Eds.): Encyclopedia of Corporate Social Responsibility. Springer, Berlin 2013, pp. 2458-2462; S. Schaltegger, M. Wagner: Sustainable Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Innovation. In: Categories and Interactions, Business Strategy and the Environment. Vol. 20, No. 4, 2011, pp. 222-237.
  2. ↑ E. Hansen, S. Schaltegger: 100% Organic? A Sustainable Entrepreneurship Perspective on the Diffusion of Organic Clothing. Corporate governance. In: International Journal of Business in Society. Vol. 13, No. 5, 2013, pp. 583-597.
  3. ↑ K. Hockerts, R. Wüstenhagen: Greening Goliaths versus Emerging Davids. Theorizing about the role of incumbents and new entrants in sustainable entrepreneurship. In: Journal of Business Venturing. Vol. 25, No. 5, 2010, pp. 481-492.
  4. ^ E. Hansen, S. Mirkovic, S. Schaltegger: To grow or no to grow? Openness and closure for mainstreaming by sustainable entrepreneurs ABIS Colloquium: "Sustainability & Finance", 15th-17th October 2013. Nyenrode Business Universiteit, The Netherlands 2013.
  5. ^ S. Schaltegger, E. Hansen: Entrepreneurial sustainability innovations through sustainable entrepreneurship. In: R. Altenburger (Ed.): CSR and innovation management. Springer Gabler, Berlin 2013, pp. 19–30.
  6. ^ S. Schaltegger, H. Petersen: Ecopreneurship. Concept and typology. CSM / Rio Managementforum, Lüneburg / Lucerne 2001
  7. ^ S. Schaltegger: A Framework for Ecopreneurship. Leading Bioneers and Environmental Managers to Ecopreneurship. In: Greener Management International. Issue 38, 2002, pp. 45-58.
  8. ^ A b Marcus Wagner: Eco-Entrepreneurship. Munich / Strasbourg (no year), http://www.dime-eu.org/files/active/0/Advances-Eco-Entrepreneurship-Wagner.pdf
  9. ↑ K. Hockerts: Sustainability Innovations. Ecological and Social Entrepreneurship and the Management of Antagonistic Assets . Dissertation . University of St. Gallen , 2003; A. Gerlach: Sustainable entrepreneurship and innovation. In: Conference Proceedings of Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management. Leeds 2003, ISBN 1-872677-46-0 .
  10. ^ Willi Germund: "Waste means money" , in: St. Galler Tagblatt , February 9, 2016.
  11. ^ H. Petersen: Sustainable Champions. Center for Sustainability Management, Luneburg 2002.
  12. ^ J. Kirkwood, S. Walton: What motivates ecopreneurs to start businesses? In: International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research. Vol. 16, Iss. 3, 2010, pp. 204-228.
  13. ↑ T. Hagen. ua: kfw.de: KfW Start-up Monitor 2010 - short version. ( Memento of March 6, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau , p. 2 f.
  14. ↑ Aachen Foundation Kathy Beys, 2005 - 2017: Lexicon of Sustainability | Economy | Product range and product design . In: Lexicon of Sustainability . ( sustainability.info [accessed on May 24, 2017]).
  15. ↑ C2C design concept | braungart.epea-hamburg.org. Retrieved May 24, 2017 .
  16. ^ William McDonough, Michael Braungart: Cradle to Cradle . Macmillan 2003.
  17. ↑ Stefanie Jordt, Dirk Ludewig: Green Entrepreneurship at Universities: Benchmarking and Best Practices. Flensburg booklets on entrepreneurship and medium-sized businesses, booklet No. 8, Dr. Werner Jackstädt Center for Entrepreneurship and SMEs at the University of Applied Sciences and European University Flensburg, 2015.
  18. ↑ Chair for Corporate Sustainability Management
  19. ↑ Sustainable Entrepreneurship as a course offered by the Center for Sustainability Management
  20. ↑ presse.uni-oldenburg.de
  21. ↑ eco-entrepreneurship.org
  22. ↑ GEMO 2017 (PDF)
  23. ↑ uni-graz.at ( Memento from January 15, 2013 in the web archive archive.today )
  24. ↑ entrepreneur.com
  25. ↑ summer.harvard.edu
  26. ^ AK Sustainable Entrepreneurship