What is Environmental Entrepreneurship?

What is Environmental Entrepreneurship? — page 1 — Imagine it’s 10 20 maybe 30 years from today You wake up in the morning and peek at the weather outside A bright sun beams down on the solar panels ﬁxed to the roofs of the buildings next to yours All around the panels are rooftop gardens where urban farmers harvest fresh home-grown berries for their breakfast You have a quick wash in your space-age shower Most of the water you use is recycled the rest is ﬁltered in a treatment plant The World of Tomorrow Future cities will be more environmentally friendly Buildings will combine solar heating with the beneﬁts of live plants 4

What is Environmental Entrepreneurship? — page 2 — You get dressed and make breakfast using the fresh eggs your hens have laid overnight Their small coop sits on the balcony You compost their manure to use as fertilizer for your garden After eating you unplug your smartphone from the USB port built directly into a potted plant Overnight photosynthesis which occurs in the plant has recharged the battery You glance at the time you’re running late Usually you would hop on the high speed electric train that takes you right into the city Today you get in your electric car and take off down the road The road you drive on is made of special solar panels Together with the rows of windmills on the horizon these panels power the entire city You breathe deep as you rocket along the highway windows rolled down The breeze smells fresh because the paint on the buildings you whip by is specially designed to react with water droplets and sunlight to pull pollution from the air This is just a glimpse of the world of tomorrow It is a world in which environmental entrepreneurship has created a cleaner healthier planet It is a world that celebrates the best of both high-tech modern conveniences and traditional ways of life It is a world where technology and the environment exist in harmony The world of tomorrow is actually being built right now by environmental entrepreneurs For some the future is already here This sketch shows the Garden Pool an Arizona-based ecohome started by the McClung family They raise chickens vegetables and ﬁsh in what used to be a swimming pool The home is solar powered and all waste is recycled for fertilizer or food for the ﬁsh 5

What is Environmental Entrepreneurship? — page 3 — Where Innovation Meets Conservation Entrepreneurship is the process of turning an idea into a business The person at the head of this process is the entrepreneur This is the person who will beneﬁt or lose the most ﬁnancially Entrepreneurs also beneﬁt by achieving a personal sense of satisfaction about their accomplishments Each summer hundreds of workers brave the Canadian wilderness to plant trees It’s hard work but there are many rewards including good wages and a new forest 6 1

What is Environmental Entrepreneurship? — page 4 — Think of entrepreneurs as doers and makers They believe strongly in their product or service and are willing to take risks in order to develop them and start new businesses An entrepreneur is usually his or her own boss the owner of his or her own company and a unique and creative thinker Being an entrepreneur requires good organization leadership and planning skills as well as an inventive mind It also takes a lot of work The good news is that there are no rules about who can be an entrepreneur You can be an entrepreneur and change the world without even leaving your home There are many kinds of entrepreneurship including environmental social and digital entrepreneurship An entrepreneur’s personal passion determines what field they end up in Environmental entrepreneurs also called ecopreneurs set out to solve environmental issues such as climate change species extinction and wastefulness using new and creative solutions They find ways to earn money while also helping the environment but money is not their main motivation Ray C Anderson Pioneer Ecopreneur Ray Anderson was a pioneer of ecopreneurship In 1973 he founded Interface a company that makes carpet tiles for offices At ﬁrst he didn’t worry about the environment That changed in 1994 when he read a book called The Ecology of Commerce that encouraged caring for the environment when considering business practices What he learned caused him to change his entire business model Today Interface uses renewable solar and wind energy avoids toxic chemicals and reduces waste by recycling It takes courage to change your way of doing business Ray Anderson did just that after reading a book that explains how to make money and protect the environment You make the call Think of someone in your life that is a doer or a maker What makes them stand out Do they have any qualities that you admire Explain your thinking 7

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