Ecopreneurship – Meaning, Characteristics, and Challenges

Meaning of Ecopreneurship

The term Ecopreneurship evolved to represent the application of entrepreneurship principles to create businesses that solve environmental problems or operate sustainably. The term began to be widely used in the 1990s, and many entrepreneurs preferred to enter this field of business. Ecopreneurship is also referred to as Environmental Entrepreneurship, Green entrepreneurship, Ecological entrepreneurship, ecological entrepreneurship, Eco capitalism, etc.

Ecopreneurship is intended human innovation to boost the supply of natural resources and enhance environmental quality. It was recently developed and described as an innovative activity for creating new enterprises. It is the process of creating additional value for people.

Definitions of Ecopreneurship

According to Gwyn Schuyler, “Ecopreneurs are entrepreneurs whose business efforts are not only driven by profit but also by a concern for the environment.”

Ecopreneurship, i.e., eco-capitalism, is becoming more widespread as a new market-based approach to identifying opportunities for improving environmental quality and capitalizing upon them in the private sector for profit.

According to Gerald A. Gunderson, “Ecopreneurship is deliberate human innovation to expand the supply of natural resources and improve environmental quality.”

The ecopreneurship is transmitting a wide range of issues, from ocean pollution to recycling to food waste. The key aspects to include are solid waste, liquid waste, wastewater, air pollution, energy use, carbon emissions resulting from reduced transportation, hazardous chemical use, excess product supply, industrial waste, etc.

Characteristics of Ecopreneurship

The characteristics of ecopreneurship are detailed below:

  • Identify business opportunities
  • Undertakes a risk
  • Effect on the natural environment
  • Intentionality of entrepreneurs
  • Demonstrates concern
  • Authority and power
  • Sustainable development
  • Protect innovations
  1. Identify business opportunities: Like all other entrepreneurs, ecopreneurs should also identify a feasible business opportunity, research it, and harness resources to turn the idea into a reality. He should also develop a plan and execute it for the development and growth of the proposed business.
  2. Undertakes a risk: All ecopreneurs undertake business ventures that involve a measure of risk that may result in profit or loss.
  3. Effect on the natural environment: The commercial activities of ecopreneurs affect the natural environment. The business is structured in such a way that every component has a neutral or positive impact on the environment.
  4. Intentionality of entrepreneurs: The intentions of ecopreneurs, their belief system, and their set of values and aspirations are to protect the natural environment. They have a desire to move on to a more sustainable future pathway, which is an important goal of their enterprise.
  5. Demonstrates concern: Ecopreneurship can note the idea of developing a business while at the same time demonstrating a concern for the ecological and social needs of present and future generations.
  6. Authority and power: The ecopreneurs do not get stuck trying to hang on to the authority and power hierarchy they create in their ventures after such businesses grow and become established in the markets.
  7. Sustainable development: The service attitude of ecopreneurs portrays their underlying relentless desire to continually adopt and use innovative means to diversify the ways businesses need to be operated. This will satisfy the strong and growing penchant for sustainable development in communities.
  8. Protect innovations: Ecopreneurs pursue a strong ability to protect their innovations from any form of acquisition by large corporations and multinational institutions that hardly pay any form of recognition to the originators of these innovative ideas.

Problems or Challenges of Ecopreneurship

Following are various problems or challenges of ecopreneurship:

  1. Lack of enforceable regulations.
  2. Adverse environmental conditions.
  3. Services provided by ecopreneurs to potential users may resist going for alternative technology and products.
  4. Intellectual property rights protection may not be adequate.
  5. Issue of finance for innovations by environmental entrepreneurs.
  6. Ecopreneurship faces the problems of marketing hostilities or competitive hostilities from both established businesses and financial institutions.
  7. Lack of continued evaluation of opportunities against possible threats.
  8. Undertaking failure, understanding the marketing program designs, and their careful analysis regarding public policies can be a big hurdle.

Thus, ecopreneurship connotes the idea of business opportunities and avenue identification through implementing environmental management practices into the day-to-day operations of mainstream businesses. To push businesses to account for the results of their activities on the environment, governments, communities, shareholders, and other stakeholders in the environment have adopted various approaches to ensure sustainable use of environmental resources.

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