What do all those examples have in common? First and foremost: Ecopreneurs aim to solve a specific environmental problem through sustainable business. Armed with innovative ideas, they search for gaps in the market and use creative solutions to realise their vision. At the centre of all of their entrpreneurial activities is the development and promotion of ecologically-oriented innovations.
Large companies often have a sustainability department or CSR strategy, but in those contexts environmental innovation is often limited to just reducing environmental costs. While those environmental measures (reducing resource use, switching to renewable energy, improving waste management, etc) often reduce the negative impact of their operations, environmental and climate impact is still far from being a core part of those companies' missions.
The work of ecopreneurs is often grouped together with other "conscious" entrepreneurs, under the umbrella term of social entrepreneurship, but the term is slowly establishing itself in its own right. And a quick look at the statistics suggests that green enterprises are certainly deserving of their own name: According to a study by the Borderstep Institute into green startups in Germany (pdf), between 2006 and 2014 each year around 21,100 companies were founded that could be described as being part of the growing "green economy", meaning an average of 14.7 per cent of startups had an ecological mission.
