There are many ways in which entrepreneurs and ecopreneurs are similar. Both embrace failure and are idea-driven, innovative, creative, risk tolerant, flexible, adaptable, freedom-minded and independent. Perhaps you could add a few more defining characteristics as well.
However, ecopreneurs go beyond organic, beyond compliance to laws and regulations (or redefine them), beyond consumerism, beyond minimum wages and beyond the free market economy to conduct business. Entrepreneurs become ecopreneurs when their spirit, boldness, courage and determination not only transform the landscape but coalescence into a movement to transform global problems into opportunities for restoration and healing.
在过去十年中,我们与数千名环保人士交谈后,发现了相当多的显著特征,反映在右边的图表中。此外,作为在世界上领先的手段,环保企业家似乎更注重合作和协作,而不是竞争。这就是为什么如此多的人与其他环保人士形成创新伙伴关系或创造性相互依赖的原因——就像自然界一样。
The most progressive ecopreneurial enterprises address more than one of the many challenges facing us. Their business might foster fair trade relationships (promoting economic justice and equity), generate more energy from renewable energy sources than it uses (severing our addiction to fossil fuels) and even serve local, seasonal, vegetarian, and organic meals to those who work in the business.
环保企业家喜欢创新和解决问题,并将其应用于有意义的目标。环保企业家们致力于重新绿化地球,恢复退化的土地,清洁空气,建造健康和安全的家园,设计清洁、可再生的能源,提供以预防为导向的替代治疗为重点的医疗保健,通过改变我们旅行的方式来帮助保护2022世界杯四强亚盘赔率或恢复地球上的生态和文化奇迹,这只是其中的一些例子。While entrepreneurs make their money work for them through the businesses they create, or assets they accumulate, ecopreneurs use their businesses to implement theirEarth Mission. If you’re earning a living now, perhaps working for a company or organization, then becoming an ecopreneur will revolutionize how you think about money, your livelihood, your life.
While many entrepreneurs may be motivated, at least in part, to the mantra of “greed is great” on their journey to becoming a millionaire, growing numbers of ecopreneurs are adopting a different course, focusing on solving the problems facing society through the businesses they create, greening their bottom line. Many are redefining their wealth, as we have, not by the size of their bank account or square footage of their home. Wealth is defined by life’s tangibles: health, wellness, meaningful work, vibrant community life and family.
In the end, ecopreneurs are all about making a difference for the planet, fellow citizens, and our community. As we write about inECOpreneuring, ecopreneurs generate revenues to run their business based on their passion to make the world a better place. Not, as the late Milton Friedman expounded: to make profits for a relatively few shareholders.
Alex Steed (of Make Something Happen)says
Great post. Thank you. Today, we looked at this issue:
Ethical Quandry: Organizations and Environmental v. Economic Sustainability
How does this fit into the two profiles your discussing? I would assume that it starts here: “Ecopreneurs take a penchant for innovation and problem-solving…”
NIck DiGiacomosays
I tried a few times to write a response, but each time stopped myself because I wasn’t expressing my true feelings about this post.
Quite simply, this is a mean-spirited generalization, whose only purpose seems to be to impugn the motivations of all those who undertake – the literal translation of the word entrepreneur – to try things new and different.
The behaviors and aspirations you list for entrepreneurs and “ecopreneurs” are all inherently part of the human mosaic – I’ve seen most all of them exhibited by the same person over the course of single day, for goodness sake!
你为推销一本书而贬低企业家——那些为人类、社会和环境做了很多贡献的人——感到羞耻。你的方法会让卡尔·罗夫感到骄傲。
Lisa Kiviristsays
Thanks for your comments, Nick. As the other co-author of ECOpreneuring, let me chime in here – I don’t think my writing or business philosophy has every been put in the same context as Karl Rove before (I, for the record, have more hair).
我非常同意你的观点,即企业家历来都是尝试“新的和不同的”东西的领跑者——现在正是在商业环境中这样做的时机成熟。我们以利润和增长为基础的旧模式已经不再有效——我们的环保之船正在下沉,或者至少发生了重大泄漏——我们迫切需要新的愿景。我从我遇到的越来越多的环保企业家身上得到了深刻的启发,他们以这种传统的创新企业家精神开始,并进一步发展,不仅着眼于一个底线,而且着眼于三重底线的观点。我也被当今环保企业家们的合作精神所感动。从这个网站和整个“绿色选择”门户网站的对话可以看出,环保企业家是在一个协作和支持的社区中茁壮成长的,而不是在竞争和贪婪的社区中。
One more point on the ecopreneur definition: this is not a finite, tangible end goal. Ecopreneurs, at least from my perspective, are never “done” – we are constantly evolving, learning, sharing, improving. Likewise, ecopreneurs don’t see themselves as “better” in a holier than thou, purist, forgive me Obama – elitist fashion. This isn’t an “us” against “them” battle – ecopreneurs are rather choosing a different path entirely, changing the way we do business and as a result, hopefully, changing our world for the better. Our mission in writing and getting the word out about ECOpreneuring is to help widen that path and help others launch their green business dream.
I’m curious to hear other perspectives – can ecopreneurs build on traditional entrepreneurial philosophies, cracking the status quo for real change?
Lisa Kivirist
John Ivankosays
Thanks for your comments, Alex and Nick.
We believe we need to change the ECOnomic “story” that so many are following — for Earth’s sake.
We’re reaching a point where the “More, Bigger, Faster” mode of commerce — often at complete odds with social and ecological impacts — must change. It is changing, by ecopreneurs who are determined NOT to destroy the planet or exploit people in the process. All the fancy iphones in the world (a cool innovation) are meaningless when your home floats away down a river that experienced 300-year flood-events twice in the last year, like in Vernon County, Wisconsin, where we have a property. And what to do with the phones after they wear out should be a vexing problem solved before they come to market. That’s the way an ecopreneur might approach their new product.
Many of the ecopreneurs with whom we met or interviewed are generating revenues to support their mission to make the world a better place, not making it the purpose of the business to earn generous profits (for themselves or a few shareholders). On a finite Earth, ecopreneurial businesses search for when there’s enough revenues to provide a livelihood that doesn’t steal from future generations of all life – be it clean water, air, open greenspace. Infinite growth is a story that has come to an end. Ecopreneurs recognize this, and are doing something about it — often on local — NOT global — levels.
As for selling our books…eventually with our continued posts, our book website, and all those others posting on GreenOptions.com (ecopreneurs like Mark Winstein (http://ecopreneurist.com/2008/06/06/dear-greeny-ecopreneur-clinic/) and his “Dear Abby” type column to address your questions), many won’t even need our book. It’s for those who want out of the cubicle today, embarking on a new course in a different ECOnomy that’s less about stuff and more about living well while doing something you’re passionate about without destroying the planet in the process.
Is anyone else struggling with the over-arching “get bigger” and “scale up” approach to entrepreneurship in an economy where economic growth is anything but infinite?
Our present economic model and “story” seems broken with 5-percent of the world’s people using 25-percent of its resources, producing 40-percent of the waste and, interestingly on the social side, housing 25-percent of the prison population.
我带着我的皮艇(实际上是一辆由光伏系统驱动的电动CitiCar),尽我最大的努力随水流而行。
Kate Rekrutsays