User:Wadecoulis/sandbox

Ecoprenuership

Ecoprenuership, also known as Green Entrepreneurship, not to be mistaken for “Sustainable Business” or “Corporate Social Responsibility” is most simply referred to as the development of enterprise through entrepreneurship while incorporating a “green” perspective into the operations and goals of the entrepreneur’s future enterprises.

Literature began being published on Ecoprenuership in the early1990’s with the introduction of Merging Economic and Environmental Concerns Through Ecoprenuership by Gwyn Schuyler(Schuyler. 1998). Schuyler offers a simplistic definition of what Ecoprenuership means. She defines Ecoprenuership as “ an entrepreneur whose business efforts are not only driven by profit but also by a concern for the environment” (Schuyler, 1998). This definition broadly covers a range of entrepreneurs who may not have defined themselves as “Ecoprenuers”.

Between 2003 and 2008, there has been an increase in the percentage of working Canadians who are self-employed and own an incorporated business (Government of Canada. 2016). Canada dropped from 12th place last year and did far worse in the environmental protection category, where it ranked 27th. Every other country made progress in this area except Canada, the center said in a report on the rankings (Centre for Global Development. 2016). With an increasing awareness towards the importance of green initiatives and an increase in Canadian entrepreneurs Canada has an opportunity to become a global leader in the development of Ecoprenuers. In order to raise awareness about the importance of ecoprenuership more literature needs to be developed in order to educate the citizenry. Through an updated Wikipedia profile Ecoprenuership can be better explained and grasped by a variety of people around the world, including Canada’s increasingly entrepreneurial population. There is currently a Wikipedia page devoted to Ecoprenuership, however it has considerable room for improvement. Ecoprenuership currently only incorporates 5 subheadings:

1. Systems thinking 2. Product design 3. Triple Bottom Line Accounting 4. Legal Forms 5. Business Examples

These 5 subheadings have not been completely explored. For example, under “Business Examples” there are 28 business names of businesses that the previous author felt constituted ecoprenuership companies. However, of these 28 business names only 4 had hyperlinks to the Wikipedia page for that business. Additionally, there is considerable room for exploring potential subheadings that could further define ecoprenuership.

I offer “Financing” as a potential subheading that could help define ecoprenuership more effectively. With governments around the world realizing the importance of being environmentally responsible dozens of governments have offered new funding for green initiatives. As an entrepreneur, having access to different government funding will likely have a positive impact on that business growth and set apart ecoprenuers from entrepreneurs. Including more information on what financing routes various ecoprenuers use is important because this is information that people are looking for. I would assume there are generally many more people searching for what types of financing is available as well as how other ecoprenuers have financed their ventures as opposed to the few people that visit the Ecoprenuer wikipage to read about Triple Bottom Line Accounting.

Finally, a subheading devoted to “Industry” will help illustrate what kinds of industries Ecoprenuers find them selves working in most frequently. For example, there are not many Ecoprenuers working in the oil and gas industry but we can expect to see many more Ecoprenuers in the fair trade coffee business. Having a subheading devoted to defining what industries Ecoprenuers can easily participate in will further define what it means to be an Ecoprenuer.

Conclusively, I will offer a greater analysis of what is means to be an Ecoprenuer as well as more contemporary examples of Ecoprenuers and how they have shaped their specific industry. With a more detailed definition of what it means to be an Ecoprenuer society will better understand and support is Ecoprenuer community.

Fischer, Frank. Miller, Gerald. Mara, Sydney. Handbook of Public Policy Analysis: Theory, Politics and Methods. Pennsylvania State University. CRC Press. 2007.

Government of Canada. The State of Entrepreneurship in Canada. SME Research Statistic. 2016.

Centre for Global Development. Climate, Forests and Energy. 2016.

Schuyler, Gwenn. Mergin Economic and Environmental Concerns Through Ecoprenuership. Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. December 2nd 1998.

Volery, Thierry. Ecoprenuership: Rationale, current issues and future challenges. 2015.