The document discusses identifying the problems, needs, and context for a green business. It states that entrepreneurs should understand the broader human, natural, and systems boundaries that can constrain a business, as well as the forces of change in the country/region and local needs being addressed. The motivation of the entrepreneur, environmental challenges the business can help solve, and market needs the business can satisfy are described as the key driving forces behind a project. Entrepreneurs are advised to know their own skills and limitations to ensure they can successfully launch and run the business.

1. Identify the problems and the needs
GREEN ENTREPRENEUR

2. Eng. Wael Zmerly - 2018
Green EntrepreneurLEBANESE UNIVERSITY – FACULTY OF ENGINEERING 2
Understand the Context
Be aware of the context surrounding your
business, from broad to concrete aspects
that can limit and constrain it:
• Human and natural system boundaries:
relate to the planet.
• Forces of change: relate to the
country/region where your business is
placed.
• External drivers: relate to local needs
that you are addressing.
The local, regional and global context and the problems and
needs behind the idea: the project in context.
WHY

3. Eng. Wael Zmerly - 2018
Green EntrepreneurLEBANESE UNIVERSITY – FACULTY OF ENGINEERING 3
System Boundaries
Boundaries are the human and natural system conditions for sustainability, that any business, industry or
society need to comply for sustaining life and for ensuring their development in the long term.
These boundaries, in practice, are the limits that our planet sets to any activities taking place on it.
WHY
• Human Rights
• External material
• Waste and Emissions
• Ecosystems

4. Eng. Wael Zmerly - 2018
Green EntrepreneurLEBANESE UNIVERSITY – FACULTY OF ENGINEERING 4
Problems and needs (DRIVING FORCES)
Understanding the reasons that drive the project and its founders, is essential to
establish a sense and purpose to the whole process of business creation.
Three types of driving forces can be distinguished:
Like everything else, businesses are part of a system,
with forces of change that affect them.
WHY
• Personal and professional motivations that have pushed the founders to
undertake the project.
• Environmental & social challenges the project will contribute to solving or
tackling. They are derived from the context, and need to be aligned with the
founders’ values as green entrepreneurs.
• Market needs that will materialize into customers willing to buy our products
or services hence constituting the key economic engine that sustains the
business.

5. Eng. Wael Zmerly - 2018
Green EntrepreneurLEBANESE UNIVERSITY – FACULTY OF ENGINEERING 5
Problems and needs (DRIVING FORCES) WHY
The motivation of the entrepreneur is the most
important driver for the success of the project.
Environmental challenges lie at the core of a green
business.
The entrepreneur shall discover markets needs in
order to satisfy them and run the business.

6. Eng. Wael Zmerly - 2018
Green EntrepreneurLEBANESE UNIVERSITY – FACULTY OF ENGINEERING 6
Tips for Entrepreneur WHY
Know yourself… and your limits!
Prior to embarking on the ambitious project of creating a business, you must know yourselves well: skills
possessed and needed, abilities, desired work-life balance, the way we work, our relationships with others, etc.
Those elements are extremely important when elaborating any business project, since they will help us anticipate
the risks, failure or difficulties. According to that diagnosis, we may find it relevant to partner with complementary
people.
Can I launch and run my business alone?
Depending on your aspirations, you may prefer to run the business on your own. Although this may be
advantageous for some activities (hand craft, consultant...), other more complex ones will require more resources,
including human talent. In any case, it is always advisable to be surrounded by people who can take an objective
look at the project. Also, working in teams and distributing work according to capacities, allows members to focus
on their specialties, dramatically improving results as a consequence
Be a green entrepreneur
Whatever our deepest motivations for being a green entrepreneur are (creating your own job, addressing a social
issue, generating a new community dynamics), your primary goal is to create economic value by addressing an
environmental issue.

7. Eng. Wael Zmerly - 2018
Green EntrepreneurLEBANESE UNIVERSITY – FACULTY OF ENGINEERING 7
Exercise 2 – Identify problems and needs
25 min
Expected Results
Here we expect to describe
the factors imposed to our
business, the forces of
change that affect it, as well
as the drivers (problems
and needs) that push us to
develop the idea. This will
help us understand the
context and foresee how it
can affect us and how we
can take advantage of it.
WHY

8. Eng. Wael Zmerly - 2018
Green EntrepreneurLEBANESE UNIVERSITY – FACULTY OF ENGINEERING 8
PESTEL analysis – EXTERNAL FORCES
Everything is connected, part of an
ecosystem of intertwined players and
substrates, part of the Earth's system.
The context in which we operate is ruled by
a series of aspects:
Political, Economic, Social, Technological,
Environmental and Legal.
These aspects affect us directly or
indirectly, and we need to consider in order
to thrive in it.
WHY
No project exists in isolation

9. Eng. Wael Zmerly - 2018
Green EntrepreneurLEBANESE UNIVERSITY – FACULTY OF ENGINEERING 9
PESTEL analysis
P E S T E L
POLITICAL ECONOMIC SOCIAL TECHNOLOGICAL ENVIRONMENTAL LEGAL
• Government
Policy
• Political
Stability
• Corruption
• Foreign trade
• Ax Policy
• Labor law
• Trade
restrictions
• Economic
growth
• Exchange rates
• Interest rates
• Inflation rates
• Disposal income
• Unemployment
rates
• Population
growth rate
• Age distribution
• Career attitudes
• Safety emphasis
• Health
consciousness
• Lifestyle
attitudes
• Cultural barriers
• Technology
incentives
• Level of
innovation
• Automation
• R&D activity
• Technological
change
• Technological
awareness
• Weather
• Climate
• Environmental
policies
• Climate change
• Pressure from
NGO’s
• Discrimination
laws
• Antitrust laws
• Employment
laws
• Consumer
protection laws
• Copyright and
patent law
• Health and
safety laws
WHY

10. Eng. Wael Zmerly - 2018
Green EntrepreneurLEBANESE UNIVERSITY – FACULTY OF ENGINEERING 10
Exercise 3 – Understand the context
30 min
WHY

11. Eng. Wael Zmerly - 2018
Green EntrepreneurLEBANESE UNIVERSITY – FACULTY OF ENGINEERING 11
Objective and Indicators WHY
To chart a path towards our vision, drivers are translated
into company’s objectives and tracked by indicators.
It time to set the objectives that will guide
us towards the impact we want to leave
behind.
To chart a path towards our vision, drivers
are translated into company’s objectives
and tracked by indicators.

12. Eng. Wael Zmerly - 2018
Green EntrepreneurLEBANESE UNIVERSITY – FACULTY OF ENGINEERING 12
PESTEL analysis WHY
Recap: capture the most relevant challenges and needs that your project tackles
Set objectives: reframe the challenges into specific objectives to solve them
Measure progress: set indicators to measure the progress towards objectives

13. Eng. Wael Zmerly - 2018
Green EntrepreneurLEBANESE UNIVERSITY – FACULTY OF ENGINEERING 13
Exercise 4 – Set your goals
25 min
WHY