This document discusses the concepts of ecopreneurship and social entrepreneurship. It explores how business models can aim for sustainability and societal transition. The document outlines the history of environmentalism from the 1972 Stockholm Declaration to modern movements like Transition Towns. It defines ecopreneurs as having "Green-Green" values who vision sustainable societies. For business models to enable sustainability transitions, the document argues they must take a systemic approach balancing value, supply chains, customers and finances with dialogue and responsibility.

1. Ecopreneurship and social
entreprenurship - business models
aiming for sustainability and/or
transition?
OL645E // Spring 2018
Fredrik Björk, Dept Urban Studies || fredrik.bjork@mau.se ||2018-04-16

3. How does the future look?

4. What considerations do we need to do?
What systems need to change?

5. Stockholm 1972
’Only one Earth’
Main points in the declaration:
• Developed countries – environmental protection
• Developing countries – fighting poverty
(’environmental problems caused by underdevelopment’)
• International cooperation needed
UNEP created
Large number of NGOs present

6. Limits to growth (1972)
Critique against the ’gospel’ of
economic growth
[Friman (2002): No limits]

7. Brundtland Commission (1984-87)
• reviving growth;
• changing the quality of growth;
• meeting essential needs for jobs, food, energy,
water, and sanitation;
• ensuring a sustainable level of population;
• conserving and enhancing the resource base:
• reorienting technology and managing risk;
• merging environment and economics in
decision making.

8. 1992: Agenda 21 – action plan on
international, national, regional
and local levels
Multi-stakeholder processes

9. Environ-
ment
Society
Economy
The three perspectives’ of sustainability
”Often sustainable development is presented as aiming to bring
the three together in a balanced way, reconciling conflicts”
Giddings et al (2002)
Environment
society
economy

10. “Transition Towns build community resilience in the face of
emerging threats by substantially reducing local
dependence on fossil fuels, while upholding & strengthening
societal commitment to equity & social justice”
Transition movement
(Transition Towns)

11. fredrik.bjork@mah.se
SCHUMPETER
Entrepreneur (agent)
Market (system)
Creative
destruction

12. Entrepreneurship
• Entrepreneur (agent)
• Realizing a vision (innovation)
• Mobilizing resources/organizing
• Window of oppurtunity

13. Contextualizing entreprenurship
• Time
• Timing
• Space
• Place

14. Social entrepreneurship
• Empirically driven concept
• Sub-category of entreprenurship – or challenging the values &
idelogies connected to the concept of entreprenurship?
• Using business practices to create social value/promote social
change – increasingly also includes ecological/environmental
topics
• ”Profit is the means to promote social change”
• Often associated to non-profit organizations
• Just as ’entrepreneurship’ – is has become a contested concept

15. Ecopreneurship
(Hultman & Galkina 2016)
• C. 20 years ago – first wave of ’ecopreneurship’ or
’environmental entreprenurship’
• Business focused, green-tech etc. (Ecomodernity values)
• Transitional ecopreneurship – systemic change
• H&G: Personal values, ethical norms, and motivations of
entrepreneurs as individuals are important to understand
ecopreneurs

16. Ecopreneurs
• “Green-Green” values are drivers: awareness of planetary
boundaries, insights about their own impact/ecological
footprints
• “Transition Agents” - visioning their business in an
ecologically sustainable society

17. Sustainability of business models
Components:
• Value proposition
• Supply chain
• Customer interface
• Financial model
Systemic approach – dialogue, balance and responsibility
Dynamic, open innovation/support framework

18. Final comments – reflections?
• Individual-organization
• Context
• Sustainability/transition focus
• Business model

19. Suggested readings
• Boons, F., & Lüdeke-Freund, F. (2013). Business models for sustainable innovation: state-of-the-
art and steps towards a research agenda. Journal of Cleaner Production, 45:9-19
• Bjerke, B & Rämö, H (2011). Entreprenurial imagination. Time, timing, space and place in business
action. Cheltenham, U.K., Northampton, MA, USA: Edward Elgar.
• Galkina, T & Hultman, M (2016): Ecopreneurship. Assessing the field and outlining the research
potential, Small Enterprise Research, Vol. 23 Issue 1, p 58-72.
• Houtbeckers, Eeva (2016) The tactics of ecopreneurs aiming to influence existing practices, Small
Enterprise Research, 23:1, 22-38.
• Olsson, P., & Galaz, V., (2012). Social-ecological innovation and transformation. In A. Nicholls, A.
& Murdoch, A. (eds). Social innovation: blurring boundaries to reconfigure markets, 223-243.
Basingstoke, U.K.: Palgrave MacMillan
• Thompson, J. D., & MacMillan, I. C. (2010). Business Models: Creating New Markets and Societal
Wealth. Long Range Planning, 43(2–3), 291–307.