Ecoprener
International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences May 2013, Vol. 3, No. 5 ISSN: 2222-6990
Ecopreneurship as a Solution to Environmental Problems: Implications for College Level Entrepreneurship Education
Thaddeus McEwen
Department of Management, North Carolina A&T State University, USA Email: mcewent@ncat.edu Abstract Given the present environmental problems facing the world, it is clear that past strategies used to address these challenges have failed to prevent environmental degradation. It is therefore time to pay attention to the role that entrepreneurs can play in solving our environmental problems. Scholars agree that entrepreneurs can help preserve our ecosystems, counteract climate change, improve fresh water supply, maintain biodiversity, and reduce environmental degradation and deforestation (Cohen and Winn, 2007; Dean and McMullen, 2007). This paper focuses on how to harness the innovative potential of environmentally conscious entrepreneurs, called ecopreneurs, to encourage more startups that would create the environmental technologies needed to address our environmental problems. It also discussed the role of entrepreneurship education in promoting ecopreneurial behavior and presented an outline for a possible ecopreneurship course that could be integrated into college-level entrepreneurship education. Keywords: Ecopreneurship, Entrepreneurship Education Introduction Environmental degradation is perhaps the most prominent global issue of the 21 st century. Academics, policymakers, nongovernmental agencies and governments are all concerned about the increasing levels of land degradation, soil erosion, deforestation, and industrial toxins (Volery, 2002). In addition, there are very serious concerns about the negative consequences of ozone depletion, climate change, nuclear radiation, and the destruction of biodiversity (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), 2007; United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), 2004,
Ecopreneurship as a Solution to Environmental Problems: Implications for College Level Entrepreneurship Education
Thaddeus McEwen
Department of Management, North Carolina A&T State University, USA Email: mcewent@ncat.edu Abstract Given the present environmental problems facing the world, it is clear that past strategies used to address these challenges have failed to prevent environmental degradation. It is therefore time to pay attention to the role that entrepreneurs can play in solving our environmental problems. Scholars agree that entrepreneurs can help preserve our ecosystems, counteract climate change, improve fresh water supply, maintain biodiversity, and reduce environmental degradation and deforestation (Cohen and Winn, 2007; Dean and McMullen, 2007). This paper focuses on how to harness the innovative potential of environmentally conscious entrepreneurs, called ecopreneurs, to encourage more startups that would create the environmental technologies needed to address our environmental problems. It also discussed the role of entrepreneurship education in promoting ecopreneurial behavior and presented an outline for a possible ecopreneurship course that could be integrated into college-level entrepreneurship education. Keywords: Ecopreneurship, Entrepreneurship Education Introduction Environmental degradation is perhaps the most prominent global issue of the 21 st century. Academics, policymakers, nongovernmental agencies and governments are all concerned about the increasing levels of land degradation, soil erosion, deforestation, and industrial toxins (Volery, 2002). In addition, there are very serious concerns about the negative consequences of ozone depletion, climate change, nuclear radiation, and the destruction of biodiversity (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), 2007; United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), 2004,