• The commons of the environment
• (public goods management)
• The role of civil society in the green economy
• Individual sectors of green entrepreneurship
• The energy communities
• the link of green entrepreneurship
with the social economy
DEFINITION
• The green economy is based on the concept of sustainability as well as that of sustainability in relation to the environment.
• Treats the environment as a vital pillar of economic activity, but also of the sustainability of society.
• It is based on the combination of innovation, research and new technologies in a new model of economic development.
• The green economy proclaims the adoption of measures for climate change, the reduction of pollutants that enhance the greenhouse effect, better energy management as well as the use of Renewable Energy Sources.
• Green entrepreneurship emerges and develops through the green economy.
THE OBJECT OF GREEN ENTREPRENEURSHIP
• The renewable natural resources that, in contrast to the non-renewable ones, e.g. (fossil fuels), can be used without negative effects on the environment, i.e. have a sustainable use.
• It is an emerging form of economic activity, based primarily on vital needs related to the quality of life and the environment, and constitutes a business branch with a wide scope.
• The most characteristic examples of application concern the exploitation of protected areas (eg Natura areas) as poles of green development.
• The production and sale of organic farming and animal husbandry products, but also in the development of eco-tours and eco-tourism
• At the same time, it emphasizes the management of natural resources and waste, recycling and “green infrastructure”.
• Investing in environmentally friendly transport that will reduce emissions. A typical example here is the automotive sector.
AREAS OF GREEN BUSINESS ACTIVITY
In the field of green energy with cutting edge energy communities, public-municipal buildings and schools can be utilized, for energy self-sufficiency of Municipalities, but also to create a living example in each Municipality to organize citizens and households in cooperative energy production and to save significant resources.
Using Photovoltaics, Household Cogeneration of Electricity & Heat, Air Conditioning – Natural Cooling – Lighting
– Using Solar Electricity (for heating – cooling environment & water).
– energy saving lamps.
– Constructing new buildings bioclimatically and fixing old ones to be as energy-efficient as possible.
In the housing sector, choosing naturally recyclable materials that are compatible, friendly and do not burden the environment such as:
Ø Stone-wood: as long as it is a product of “sustainable forest management”
Ø Ceramics: Utensils – covers,.
Ø Ecological Construction with: ecological plasters, insulation, correct water pipes, doors, wiring, ecological paints, etc.
Ø By utilizing at least half of household waste with household composters
Ø With the green roofs and the green open spaces of the apartment buildings.
Ø By creating small autonomous biological purifications.
In the field of nutrition, by buying and consuming organic products (always with labeling), reducing meat consumption by replacing pre-cooked and highly preserved foods, with as fresh as possible and less “traveled” until they reach our table, we give a strong push to green agriculture and organic products.
In the field of health, we know that prevention is better than cure. By preventing through diet, limiting smoking, alcohol and other harmful chemicals.
· By replacing chemical drugs and pesticides and the possibilities with the use of ecotherapeutic methods and preparations.
· In alternative ways that promote Health (Holistic treatment – without drugs)
· With the Ecological way of driving (walking – cycling = Health – Good Physical Condition.
In the field of packaging, replacing plastic packaging and bags with organic and recyclable packaging.
In the field of recycling, collecting waste in bins, promoting home composting. In tourism, choosing places that highlight ecotourism, agritourism and local organic products, hotels and shops with green specifications, promoting green tourism with the lowest impact on environment.
GREEN ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN CITIES
• In front of the environmental impasse of big cities, there is the vision of “green cities”, a realistic way out to change the direction of investments and the consumption pattern.
• It is directly linked to the green demand for healthy and beneficial products and services, to the development of renewable energy sources and eco-management of water, to bioclimatic buildings and energy saving, to the policy of “green cities” and recycling with the eco-protection of forests and the sea. With the claim for a clean environment and health.
The benefit is thus twofold. On the one hand we have an active promotional process for the protection of the environment and on the other hand green development that ensures the sustainability of ecosystems.
• The horizontal cooperation of social networks and environmental organizations with T.A. it is the key to succeed both in the case of eco-protection and green entrepreneurship.
• Green entrepreneurship without the participation of the local community is deficient. It limits human resources, driving forces and the ultimate benefit to the local community.
• Green resources and policies cannot be mobilized to a sufficient extent if local communities and local government are not mobilized to “cultivate” the ground for both demand and entrepreneurship in this direction.
URBAN ENVIRONMENT AND GREEN BUSINESS
• A key area is spatial planning and “green” bioclimatic buildings
• The contribution of greenery and plant cover to the need for energy upgrading and limiting energy consumption is very important.
• Energy saving by reducing the thermal burden of buildings through the absorption of solar radiation, the improvement of the microclimate, the filtering of a large part of the pollutants are mentioned as examples.
• The utilization and management of the surrounding area of the buildings as green areas upgrades the aesthetic and utilitarian value of the constructions, improves the microclimate and leads, among other things, to environmental and energy benefits.
• The technology of building planted roofs (green roofs) as well as vertical gardens (green walls) in new as well as old buildings, gives the possibility of increasing the building and total urban greenery.
• THE LAND OF SCARCITY AND THE SUN OF PLENTY
The breach in the paradigmatic model comes from the developments as we said in the field of energy. From the abundance and free energy of the Sun against the scarcity of the earth’s energy resources. The energy landscape changes when local communities and municipalities gain energy autonomy in the context of cooperation. We should also point out that the social economy differs in terms of capital composition but also in terms of wage labor. The capital in this case is participative and is constituted by the cooperative producers and consumers and by the use of fixed assets belonging to the community. The work is on a piece-rate basis and the remuneration is according to the deliverables. Thus labor costs are adjusted according to performance. There cannot be late wages like the public sector. The benefit is often in the provision of goods and not in money as is the case in energy communities.
WHAT DRIVES GREEN BUSINESS
• Green entrepreneurship is first of all driven by the urgent need to deal with climate change and the transition from fossil fuels to mild and renewable energy sources.
• Green entrepreneurship which is the driving force to have a sustainable urban environment.
• The growing market demand for green products and services.
• The moral advantage of green entrepreneurship towards every form of life.
• The application of new advanced green technologies that offer advantages to green entrepreneurship investors.
• The environmental impasse of big cities and the vision of green cities.
• The pressure for sufficient clean drinking water for the growing population and growing crops.
• The impasse of the overconsumption of chemical drugs and pesticides and the need, but also the possibilities that exist for the use of ecotherapeutic methods and preparations
WHAT PREVENTS ITS DEVELOPMENT
• In principle, the consolidated investments and concentration of capital in polluting sectors of the economy, which acts as a confederacy and deterrent for investments in green entrepreneurship (e.g. fossil fuels).
– The logic of easy profit that does not consider the cost of protecting the ecosystem.
– Ignorance of the benefits that green technologies often offer for investors.
– The bureaucratic obstacles for the introduction of new technologies, as we had for example for the spread of photovoltaics.
– The lack of serious motivation for for infrastructure investments in green entrepreneurship. – The lack of a new organizational culture, as happens for example in agricultural production where farmers hardly change their crops even though they could be replaced with more efficient ones that do not burden the environment.
