Green Entrepreneurship: A Method for Managing Natural Resources?

Globalization has often pushed aside the notion that business owners can use their businesses to create household income, influence community behaviors and values, and impact natural resource management. Here, we identify patterns of social awareness described by green entrepreneurs and how they may be drawn into the natural resource management process. We draw upon case studies of small “green” and “green-green” businesses to learn how they incorporate their businesses into environmental and social justice causes. A few themes emerged from in-depth interviews with a sample of green entrepreneurs, including: low levels of interest in economic success; high degrees of awareness about the business's environmental impact; and high levels of concern for social justice. In addition, several constructs emerged, which included personal motivation and mission, locality, and a forward-thinking orientation about sustainability. The findings reveal innovative models for incorporating green business into environmental causes and natural resource management.