The recently published Green Startup Monitor shows that sustainable startups have left their niche: In 2018, 26 percent of young, innovative growth companies in Germany operated with products and services that contribute to a green economy. These are summarized under the term "green startups."
The key findings from the Green Startup Monitor 2018 are:
- Green startups plan similar revenue and employee growth as non-green startups. However, they view this planned growth as a challenge significantly less often than non-green startups (36 percent vs. 46 percent).
- Green startups have a significantly higher interest in internationalization than non-green startups. Especially among the group of particularly growth-oriented startups, green startups more frequently cite the internationalization of their business activities as a current, important corporate goal (86 percent vs. 66 percent of non-green startups).
- Green startups find it easier to recruit employees. Green startups find it easier to fill positions, especially in the IT sector. 91 percent of green startups plan to hire an average of seven new employees in the next twelve months.
Green startups currently still disadvantaged
Dr. Yasmin Olteanu, researcher at the Borderstep Institute and author of the Monitor, says that green startups can be found in all industries and technology areas. Nevertheless, the sustainable companies face high barriers in many marketsShe believes that green startups are sometimes disadvantaged in the area of start-up support. She also says:
"[Green startups] see capital raising as a challenge significantly more often than non-green startups. Therefore, in our monitor, we not only collect the figures, but also recommend measures to improve the founding and market environment for green startups in Germany."
“Radical innovations that we need”
Alexander Bonde, Secretary General of the German Federal Environmental Foundation (DBU), highlights the importance of green startups in connection with the Green Startup Monitor and current problems:
"Ecological challenges such as climate protection offer competitive market opportunities for companies—green startups have understood this. Green startups have the potential to become a transformative force for climate and resource protection. They sometimes develop entirely new structures and work models, and more often than established companies, they also develop radical innovations that we urgently need for a sustainable society and current environmental challenges."
The Green Startup Monitor was published by the Borderstep Institute for Innovation and Sustainability in cooperation with the Federal Association of German Startups.
