How relevant is sustainability for young companies? What barriers exist, and what are the accelerators for addressing this issue from the perspective of founders? Techfounders, the accelerator program of the UnternehmerTUM startup center, explored these questions in a Europe-wide online survey.
Nearly 90 percent of the startups surveyed stated that they had already considered the role and relevance of sustainability in relation to their business model—most of them (62 percent) even before they were founded. Only 14 percent consider the aspect irrelevant. Miki Yokoyama, COO of Techfounders, explained:
"I'm very pleased that almost 90 percent of the startups surveyed have already consciously addressed sustainability issues. The majority already incorporate these into their own processes. More and more are also considering how they can integrate sustainability into their products, services, and business models."
Sustainability out of conviction
Two-thirds of the participating startups have already implemented measures to promote sustainability issues within their own company. Internal motivation, such as employee input, is the key factor. This is stated by 89 percent of the startups that have already implemented sustainability measures. In contrast, only 53 percent cite external influences, such as business partners, customers, or investors.
Financing only provides limited support for the implementation of sustainability measures. While 75 percent of startups without VC funding have implemented sustainability measures, the figure for those with VC involvement is just 60 percent. 26 percent of startups were approached by (potential) investors about sustainability issues.
Positive impact on business
Most startups (83 percent) that have invested time and money in sustainability confirm a noticeable positive impact on their business. This is particularly true in terms of customer acquisition and retention (64 percent agree), competitive advantages (61 percent), and recruiting new employees (57 percent).
When asked what prevents them from implementing sustainability measures or benefiting from them, most startups pointed out that the concept of sustainability is too vague, resulting in a lack of direct measurability. However, the costs associated with the measures and the unexpected complexity of their implementation have also caused problems for some startups. Miki Yokoyama emphasizes:
"Our survey shows that a large proportion of the startups surveyed are on the right track. We want to support them as best we can. It's also important to raise this awareness among venture capital firms. We hope that these initial findings will inspire founders and venture capitalists alike to take action."
About the survey
A total of 282 European startups from various industries participated in the online survey. 87 percent of these were founded before 2015. The survey period was from February to March 2020. The survey results were compiled in collaboration with the sustainability consultancy Accents summarized and prepared in the white paper “Sustainability in Startups”.
