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Borderstep offers its sustainable business canvas model in German, English and also in Spanish.

Every new company starts out with a promising business idea. The next step is to develop a sustainable business model. All the factors relevant for success must be scrutinized, and all essential fields of action must be taken into account as comprehensively as possible. To support this process and to make business models sustainable from the start, the University of Oldenburg and the Borderstep Institute developed the Business Model Canvas.

A detailed description of the concept is available in different languages, all to use free of charge.

Borderstep director Klaus Fichter, together with Natasha Bank and Magnus Klofsten of Linköping University, Sweden, published an article in Journal of Cleaner Production. The article examines sustainable incubators and deals in particular with the case study of the Green Garage, a green start-up center in Berlin.

Abstract:
Currently there is an attention in research and practise on entrepreneurial ecosystems, and how these, often using incubators, could support sustainable development through new firm start-ups. Despite the popularity of incubators in the literature and practise, few studies have focused on sustainable incubators in general or, more specifically, on processes that ensure a steady flow of tenants. Thus, this paper investigates how sustainable incubators ensures their inflow of tenants, how they organize their activities and whether the incubator environment affect tenant recruitment. A case study approach analysing the sustainability oriented incubator Green Garage Berlin have been used to generate an understanding of selection and recruitment processes as well the influence of external environments.

The results show that regional and inter-regional co-operation, together with a well-planned, structured pre-incubation process, are requirements for securing an inflow of tenants to sustainable incubators. Incubator reputation and sufficient long term funding is also a key to success. A good practice case as Green Garage cannot simply be replicated, but require openness to continue the learning process and adapting the knowledge to be transferred to local conditions.

Read full article:
You can obtain the article here.

Energy consumption of data centers is growing continually. Borderstep has been working intensively on this topic complex in recent years.

IT-expert Dr. Ralph Hintemann, senior researcher at Borderstep Institute, looks in his research closely at the reason for growing demand inspite of better energy efficiency. DOTmagazine interviewed him on his research results on energy consumption in data centers.

A further article of the DOTmagazine deals with the figures on the topic and presents current research results from the Borderstep Institute.

Borderstep Institute organizes the green startup focus camp at Startup Camp Berlin 2017 (SCB17), focusing on the needs of early stage green startups.

SCB17 is the largest early-stage startup event in Berlin with more than 1000 participants and 150 international speakers. The two-day conference takes place April 7 and 8, 2017 and offers Focus Camps, Startup Expo and a Pitch Marathon.

The event features keynote speeches, know-how mentoring and practical tips from renowned experts. Founders, entrepreneurs, investors, and students from all over the world come together. Participants can meet over 70 representatives of different types of investors. For example High-Tech Gründerfonds, Target Partners, bmp Beteiligungsmanagement GmbH, Cherry Ventures, IBB Bet, hub:raum, b-to-v Partners AG, Deutsche Bahn Digital Ventures GmbH, Kizoo Technology Capital GmbH, WestTech Ventures GmbH, coparion, Acton Capital Partners and many more.

SCB17: Meet Borderstep at Green Startup Focus Camp

April 7: 1:30 pm – 2:00 pm

Current green economy trends and opportunities
Alexander Schabel, Room 1.607

April 7: 5:30 pm – 6:15 pm

The age of impact entrepreneurs – why green & social startups will be at the center of tomorrow’s economies
Constanze Trautwein et al., Room 1.607

SCB17: Information

Tickets for Startup Camp Berlin 2017 here.

Full schedule of Startup Camp Berlin 2017 here.

Over 500 start-ups from 58 countries have applied for the first international Start Up Energy Transition Award initiated by the German Energy Agency (dena).

Borderstep helped with the research in the run-up to the competition. Dr. Severin Beucker, founder of and partner in the Borderstep Institute, also brings scientific expertise in the field of energy to the jury.

Further information on the Start Up Energy Transition Award, its partners, and the Tech Festival is available at www.startup-energy-transition.com.

Borderstep, in cooperation with the BMUB (German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety) and various UN organizations, is organizing a round table discussion. On March 28, it will discuss possibilities for funding green start-ups. The event is part of the PAGE Ministerial Conference “Inclusive and Sustainable Economies Powering the Sustainable Development Goals”.

In addition, the exhibition “Green Economy Pioneers: innovative approaches, business models, partnerships” will take place during the two-day conference. Borderstep (together with 11 other exhibitors) is represented here. The institute presents its projects in the field of Sustainable Entrepreneurship such as the Network For Global Innovation NGIN project.

Programme “Promoting Green Start-ups”

Green start-ups: A key actor for the transformation to Sustainable Economies

Prof. Dr. Klaus Fichter, Director Borderstep Institute for Innovation and Sustainability, Berlin, Germany

Coolar: A green start-up for electricity-independent medical refrigerators

Julia Römer, Founder and Lead Technological Developer, Coolar

Best practice examples of green start-up support

GreenMomentum: A support ecosystem for innovation, financing and deployment of clean technologies in Mexico

Rafael Carmona Dávila, CTO|Principal, Cleantech & Entrepreneurship GreenMomentum Inc., Mexico-City

GreenMomentum is a Mexico City-based Cleantech ThinkTank, which mostly works for the Mexican government in the design and implementation of economic competitiveness programs, focusing on aspects related to innovation, financing and deployment of clean technology. To do this, a third of their efforts and resources will go to create a large international cleantech accelerator and incubator, as well as a hard technology innovation center, for which the resources have already been awarded to build three labs (3D printing and design, electronics and mechanical manufacturing).

ClimateLaunchpad and Climate-KIC Accelerator: A pan-European support system for climate innovation and cleantech entrepreneurs

Dr. Malte Schneider, Director, Decision Metrics and Finance, Climate-KIC Germany

Climate-KIC is one of three Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs) created in 2010 by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT). The EIT is an EU body whose mission is to create sustainable growth. Climate KIC supports this mission by addressing climate change mitigation and adaptation. They integrate education, entrepreneurship and innovation. The Climate-KIC Accelerator is the only EU business acceleration programme focused on cleantech commercialisation. With fast track entrepreneurship education, top-notch tools & techniques and intensive coaching, they have set up the world’s first real-life business school for cleantech entrepreneurs.

SEED: Promoting sustainable start-ups

Mr. Arab Hoballah, Executive Director SEED

SEED is a global partnership for action on sustainable development and the green economy. SEED supports innovative small-scale and locally driven entrepreneurs around the globe who integrate social and environmental benefits into their business model from the outset.

ILO: Market system approach

Ms Dorit Kemter, Technical Officer, Green Jobs Programme, International Labor Organization (ILO)

The ILO promotes the creation of green start-ups in emerging economies and developing countries through intervention models which focus on issues like business skills and access to finance. Combining these micro-level interventions with macro-level market system analyses allows identifying untapped markets and drivers for sector development, which in turn provide real opportunities for job creation and poverty alleviation in particular among young women and men.

Roundtable discussion

Guiding questions

1. What is the concrete economic and environmental benefit of green start-up and small enterprises support?
2. What are the success factors for implementing support ecosystems for green start-ups and innovation?
3. How to adapt entrepreneurial support systems to the specific needs and conditions of different countries and regions?

Victory in San Francisco: At the international Cleantech Open Global Ideas Challenge, the German start-ups Interpanel and Intrapore prevailed in the “scale track” and “growth track” categories. The Cleantech Open Global Ideas Challenge takes place during Global Entrepreneurship Week. It is organized by Cleantech Open Accelerator.

The Borderstep Institute, in cooperation with the RKW Competence Center, compiled a longlist from all of the applicants for the StartGreen Award 2016, from which the three candidates were nationally pre-selected for the international competition. In addition to Interpanel from Crossen (Thuringia) and Intrapore from Essen, Hyperion Energy from Düsseldorf was also selected. All three start-ups presented themselves during a live pitch at the StartGreen Awards 2016 network meeting.

The Borderstep Institute and the RKW Competence Center will be nominating start-ups for the Cleantech Open Global Ideas Challenge during the StartGreen Awards again this year. Information on how to apply and on previous winners can be found here.

Prof. Klaus Fichter, founder and director of the Borderstep Institute, and his co-authors were awarded the FGF Sustainable Entrepreneurship Research Award 2016 for an article on the development of sustainability-oriented business models.

The award was presented at this year’s G-Forum, the annual entrepreneurship research conference of the Association for the Promotion of Entrepreneurship Research (FGF, Förderkreis Gründungs- und Innovationsforschung). The award is sponsored by the Hans Sauer Foundation and the Social Entrepreneurship Akademie.

Business model development is a key issue for entrepreneurial success. The requirements of business model development are still far from clearly established from the perspective of sustainable development, i.e. taking an integrative view of economic, ecological, and social sustainability. Both practice and research still lack a unified understanding of the requirements that have to be met for business model development to be considered sustainable or sustainability-oriented.

The contribution thus provides specific reference points for entrepreneurial practice and creates a sound basis of understanding for further research on business model development and sustainable entrepreneurship.

The Sustainable Business Canvas serves as a foundation for the systematic development of sustainability-oriented business models in the context of an interactive workshop. The present manual provides guidance for conducting such workshops.

The Business Model Canvas was originally developed by Osterwalder and Pigneur and serves to visualize and analyze business models (Osterwalder & Pigneur, 2011). Today, it is the probably most widelyused
tool for start-up management and has become the standard for start-up presentations and workshops (Blank & Dorf, 2012).

Sustainablity-oriented development of business models

In the context of the StartUp4Climate initiative, a model was developed on the
basis of the Business Model Canvas that enables sustainability-oriented development of business models: the Sustainable Business Canvas.

In a first step, existing methodological approaches of (general as well as sustainability-
oriented) business model development were examined and explained in a framework paper (Tiemann & Fichter, 2014). The analysis of existing approaches and specific features of sustainability-oriented
business models provided the basis for developing a concept for integrating sustainability in the development of business models (Fichter & Tiemann, 2015).

Interactive workshop

The Sustainable Business Canvas serves as a foundation for the systematic development of sustainability-oriented business models in the context of an interactive workshop. The present manual provides guidance for conducting such workshops.

The workshop concept was tested and optimized at the Businessplan-Wettbewerb Berlin Brandenburg (Business plan competition Berlin Brandenburg) 2014/2015 and in the class on Eco-Venturing taught at the University of Oldenburg in 2014/2015.

Sustainable Business Canvas: available online

Besides the workshop concept, the Sustainable Business Canvas has been implemented as an online tool and is available on the www.start-green.net portal.

Thus, workshop participants have the opportunity to work iteratively both before and after the workshop. The integration of the relevant tools for in-depth analysis in business model development enables participants to go into greater detail.

The German American Chamber of Commerce of California (GACC West) is hosting a group of selected German companies and experts in the water sector with a focus on water treatment and water management. Highlight of the trip from September 12-16 will be the Germany California Water symposium in September 13, 2016.

The group will meet with private businesses, research institutions, and government representatives to exchange ideas, discuss new developments and lay the groundwork for future cooperation.

Germany California Water Symposium

The full day water symposium on Tuesday, September 13, will be a chance to network and to exchange ideas. With a focus on transatlantic approaches, the program includes speeches from American and German water experts, as well as presentations from 9 innovative German companies.