Green Economy Start-Up Monitor
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Green Economy Startup Monitor

start wind energyThe Green Economy Startup Monitor, published by the Borderstep Institute in collaboration with the EXIST entrepreneurial program funding awarded to the University of Oldenburg, profiles indicators and developments on the establishment of businesses in the areas of green technology, renewables, energy efficiency, the circular economy, and climate mitigation. The monitor analyzes 5,000 startups and young businesses in a comprehensive survey covering the past eight years. The survey method is based on the “EGSS classification” of EUROSTAT, the statistical office of the European Union, and defines the establishment of companies as “green” if their products, technologies, and services make a contribution to the ecological goals of a green economy.

Background and research method

The Green Economy Startup Monitor conducted the first-ever study on the significance of the establishment of green businesses in a pilot survey at thirty German business incubators in 2013. The scope of the pilot survey was substantially widened for the Green Economy Startup Monitor 2014. It examined a sample totaling 5,000 businesses drawn from all startups from the years 2006 to 2013 (approx. 500,000 businesses in total). Thus, the Startup Monitor has become a comprehensive survey of businesses that provides a representative image of the establishment of green start-ups in Germany.

Results of the Green Economy Startup Monitor 2014

According to the Green Economy Startup Monitor 2014, approx. 170,000 businesses were founded in the areas of renewables, energy efficiency, the circular economy, and climate mitigation from 2006 to 2013, creating 1.1 million new jobs. Approx. 14 percent of all businesses established in Germany contribute to an environmentally- and climate-friendly economy. Almost two-thirds of the young businesses were specialized in green services and, the other third offered environmentally- and resource-friendly products. High-tech businesses accounted for 15 percent of green business start-ups. In 2013, approx. 16,700 new green economy businesses were founded, with the highest figures in Bavaria, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Baden-Württemberg, where more than 82,000 green businesses were founded during the eight years covered by the survey. They make up almost half of all new businesses in the green economic sector.