Berlin on the path to becoming a green start-up capital?
Kick-off event for the StartUp4Climate start-up initiative
Experts from Germany and the US discussed the opportunities for start-ups in the green economy in Berlin and Brandenburg during the “Startup Week Germany” in November 2013. Jointly hosted by the Borderstep Institute and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Berlin (CCI Berlin), the event began with the nationwide StartUp4Climate start-up initiative.
Initiated by the Borderstep Institute, ADT German Association of Innovation, Technology and Business Incubation Centers, and the University of Oldenburg, which is strongly committed to promoting entrepreneurship, the start-up initiative is intended to contribute to substantially increasing the proportion of green start-ups in Germany. One goal is to significantly lower CO2 emissions from German businesses in the long term by means of innovative start-ups.
The speakers at the kick-off event in Berlin included Henrik Vagt (Department Head Environment and Energy, CCI Berlin), Fred Walti (Executive Director Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator), Dr. Reinhard Pfriem (University of Oldenburg), Björn Böhning (Head of the Senate Chancellery of Berlin), Roland Sillmann (CEO, IZBM), Sonja Jost (CEO, DexLeChem), and Dr. Klaus Fichter (Director, Borderstep Institute).