The Journal of Cleaner Production is planning a special issue to evaluate and forecast the impact of new ventures on sustainability. Borderstep director Prof. Klaus Fichter is one of the guest editors.

Journal of Cleaner Production calls for submissions

Scientists are invited to submit their research for publication.

Paper submission procedure:

• Proposal submissions can be submitted until March 31, 2021, after which they can be elaborated in detail. The text length must not be less than 3000 words.
• A Paper Development Workshop on April 30, 2021 will support the researchers in the process. The participants will be selected by the guest editors. The event will take place online.
• The deadline for submission of full papers is July 1 to August 31, 2021.

More information on the schedule can you find here.

Guest editors of the special edition are:

• Klaus Fichter, Borderstep Institut und Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, Deutschland
• Florian Lüdeke-Freund, ESCP Europe Business School, Deutschland
• Stefan Schaltegger, Leuphana Universität, Deutschland
• Simon Schillebeeckx, Management-Universität Singapur, Singapur

Start-ups implement environmental innovations

Entrepreneurs and start-ups are key players in the implementation of environmental innovations and new approaches to cleaner production. Therefore, the analysis of the impact of entrepreneurial ventures is of central importance for research in the field of cleaner production and entrepreneurship.

In order for entrepreneurship to promote sustainable development, it is crucial to understand how established firms and emerging young companies have a positive impact on sustainability.

Assessment of sustainability impacts of start-ups has hardly been researched so far

The sustainability impact of established companies and their products and services has been a key topic in business-related sustainability research for many years. This is true, for example, in the areas of social and sustainability accounting and reporting as well as entrepreneurship research.

However, the assessment of sustainability consequences of start-ups, for example by means of life cycle assessments or social impact analyses, is a neglected research area. This special issue of the Journal of Cleaner Production is intended to change that.

The Borderstep project StartGreen@School was selected by a jury of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy as the German finalist of the European Business Promotion Award. The winners of the German preliminary decision have been invited to Helsinki for the European award ceremony: “The two selected projects are involved in important socio-political areas. They recognise the current challenges and promote sustainable and responsible entrepreneurship. I wish them every success for the award ceremony in Helsinki in November,” said the Federal Government Commissioner for SMEs, Christian Hirte.S

StartGreen@School promotes sustainable start-up culture in schools. “With the selection of StartGreen@School, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy shows that the promotion of sustainable management is becoming increasingly important. We are very pleased to be able to present the project at European level,” emphasizes Dr. Katharina Reuter, head of the StartGreen@School project.

Since 2006, the European Commission has been awarding the European Business Promotion Award to public authorities, business and educational institutions as well as public-private partnerships that have rendered outstanding services to promoting entrepreneurial spirit and entrepreneurship. The prize is awarded in the 28 member states of the EU as well as in Iceland, Norway, Serbia and Turkey.

StartGreen@School promotes a sustainable start-up culture in schools. The project partners include Borderstep, UnternehmensGrün e.V., the Futur Institute of the FU Berlin and BildungsCent e.V.

StartGreen@School is funded by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety as part of the National Climate Initiative (NKI).