Sustainability Startups: Creativity in Transitioning to an Environmentally Sound Society
I have been supervising Columbia University’s Master of Environmental Science and Policy since 2002 and the Master of Sustainability Management since 2010. Many of our graduates work in large and well-known organizations in the public, private and non-profit sectors. Most are committed to achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. But there is growing interest in forming new organizations to address the planet’s environmental sustainability crisis. This is a time-honored trend, especially in more private sector oriented sustainability management programmes, but I see it growing and I believe it represents a powerful Excited, worthy of attention and reflection.
Current Sustainability Management student Yoni Ronn started a company called MOBY focused on keeping microplastics out of our food chain. Another student team created a company called Voltpost.As Caroline Horrigan writes in State of the Earth This February:
“Jeff Protherman and Luke Myrow, Master of Sustainability Management (SUMA) student and founder of a company volt stick, aiming to achieve this green transition. Voltpost is working on retrofitting lamp posts to electric vehicle charging stations managed by a mobile app – they hope to accelerate electric vehicle (EV) adoption by providing cities with scalable roadside charging. Recently, Jeff and Luke, along with Aditi Desai, a part-time SUMA student and full-time Voltpost employee, raised $1.3 million in funding for Voltpost’s mission. They will use the funds to develop the Voltpost lamp post charging system, secure pilot contracts, and expand the Voltpost team. ”
Some of our current students and graduates have worked in start-ups, some have founded sustainability consultancies and many are working in established organisations with creative products, services and technology. The common theme is innovative problem solving. Our adjunct faculty, Dr Jonathan Holland, teaches a course on sustainable entrepreneurship, and many other courses in our MSc in Sustainability Management deal with issues related to financing and running start-ups and analysing risk. Student needs are driving our courses to address this desire to understand the managerial challenges of starting a new business.
These new organizations and ideas are especially important in the field of environmental sustainability, as business-as-usual trend lines appear to plunge our planet into darkness and doom without new creative thinking.this July in Cleaner Production MagazineSarah Tiba, Frank J. van Rijinsoever and Marko P. Hekkert observe:
“today’s Sustainability Challenges require the help of radical innovators, such as those looking for creative solutions to pollution, the unsustainable use of resources and the spread of disease. In fields ranging from clean energy to health treatments, innovative startups often reach global reach by turning scientific discoveries into actionable solutions. New business models built by startups simultaneously disrupt existing arrangements…and help solve today’s pressing social and environmental challenges. “
All in all, we need both new and creative technologies, as well as new and creative business models and institutional arrangements. Sharing economy startups like Lyft, Rent the Runway, Uber, and Airbnb use smartphone technology and new forms of revenue generation to invent new products that consume fewer resources than traditional business models. Tesla is able to compete with established car companies in part because it sheds the established mindsets and standard operating procedures of the big car companies. Tesla’s creative advancements in battery technology, software design and rare earth mineral recycling have been critical in enabling the company to overcome its lack of experience in production processes and numerous failures in new product launches.
GHG reductions in heavy industries such as electric vehicles, renewable power generation, and cement manufacturing all require creative, non-linear technological and managerial innovations. While I would never advocate giving up the design, production, sales, and distribution capabilities of large, established organizations, the dynamism and creativity of start-ups can challenge these established organizations and, if acquired by larger corporations, become agents of change in mature organizations.
The technical and management challenges of environmental sustainability are profound. I know some environmental advocates who think we now have all the technology we need to decarbonize; all that’s missing is the political will. To be sure, some resistance to change comes from fossil fuel companies and others looking to recoup sunk costs and seeking to use the political process to block change. However, if renewable energy technology is more accessible, reliable and cheaper than fossil fuels, no amount of political manipulation can stop the new technology. The fact that renewable energy is cheaper than fossil fuels is not enough. Renewable resource technology is advancing every day, but to drive a one-off economy in fossil fuels and markets, it must dominate existing technologies and business models.
Electric vehicles are among the first large-scale tests. They have many advantages over combustion engine vehicles. But currently, gas stations are easier to find than charging stations, and EVs are more expensive to buy, even though they may be cheaper to operate. Batteries with longer range, faster charging and lower prices could push fossil fuel vehicles out of the market, but it will require technological and managerial innovation. Government tax subsidies can help in the short term, but for lasting change, new technology must completely dominate old technology.
Environmental sustainability requires government investment in research, infrastructure, finance and market development, but also a creative, agile and innovative private sector. While government intervention may be necessary, it is not enough. Renewable energy, energy efficiency, electric vehicles and resource recycling must prove themselves in the market. Young people’s concerns about climate change and the degradation of the natural environment have created an enabling environment for products and services that claim to be greener. Organizations seeking to go green are more likely to attract talent than organizations that ignore these issues. Entrepreneurial start-ups focused on sustainability can offer creative ideas and hard work driven by the desperation often displayed by hungry, marginalized new organizations. As an educator for over 40 years, I have never been against youthful idealism, nor would I bet on Goliath over David.
Many educational institutions like I work are doing a lot to encourage their students to be entrepreneurial. We incorporate entrepreneurship education into our management curriculum, and in Columbia, resources are being allocated to a program called Entrepreneurship in Columbia, which aims to encourage students to start their own businesses. Columbia Entrepreneurship works in the Office of the President of Columbia, and among other activities, Columbia’s Entrepreneurship Lab was launched in 2014.according to their website:
“Since its inception in 2014, 69 Charlton Street has been home to the Columbia Startup Lab and its headquarters will also exceed 329 startups and 448 Columbia Alumni Entrepreneurs has been proposed $94.1 million in funding and $115 million acquisitionIn 2021, Tishman Speyer took over the space and reopened it as its exclusive Studio flex space. Now, at Studio, the lab and its 71 entrepreneurs are starting the new year with access to ZO, Tishman Speyer’s amenity and workspace experience platform, to launch, mentor and grow within its complex spaces. ”
Startups are now part of our professional school curriculum, but despite their importance, they don’t always succeed. After a few years, a sustainable startup will eventually: 1. Be bigger and better positioned; 2. Be acquired by a larger, stronger company, or: 3. Go out of business. Regardless of the outcome, those involved in the business will learn a lot, and hopefully even those who endure failure will learn lessons that will impact their careers. I am impressed and amazed by the work my students and graduates see as they translate their environmental principles into practical sustainability practices in a world that desperately needs innovation.
