From Business in Leeds 2022 | Full version.
Founders may be our best hope for tackling climate change, says a Leeds researcher.
When it comes to solving the climate crisis, Jeff York doesn’t put his faith in government or corporations. If this crisis can be solved, it will be because entrepreneurs create new solutions with creativity, initiative and flexibility – which the institution has failed to demonstrate.
York, Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship and Chair of the Department of Social Responsibility and Sustainability at Leeds, said: “Climate change could be the biggest tragedy of our lifetimes, and the time to act is running out fast. “Unfortunately, how to solve the problem has become a very serious and political issue.”
In a groundbreaking study to be published in Organizational Science, York and his co-authors examine entrepreneurship as a promising, but often overlooked, means of addressing climate change.
“Creating entrepreneurial solutions to climate change is the greatest economic opportunity of my lifetime.”
Jeff York, Chair, Social Responsibility and Sustainability Division
At a time when climate change is a political topic, entrepreneurs with climate-friendly products have found that they can forge a common ground between the pro-market, generally conservative side, which values growing business, and the liberal-leaning environmentalist side. Which is worth protecting the planet.
Climate programs in Leeds
A selection of some of the climate-related programs offered at the Business School:
Clean Energy MBA Pathway
Climate Action Business Certificate
Energy Finance Bootcamp
The Sustainable Enterprise: ESG Strategies and Practices
Energy Science and Technology
Renewable and sustainable energy in action
“Our study found that environmental entrepreneurs do better in markets with high influence from both market and environmental logics,” he said. This will level the playing field and allow them to compete more effectively with existing companies.
“Entrepreneurs are creating for-profit businesses that address climate change in a way that governments and activists cannot,” he said.
What needs to be addressed is the change in attitudes around climate change and trade. Donor support funded the key dataset used in York’s research, demonstrating the business community’s willingness to play its part in addressing this challenge.
Being a green business doesn’t preclude a new business from being profitable, he says: “Creating entrepreneurial solutions to climate change is the biggest economic opportunity of my life.
Professor Jeff York explores the devastation of the 2021 Marshall Fire in Louisville—a prime example of how climate change has increased the risk of wildfires. He believes that an entrepreneurial mindset can help prevent such tragedies in the future.
Business in Leeds magazine Deming Center for Entrepreneurship Get involved with Leeds
