Achieving Sustainable Development through Sustainable Entrepreneurship and Green Engineering

Abstract

The linkage between innovation, entrepreneurship, green engineering and sustainability has become a subject of interest as the economy relies on sustainable development. In the present scenario, the conventional entrepreneurs are motivated toward sustainability-driven innovation by which the term “Sustainable Entrepreneurship” has gained its momentum. The present-day entrepreneurs are very keen to solve socio–environmental problems through innovation. Entrepreneurs who are concerned with addressing social and environmental problems focus on principles of green engineering. These principles are clearly defined by different authors in many contexts; however, when it comes to realization of green engineering principles, engineers are not the wisest decision makers. Engineers are more in the implementation role than the decision-making role. The decision-making role is often played by either entrepreneurs or managers. Thus, entrepreneurs must understand the application of green engineering principles in their enterprise. Similarly, a concept called Green Social Entrepreneurs gained prominence in recent years; it differs from Green Entrepreneurs in that the former is specially devoted to social initiatives while the latter is more generic. There are two special features of green entrepreneurship. The first one is “longer return cycle,” and the second one is “greater social responsibility” (Urban & Kujinga, 2017). The central business model of a “green entrepreneur” can be making a business “green” by executing a business that has insignificant destructive impact on the society (OECD, 2011). Further, the main theme of green entrepreneurship is conservation as well as ecological sustainability. It attempts to redefine the current situation by producing innovative green social matter in society (Zahedi & Otterpohl, 2015). Green entrepreneurship that links environment and community to economic objectives has been accepted as an effective method to establish a sustainable society. The amount of natural resources that we had in the past and what we have today is completely different. The reduced availability is alarming and shocking. To overcome this problem, sustainable development provides the key solution. The basic decision criteria are not only for the present generations but also for future generations. The privileges we are enjoying today should be provided to the future generations also.To do so, a standard can be observed and principles developed. These principles may lead to secure economic, political, and social development (Aviles, 2012). In this background, this work outlines the comparison between the identified areas of sustainable development and sustainable entrepreneurship. The article has been written to show how the role of entrepreneurship in the contribution of economic development has grabbed attention toward the various motives behind entrepreneurship, particularly sustainable entrepreneurship. The study provides a thoughtful views about sustainable development from different perspectives of sustainable entrepreneurship and green engineering. To advance the research in this field, the researchers reviewed articles on sustainable development, sustainable entrepreneurship, and green engineering from various research perspectives. The required material for the article has been sourced from secondary sources. The study found that there is a need for the integration of green engineering principles by sustainable entrepreneurs who are the key decision makers.