ABSTRACT
This case study tracks the progress made by two ‘green entrepreneurs’ in setting up a small business venture near Leicester in the United Kingdom – the Mimosa Project – which aimed to be environmentally, as well as economically, successful. The case study charts the entrepreneurial processes involved and examines how individuals who show the characteristics of entrepreneurship develop and establish themselves and their business. In addition, the case study describes the processes involved in setting up and delivering an environmental service – garden waste collection for later composting – and the challenges for environmental management in the organization itself.
The business sought internal integrity by addressing environmental management issues, and wished to promote environmental issues by carrying out ‘green’ projects. The case also demonstrates that green entrepreneurs are in many ways similar to economic entrepreneurs, but may need additional resilience in order to balance the economic and environmental requirements of a green business. Although the entrepreneurs were successful in developing an organization that fulfilled their model, their long-term aims were not achieved, and the case examines the lessons to be learnt when two entrepreneurial personalities attempt to work together.
