ABSTRACT
This chapter provides key information on the national context, priority issues, trends, government policies, and case studies of sustainable enterprise in Germany. Germany has one of the lowest birth rates in the world, with a national fertility rate of 1.4 as of 2012, which is 0.6 below the replacement rate. Compounding this problem is Germany's ageing population, which is putting immense pressure on the country's social welfare system. Germany has a highly developed industrial economy, with high levels of urbanization and population density. Water and air pollution have caused environmental destruction and widespread deforestation, but in response, Germany has developed a robust environmental movement that traces its origins to the 1970s. Germany's definition of sustainable enterprise is aligned with the European Union: the key distinguishing features are social and ecological aims combined with the entrepreneurial spirit of the private sector. Social enterprises exist in all EU member states.
