Eco tourism

Ecotourism is the term applied to tourism and travel that pays special attention to environmental
concern. And it is special kind of tourism to exotic locations to observe wild life or to preserve
nature. With a growing interest to spend leisure time in nature related facilities and increasing
awareness on environmentalism, ecotourism has become one of the fastest growing segments
of the tourism industry in the world (UNWTO, 2001).

Ecotourism is the necessary choice of the tourism development in certain phase; it is the best
form of sustainable tourism; it is the concrete application of the principle of sustainable tourism
in natural areas and certain social cultural regions (Tong, 2009)

Ecotourism is sustainable tourism, which is based on the ecological principle and sustainable
development theory. Its aim is to conserve resources, especially biological diversity, and maintain
sustainable use of resources, which can bring ecological experience to travelers, conserve the
ecological environment and gain economic benefit. Ecotourism establishes a harmonious
symbiotic relationship between sightseeing visit and environmental protection, which can make
the negative influence of travel to ecological environment be reduced to minimum extent by
strict management, so as to ensure the everlasting utilization of resources. Ecotourism is very
popular to travelers for its bases that emphasize on natural ecological9 environment and pay
attention to ecological environment protection (Hongshu Wang and Min Tong, 2009).

Indian Himalayan Center for Adventure & Eco Tourism (IHCAE) - 2014, mentioned about the Eco
Tourism and its assets as follows, Eco Tourism: A form of tourism that involves travelling to
natural areas with the specific objectives of learning, admiring and enjoying nature and its wild
plants and animals as well as local people‟s cultural aspects including religious monuments, while
conserving the natural and social environment and improving the welfare of the local people.

Eco Tourism Activities: Activities coordinated by a qualified nature and cultural interpreter
designed to entertain and educate clients. As example,

- Activities in mountains such as trekking, bird and wildlife watching, hiking, photography,
mountaineering etc.

- Activities in rivers and lakes such as angling, rafting, kayaking, photography etc.

- Participating in cultural and traditional events such as agro- tourism, handicraft making, fairs,
festivals and folkways.

Eco Tourism Assets: Natural and cultural features that attract visitors, such as landscapes,
endemic or rare flora and fauna, local agricultural products, local culture including festivals, local
folktales, history, historical monuments and heritage sites.
Eco tour Operators: Tour operators specializing to cater Eco tours collaborating with local people
focused on local nature and culture based tourism.

Eco Tourism Products: A combination of activities and services which are sold and managed
through qualified eco tour operators including local communities or individuals.

Ecotourism is tourism that involves travelling to relatively undisturbed natural areas with the
specific objective of studying, admiring, and enjoying the scenery and its wild plants and animals,
as well as any existing cultural aspects (both past and10 present) found in these areas.
Ecotourism implies a scientific, aesthetic or philosophical approach (Ceballos - Lascurain, 1996).

sustainable tourism

Green business

**GREEN BUSINESS CHALLENGES AND PRACTICES**

“sustainable business”. For instance, Brown and Ratledge adopt quite a narrow defnition of
green business as “an establishment that produces green output” (Brown, Ratledge, 2011).

Meanwhile, Makower and Pyke, in a broad-brush way, state that “a green business requires a
balanced commitment to profitability, sustainability and humanity” (Makower, Pyke, 2009).

The Business Dictionary indicates that green business is “a business functioning in a capacity
where no negative impact is made on the local or global environment, the community, or the
economy”, and further adds that “green business will also engage in forward-thinking policies for
environmental concerns and policies affecting human rights” (Business Dictionary, n.d.).

Similarly, G. Croston states that “Green Businesses have more sustainable business practices than
competitors, benefiting natural systems and helping people live well today and tomorrow while
making money and contributing to the economy” (Croston, 2009).

K. Slovik proposes an amalgamation of environmental sustainability demand with that of social

responsibility: “A “green business” can be defned as an organization that uses renewable
resources (environmentally sustainable) and holds itself accountable for the human resource
aspect of their activities (socially responsible)” (Slovik, 2013).

Quite obviously, all these defnitions attempt to embrace a wider impact spectrum of

business activities and not only those that could be considered as “green” sensu stricto,

i.e. as related to the environment. The requirement of commitment to the environmental

considerations is here complemented by the imperative to honour human rights and to
contribute to the well-being of current and future generations while ensuring the economic
sustainability of business itself. Such approach obliterates boundaries between the notions of
“green business” and “sustainable business”, the latter term referring to business being
sustainable economically, socially and environmentally.

The other authors take a narrower approach, focusing on the “green” constituent of

the term. They defne green business as the one “being concerned with and supporting
environmentalism” and “tending to preserve environmental quality “(Green Times, 2013), which
“has made an enduring commitment to environmental principles in its

business operations” (Cooney, 2008), as “business or entity preparing a plan and taking

action to reduce its environmental impact on its immediate area of concern” (Sustainable Green,
2013) or, even stronger, as “business where its activities do not have a negative impact on the
environment” (Calling Green, 2011)1.

Summing up, we propose the following green business defnition: green business is an
organization that is committed to the principles of environmental sustainability in its operations,
strives to use renewable resources, and tries to minimize the negative environmental impact of
its activities. In this perception, “greening” of business is part of a long-term strategy of becoming
sustainable, i.e. being able to achieve business tasks in the way that does not develop any threat
– economic, social or environmental – for both current and future generations.
Becoming green is a multifaceted process; there are various practices that can be applied when
business wants to shift to a green behavior. Broadly speaking, an environmentally aware business
should participate at least in one of “4Rs” – reduction, reuse, recycling, and recovery (Kassaye,
2001).

What is it to be green?

While it is true that business greening usually necessitates certain additional costs, it also might
bring tangible commercial benefts and lead to an increased proftability. A business can reap two
types of benefts by “going green”: one is revenue rising, and the other is cost saving.

The revenue rising beneft can be derived from product differentiation and brand image,
customer communication, additional value and higher productivity (Collins, 2008; Swallow, 2009;
Laroche et al., 2001). By going green, a business distinguishes itself from others and gains a
competitive advantage. It is well known that customers buy a product not only as a commodity
but also the image links of the product. A green brand is one that appeals to the retail consumers
and B2B customers who favor greener products and services (Hartman et al., 2005). Consumer
willingness to pay more for a green product indicates that consumers perceive an additional value
in it. However, a green brand should be effectively communicated or, in other words, marketed
in order to be recognized by consumers. Green marketing (also known as sustainable marketing,
organic marketing, and environmental marketing) usually refers to the product, service or
lifestyle which it is promoting, rather than to a method of marketing itself. It centers on
consumers’ explicit or implicit willingness to pay more for environmentally friendly products and
is about selling environmentally safe or said to be safe products11. Likewise, according to (2008),
employees that work for green companies are more satisfied with their work and show a higher
productivity. Finally, by becoming green, a company can secure better future prospects in terms
of networking with the other green businesses that are willing to have partners of the same
inclination.

Cost saving is mainly generated by waste utilization and input sparing. Such practices as heat
generating by waste incineration, cutting down the paper use in exchange for electronic
communication, turning off electronic appliances when they are not in use and the like provide
possibilities to save costs. Furthermore, it is believed that green business practices make
workplaces healthier and safer, thus enabling a company to cut spending on employees’ sick
time.

REFERENCES
Buono del, L. (2011). EU regulations governing tenderers and suppliers for regeneration projects
(accessed 1 February 2012).
<http://www.climateactionprogramme.org/procurement_guide/eu_regulations_governing_tenderers_and_suppliers_for_regenerat
ion_projects/>.
Brown, D.T, Ratledge, E.C. (2011). Energy, the environment and delaware jobs: Defning and describing green business. University
of Delaware, 116 p., retrieved 15 July 2013; http://128.175.63.72/
projects/DOCUMENTS/Green_business.pdf
Business Dictionary, n.d., Accessed 15 July 2013, http://www.businessdictionary.com/defnition/
green-business.html
Calling Green: Green Business Defnition and Opportunities (2011). Accessed 31 March 2012,
http://www.cgforestaccount.org/green-business-defnition-and-opportunities.html
Collins, J. (2008). Why “Green” is good for business. Business and Economic Review, pp. 25–26.
Compton, P., Devuyst, D., Nath B., eds. (1998). Environmental Management in Practice. Vol 1.
New York, Routledge. 544 p.
Compton, P., Devuyst, D., Nath B., eds. (1999). Environmental Management in Practice. Vol 2.
New York, Routledge. 352 p.
Cooney, S. (2008). Build a Green Small Business: Proftable Ways to Become an Ecopreneur. New
York, McGraw-Hill. 256 p.
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Croston, G. (2009). Starting Green: An Ecopreneur’s Toolkit for Starting a Green Business from
Business Plan to Profts. Entrepreneur Press. 324 p.
Green Times, n.d., accessed July 15, 2013, <http://www.greentimes.com.au/greentimes/green-business-defnition.html
Getzner, M., Grabner-Krauter, S. (2004). Consumer preferences and marketing strategies for “green
shares”. The International Journal of Bank Marketing, Vol. 22 (4), pp. 260–278.
Rietbergen-McCracken, J., Abaza, H. eds. (2000). Economic Instruments for Environmental
Management: A Worldwide Compendium of Case Studies. London, Earthscan. 256 p.
Hartman, P., Apoalaza I. V., Forcada S. F. (2005). Green branding effects on attitude: functional
versus emotional positioning strategies. Marketing Intelligence and Planning, Vol. 23 (1), pp. 9–29.
Jansson, J., Marell, A., Nordlund, A. (2010). Green consumer behavior: determinants of curtailment
and eco-innovation adoption. Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 27 (4), pp. 358–370.
Kangis, P. (1992). Concerns about “green” marketing. International Journal of Wine Marketing,
Vol. 4 (2), pp. 21–24.
Kassaye, W. (2001). Green dilemma. Marketing Intelligence and Planning, Vol. 19 (6), pp. 444–455.
Kotler, P., Wong, V., Sauders, J., Armstrong, G. (2005). Principles of Marketing. 4 th edn. New
Jersey, Pearson Education, 953 p.
Laroche, M., Bergeron, J., Barbaro-Forleo, G. (2001). Targeting consumers who are willing to pay
more for environmentally friendly products. Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 18 (6), pp. 503–520.
Lavallée, S., Plouffe, S. (2004). The ecolabel and sustainable development. International Journal of
Life Cycle Assessment, Vol. 9, pp. 349–354.
Makower, J.; Pike, C. (2009). Strategies for the Green Economy: Opportunities and Challenges in
the New World of Business. New York, McGraw-Hill. 290 p.
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and test of the model. Environment and Behavior, Vol. 21 (1), pp. 102–149.
Slovik, K. (2013). Nine Steps to Greening Your Business, accessed 16 July 2013, http://www.
startupnation.com/steps/93/
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glossary/index.asp#G>
Swallow, L. (2009). Green Businesses Practices for Dummies. Indianapolis, Wiley Publishing.
384 p.
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theecologist.org/green_green_living/behind_the_label/269023/behind_the_eco_labels.html

**GREEN BUSINESS CHALLENGES AND PRACTICES**

Defining the green entrepreneurship – a longer definition

The first attempts to define the green entrepreneur and describe his/her characteristics are in
the 1990s. Hall (2013) mentions that the term “green entrepreneurship” appeared for the first
time in the book “The Green Entrepreneur: Business Opportunities That Can Save the Earth and
Make You Money” by Gustav Berle (1991). Berle’s definition is short, quite poetic, morally
focused and maybe quite accurate: “Green entrepreneurship is taking responsibility to create the
world we dream of.” As noted by Farinelli et al. (2011), a correct understanding and clear
definition of green entrepreneurship models becomes especially important in a reality where big
corporations prefer to invest in green marketing (creating a green image without real,
measurable and strategically directed change in their business processes) rather than in green
innovations. We observe that very often the terms “green entrepreneurship”, “eco
entrepreneurship” and “sustainable entrepreneurship” are used interchangeably. Although
there might be some shades of difference between the three, for the purposes of the GREENT
project we also assume that they can be used interchangeably. It is hard to imagine that green
business can be only environmentally sustainable, without being socially (to create workplaces,
meaning and social context) and economically (to be able to recover its costs and survive as an
entity in the long run) sustainable, because it draws upon a holistic understanding of the
connectedness of all dimensions. Gibbs (2009) observes that sustainable entrepreneurship bases
itself upon Schumpeter’s fundamental concept of “creative destruction” and today it has the
potential to break the current economic model which exhausts the Earth’s resources without
being able to substitute them with others or to leave them enough time to replenish themselves
naturally. Sustainable entrepreneurship can turn into the driving force for the emergence of a
new holistic sustainable system in the three dimensions – economy, environment, and society.
Eco entrepreneurs are agents of change who destroy the existing conventional production
methods, products, market structures and consumption models and replace them with new,
superior ecological products and services. So, it may not be too far-fetched to say, borrowing
from Christensen’s works, that they are “disruptive innovators”.

Most authors mention the following characteristics as inherent to green entrepreneurs:

 They act as entrepreneurs, realizing ideas with a high level of risk

 They have strong internal motivation related to a heightened sensitivity to environmental
problems
 They address an environmental/social problem/need consciously and this is at the core
of their business activity
 Their business activities have a net positive effect on the natural environment and at the
same time they are financially sustainable
 They consciously strive to contribute to a more sustainable future, contributing both with
their social and environmental values.

We need to make a difference between greening the management of existing companies and the
conscious creation of business ideas that are green at their core essence. In the first case, or the
so-called accidental eco entrepreneurs, the companies operate in an environmentally sparing
way but this is not a special focus or deliberate effect, it is a side effect. In order to distinguish
between the two types of eco entrepreneurs, Isaak (1998) coined the term “green-green
businesses” – those that put the care for the environment at their core and are looking to bring
about the social and ethical transformation of their business sector. Such companies are starting
to become the norm and not the exception all over the world. One of the dangers here is that
the term “green entrepreneur” could remain a hollow phrase that means all and nothing at the
same time, much like the term “sustainable development”. The simple claim that the economic,
environmental and social objectives are woven into the organizational logic and practices of the
company does not give us an idea how (and if) this is achieved in reality (Gibbs 2009). The danger
of dishonest speculation with the words “eco”, “bio”, “organic”, etc. is always there and the only
solution is a requirement for each company to publicly disclose detailed information about its
production processes, the origin of its raw materials, the product life cycle, as well as its progress
on its measurable goals for environmental footprint reduction. Companies that do not reveal
detailed information on these issues to their consumers should immediately raise doubts and
should be required to be more transparent in order to dispel any suspicion.

To sum up, green entrepreneurship can manifest itself in either of these ways:

 Softer forms of ecological modernization which keep the current economic structures and
mechanisms, but a higher level of ecological effectiveness is achieved through better
technologies.
 More radical forms of rethinking of the economic paradigm and achieving disruptive
innovation.

Examples of these are the LETS (local exchange trading systems), where goods and services are
exchanged using local currencies or without currencies; or community supported agriculture,
which enables farmers to receive solidarity funding from the community at the beginning of the
growing season in order to guarantee access to fresh and clean food for the members of the
community.

Defining the green economy

If we talk about the economy as a whole, probably the most useful definition would be the one
of the United National Environmental Programme:“A green economy is one where economic
growth is accompanied by reduced carbon emissions and pollution, enhanced energy and
resource efficiency, and maintained ecosystem services including biodiversity. Such an economy
could address important global economic and development issues. These are support of
economic growth while decoupling it from increasing use of natural resources; mitigation of and
adaptation to climate change; creation of employment, promotion of the Millennium
Development Goals, and poverty eradication. The green economy concept is not uncontested.
One reason for this is the fact that the development agendas of industrialized, transition, and
developing countries differ considerably. Industrialized countries are mainly concerned with
overcoming the economic crisis, creating jobs, and addressing climate change. Transition
countries have increased investment in energy-efficient economies, but their growth targets may
outweigh these efforts. Green economy in developing countries is mainly linked to poverty, social
security, and food security. Achieving a global green economy will require harmonizing these
agendas, and the concept itself.” Source: NCCR Policy Brief No.6 January 2012

List of references

Farinelli F. et al (2011) Green entrepreneurship: the missing link towards a greener economy.
ATDF

JOURNAL Volume 8, Issue 3/4 2011.

Gibbs D. (2009) Sustainability entrepreneurs, ecopreneurs and the development of a sustainable

economy. Greenleaf Publishing Ltd.

Hall R. (2013) The Enterprising Ecovillager – Achieving Community Development through

Innovative

Green Entrepreneurship. ISBN 978-609-8080-42-1.

Isaak, R. (1998) Green Logic: Ecopreneurship, Theory and Ethics (Sheffield, UK: Greenleaf
Publishing).

Schaper M. (2010) Understanding the green entrepreneur. In: Making Ecopreneurs – Developing

Sustainable Entrepreneurship. Gower Publishing Ltd.

Kenya***

1.1 Background of study

Environmental issues have influenced all human activities globally, and the world is seeing a
growing market for sustainable and socially responsible products and services. Entrepreneurs are
now making changes in their ways of doing business so as to address the society’s new concerns
on environmentalism and other ecological problems as they affect their enterprises (Walley,
Custance and Parsons, 2000). Green entrepreneurs are being called upon to take leading roles in
the transition to green economies. World evidence indicates that people are increasingly
becoming concerned about the environment and are gradually changing their behaviors
accordingly (Walley, Custance

and Parsons, 2000).

The main feature differentiating the green entrepreneur from the traditional entrepreneur is
that, the green entrepreneur seeks to create a business model that is both economically
profitable and creates environmental and social value. The green entrepreneur does this by
engaging in activities such as ecotourism, recycling, energy efficiency, sustainable mobility,
organic agriculture and renewable energy among others, and the number of green jobs
associated to these new activities (Lacroix and Stamatiou, 2007).

In Kenya, the models of development are changing from the current carbon-intensive non-green
model towards low-carbon and more green model. The green models are characterized by
integrating and implementing various green strategies on natural capital.

In October, 2010 for instance, the Ministry of Environment and Mineral resources installed an
inter-ministerial committee to promote the formulation of a national green economy program
for the country. The ministry also launched the Green Schools Program aiming to assist schools
in the water catchment areas in planting tree seedlings and nurturing them to maturity via the
establishment of tree nurseries and roof water catchment harvesting (UNEP, 2009).

The economic environment is generally moving towards “greening” economic activities in Kenya.
Entrepreneurs are not left out for they are encouraged to come up with businesses that are
“green.”

The green businesses are to incorporate activities that are environmentally friendly in their
operations and growth strategies, Mombasa, being a city that is next to the marine ecology
generating a significant size of Kenya’s GDP has to encourage businesses to green through green
entrepreneurship.

1.1.1 Green Entrepreneurship

Green is a term that is applicable relatively and absolutely depending on the intended meaning
of the user of the term. In popular usage, the expression ‘green’ is used in both a relative and an
absolute sense. “Green” can refer to either a product or a process. “Green is a term used showing
moving towards environmental or ecological sustainability (Pearce and Barbier, 2000).

There seems to be no clear definition of entrepreneurship especially with regard to the degree
of innovation and size of a particular activity that counts as entrepreneurial. However,
entrepreneurs are business people who envisage new business opportunities and ventures by
taking risks and converting their ideas into commercial reality. An entrepreneur will introduce
innovation, adoptions and new ideas to an economy.

Entrepreneurial activities refer to ‘creative destruction.’ This is because entrepreneurs bring

about change in the economy and in the business environment to overtake older ways of
operation (Ulijin and Waggeman, 2001). Thornton (1999) defines entrepreneurship as the
creation of new organizations, which implies a certain degree of innovation and size. This creation
occurs as a context-dependent, social and economic process.

The scarcity of literature on green entrepreneurship makes it difficult to define what “green
entrepreneurship” is and how to separate green and non-green entrepreneurship. The earlier
terms adopted were “environmental entrepreneur” by Bennet (1991), “green entrepreneur” by
Berle (1991) and “eco-entrepreneur” by Blue (1990). Based on their views green entrepreneurs
are characterized by undertaking new business opportunities and ventures that are usually risky.
Green entrepreneurs also get their motivation intrinsically and their business activities positively
affect the natural environment, enhance economic sustainability, and deliberately focus on a
more sustainable future.

1.1.2 Green entrepreneurial Practices

The main feature differentiating the green entrepreneur from the traditional entrepreneur is
that, the green entrepreneur seeks to create a business model that is both economically
profitable and creates environmental and social value. The green entrepreneur does this by
engaging activities such as ecotourism, recycling, energy efficiency, sustainable mobility, organic
agriculture and renewable energy among others, and the number of green jobs associated to
these new activities (Lacroix and Stamatiou, 2007).

According to Ambec and Lanoie, (2008) adopting environmentally friendly practices can reduce
the costs or risk or create differentiation from competitors. There are various mechanisms by
which firms may address environmental degradation such as selling pollution control technology,
risk management and cost reduction. In this study Green Entrepreneurial practices are those
activities that are related to products or processes that are involved in reducing, reusing and
recycling of resources for economic, environmental and social sustainability. Such practices will
include but not limited to energy saving, pollution prevention, waste recycling, green product
design or corporate environmental management.

Kenya***