From Business in Leeds 2022 | Total issue
A Leeds researcher says builders may be our best hope for tackling climate change.
When it comes to solving the climate crisis, Jeff York doesn’t put his faith in the government or corporations. If this crisis can be solved, he said, because entrepreneurs create new solutions through innovation, initiative and flexibility-which the establishment fails to show.
“Climate change is probably the greatest tragedy of our lifetimes, and the time for action is fast passing us by,” said York, a professor of strategy and entrepreneurship and chair of the Division of Social Responsibility and Sustainability at Leeds. . “Unfortunately, how to address this has become an increasingly polarizing, politicized issue.”
In a groundbreaking study to be published in Organization Science, York and his co-authors examine how entrepreneurship is a promising, but often overlooked, approach to addressing climate change.
“Creating entrepreneurial solutions to address climate change is the greatest economic opportunity that will exist in my lifetime.”
Jeff York, chair, Social Responsibility and Sustainability Division
They found that at a time when climate change is a political topic, entrepreneurs with climate-conscious products can build common ground between the pro-market, often conservative side, which values growing business, and the liberal leans on the pro-environment side, which values protecting the planet.
Climate programs in Leeds
A selection of some of the many climate-related programs offered by the business school:
Clean Energy MBA Pathway
Climate Action for Business Certification
The Energy Finance Bootcamp
The Sustainable Company: ESG Strategies and Practices
Energy Science and Technology
Renewable and Sustainable Energy in Practice
“Our research found that environmental entrepreneurs do better in markets with high influence from both pro-market and pro-environment logics,” he said. “It levels the playing field and allows them to compete effectively with existing companies.”
“Entrepreneurs are creating for-profit businesses that can address climate change in a way that government and activists cannot,” he said.
For that purpose, of note is the changing nature of climate change and business. Donor support helped fund a significant set of data used in York’s research, demonstrating the business community’s interest in playing a role in addressing this challenge.
Being a green business, says York, does not prevent a new business from being profitable: “Developing business solutions to address climate change is the biggest economic opportunity that will exist in my life.”
Professor Jeff York surveys the devastation in Louisville from the 2021 Marshall Fire — a prime example of how the wildfire disaster has increased due to climate change. He believes that entrepreneurial thinking can help prevent tragedies like this in the future.
Business in Leeds magazine Deming Center for Entrepreneurship Get together in Leeds
