The most important results from the Green Startup Monitor 2023
Ecological sustainability is becoming a relevant factor for more and more founders in the establishment and development of their company. The Green Startup Monitor 2023 from the German Startup Association and the Borderstep Institute shows how green startups bring impact and growth together. The biggest challenges lie in the area of financing and in measuring sustainability impact, thus ecological impact.
Share of green startups reaches new high
At 35%, the share of green companies among German startups has made a significant leap compared to the previous year (29%) and reached a new high. Sustainable conduct is becoming increasingly prevalent across the startup landscape. It is also noteworthy that the proportion of female founders among green startups, at 23 %, is higher than among non-green startups (18 %). Women identify more strongly with sustainability objectives and align their products and business models more frequently with these.
The funding climate in the German startup ecosystem has cooled over the course of the last year - this decline is particularly evident among green startups. Raising capital has become more difficult for many of the startups: 46% of green startups see this as one of the key challenges, compared to 37% in the previous year and 34% for non-green startups. It is clear here that special attention must continue to be paid to the financing of green business models in order to advance the transformation in the long term.
Green startups are much more aware of their sustainability impact - measurement is still a challenge
This year's report focuses for the first time on the question of practical implementation by looking at impact competence. Impact competence refers to the ability to record and manage the ecological and social impacts of entrepreneurial activity. Green startups are already much further ahead here: 52% clearly agree that they know their positive sustainability impacts; with regard to negative sustainability impacts, the figure is 29%. Knowledge of their own impact is most pronounced among green startups with a particularly high degree of innovation and strong growth orientation.
However, when it comes to measuring these sustainability impacts and thus also being able to communicate them, there is still a need to catch up: Only 15% of the startups overall and 27% of the green startups state that they can clearly demonstrate the sustainable impact of their business activities with data and facts.
