This April we marked another Earth Day, which was greeted by numerous media features on ways to preserve our environment, cut our dependence on oil, build more environmentally friendly structures and minimize our carbon footprint.

From a small-business perspective, a green enterprise not only is politically correct, it’s economically shrewd. From an entrepreneurship perspective, green business ideas can be profitable and rewarding. Many of these ideas come through our center, or we read about them in the many trend publications we see. It’s apparent to us that the number of entrepreneurs who want to make an environmental difference while making a living is on the increase.

Here are some of the most interesting ideas we’ve seen lately:

  • A French company has created a delivery business using truck-sized cargo bikes instead of motorized trucks and vans. These lightweight vehicles operate with pedal power, weigh about 175 pounds and can carry as much as 350 pounds in a 50-cubic-foot space. These so-called cargocycles are faster, more agile, easier to park and completely non-polluting.
  • A student in product design has developed playground equipment that can create enough electricity to power a school classroom by capturing the energy generated when the equipment is in use. For instance, 10 minutes of play on a see-saw generates enough power to light a room for several hours. The energy is transferred to a storage unit through an underground cable. This idea has tremendous applicability in remote areas of developing countries where the need for power is enormous, but the infrastructure and resources are completely lacking. (more…)