Description of the project: A sustainable economy respecting the planetary boundaries, based on human needs, global justice and gender equality must be part of the solutions to combat the climate crisis. Women’s business and start-ups play a progressive role in dealing with these problems. Most of them are small or micro-enterprises, like 96% of all enterprises in Germany are. Yet, while many want to manage their enterprises in a sustainable, fair and caring way, they often don’t know how, particularly given the often limited time and financial resources available in their small business. The project supports these women entrepreneurs in becoming pioneers for an economy that cares for the people and the planet.

Climate Impact: In order to combat climate change it is fundamental to change our current production and consumption patterns. Sustainable economy is more than an ecological modernisation of production, resource efficiency or new technologies. It has to acknowledge care-work as such and the principles of care as the basis for all our economic activities. And it has to address the issue of sufficiency. In this understanding, the economy is part of a far-reaching socio-ecological transformation. Entrepreneurs and start-ups have substantial responsibility as well as opportunities to actively contribute to a just, fair and sustainable future. They are crucial for a transition towards a zero carbon society by reducing drastically the carbon footprints of their enterprises itself and by offering real alternatives for consumers.

Gender Impact: The project supports women entrepreneurs in contributing to a sustainable, fair and in particular a caring economy. Given the situation that it is still mainly women caring for children, elderly or sick persons it provides information, guidance and good practices on how to manage an enterprise in a way that helps to reduce these double burdens for the women entrepreneurs themselves as well as for their employees. By advocating for a business model that is based on caring for others, for nature and for future generations a good life for all is envisioned. The project is implemented in cooperation with the women’s entrepreneur centre WeiberWirtschaft eG., who are nominated for the “startup4climate”-award for their consultancy-activities for women startups concerning both, resource-efficiency and social aspects and fairness.