Jeff Bezos famously remarked that he prefers entrepreneurs to be missionaries than mercenaries, so it perhaps stands to reason that many entrepreneurs create their businesses with a clear desire to make the world a better place. Research presented at the Global Entrepreneurship Congress suggests that this might also extend to the kind of investors entrepreneurs want.

The survey found that entrepreneurs are increasingly likely to reject an investment from funds without adequate sustainability practices. Indeed, around two-thirds of entrepreneurs said that the sustainability practices of an investor were a key consideration.

Sustainable ambitions

The researchers quizzed around 1,000 entrepreneurs and investors from around the world to understand what is important to them when they make crucial decisions about their business. The entrepreneurs were specifically asked whether they would refuse an investment if the investor lacked suitable sustainability practices, and 56% said that they would.

Interestingly, this was far more likely to be the case for entrepreneurs from China and Saudi Arabia, with American and British entrepreneurs least likely to use sustainability as a reason to refuse investment.

While American entrepreneurs were not particularly likely to demand green credentials from investors, American investors were among the keenest to see startups with strong sustainability strategies. Investors were pretty consistent in their belief that entrepreneurship will be key to achieving net zero targets.

Sustainable consensus

It follows a report last year from Accenture, which found similar sustainability ambitions across larger organizations. The report suggests that around half of European businesses are prioritizing investments in both sustainability and digital transformation.  In terms of technology, this manifests itself primarily in investments in areas such as artificial intelligence and cloud computing, with most sustainability transformations focused on business model innovations.

“Even companies that recognize the business opportunity to accelerate their digital and sustainable transitions face barriers at different stages of this twin transformation journey,” the authors say. “Those challenges include defining a viable business model around sustainable practices and products, freeing up resources to better mobilize the organization, and moving rapidly from pilot and siloed projects to large-scale and enterprise-wide initiatives.”