Hey You / Don't you give up / It's not so bad / There's still a chance for us…

Remember this song from the Live Earth concert? Would you have ever believed that Material Girl Madonna would actually compose a song to save Planet Earth? Or that leading Venture Capitalist Vinod Khosla would be cleaning up water supply?

Not so long ago, environment preservation was the bastion of tree-huggers. Today, it is not World Wildlife Fund and Greenpeace but New Ventures Inc and Cleantech Ventures that are spearheading the Go Green movement.

What has triggered this change? The answer is obvious. Environmental concerns are no longer limited to geologists anxious over shrinking continents and changing climate; it's crossed the doorstep and entered our lives. Whether it is the fast depleting energy resources, or unchecked carbon emissions, or indiscriminate tree cutting - we are all being affected by it.

Ironically, in India it is the rapid economic growth and new wealth that is fuelling these problems. The quest for a better quality of life without compromising on the environment quotient is the biggest challenge we face today.

The search for solutions has created enormous business opportunities. Recently, Nobel Peace Prize winner Al Gore predicted that India could lead the world in renewable energy technologies.

Agreeing with him is Nicholas Parker, Co-founder and Chairman, Cleantech Group, who in a recent article cited: "The Indian cleantech market is primed for substantial growth, especially within the clean energy and water sectors. Rapidly growing economy, an increasing population, and limited availability of natural resources are leading India to a pivotal point, where the environment and clean technologies converge to become the driving force behind every aspect of Indian business."

Venture Capitalist Mohanjit Jolly of Draper Fisher Jurvetson is seeing a momentum towards go green via both push and pull mechanisms. According to him, companies want to be seen as proponents of the "go green" movement because it makes good business sense and it could lead to new segments within existing businesses. Also, consumers are leaning towards brands and businesses that they perceive to be on the right side of the eco universe.

Take the case of 'green dating'. Young couples are now excited about making eco friendly proclamations of love. By selecting an eco hotel over other vacation options, by choosing to take public transport over driving a car, by gifting saplings instead of flowers - they have created a brand new market.

Success stories around ecopreneurship are being steadily written. Dlight Design is creating an efficient LED lighting and power management system for the rural populous. Deeya Energy has developed an energy storage system as replacement for diesel-guzzling Gensets. Bangalore-based company Biodiversity Conservation India Limited has now created a novel system which allows air cooled in pits below the ground to circulate within buildings, thus providing a cheap and renewable replacement to air-conditioners.

Electric car Reva has been a hit globally. According to its founder Chetan Maini, bringing down pollution levels was just one of the benefits. "We realized that building sustainable solutions focused on environment made the most long term business sense," says Maini.

Ecopreneurial thinking is reaching campuses as well. With environment related opportunities set to get bigger and better in the near future, students who are aspiring to be entrepreneurs understand its scope. There is a lot of innovation that can be done in manufacturing techniques and mass market applications for clean water, power, transportation, manufacturing and waste disposal (which can be turned into fuel). "The need of sustainable solutions will get stronger in the coming years. Going green will pay in the long run," says Nambiraj, a student of SRM School of Management.

Students are already preparing themselves to lead the green movement of tomorrow. NSHM Knowledge Campus in Kolkata has formed an Ecopreneurship Club whose agenda is to promote biodegradable products. Mount Carmel College and Jyoti Nivas College in Bangalore have set up recycling units that recycle used papers to develop notebooks. Jai Hind College students in Mumbai have come up with a business idea of packaging mineral water in a matka instead of a plastic bottle. Another group is building an Eco Box, a solid waste management system that aims at reducing and reusing plastic trash. Rucha Joshi, a biotechnology student at Kolhapur Institute of Technology is now patenting her low calorie biscuits, made out of banana peels. She got her idea from the large garbage dumps at her neighbourhood vegetable market. Meanwhile, Vijay Gophane of Centre for Management Research and Development, Pune has started his own venture producing sucrose and ethanol using eco-friendly processes. Students of SRM School of Management in Chennai are experimenting with fire-free cooking.

Jolly sees a lot of hope in young India. "India is a young country, and more often than not, the changes in behavior are catalyzed by the young who are not set in the old ways, cause change to happen and adapt to change a lot more easily. I feel we will be at the forefront of not only eco-innovation but also mass deployment of eco-friendly innovations, products, processes and services,' adds Jolly.