Abstract
Many companies throughout the world are undertaking initiatives to reduce their ecological footprint, often in response to pressurefrom regulators, investors, creditors, and customers. In this chapter, we present the results of a study on the role that generalenvironmental preferences and awareness play in driving corporate climate responses. Specifically, we explore whether localenvironmental preferences of the population are significant determinants of the localization of green startups. The preferences ofthe local community may affect green entrepreneurship, to the extent that stakeholders such as local governors, employees,investors, and customers are members of said community. We conduct our study on Italian startups, making use of survey data fromthe Italian National Institute of Statistics to measure local climate awareness at the regional level and the Italianregistry of innovative startups.