The basic dictionary definition of an entrepreneur is

a person who organizes and manages any enterprise, esp. a business, usually with considerable initiative and risk.

Starting any new business is full of risk, whether opening a McDonald’s franchise or taking a brand new idea through to an IPO.  Environmentalprograms.net offers this definition of an entrepreneur

An “entrepreneur” is someone who thinks of a new idea or opportunity in business and who takes the risks necessary to convert his or her vision into a reality. Entrepreneurs are absolutely essential to the forwarding of human progress.

It is the emphasis on doing something new that really stands out in this definition.  It is this aspect that sets an entrepreneur apart for the “ordinary” business person who, for example opens up a car dealership.   This definition gives a hat tip to the role that entrepreneurship plays in moving us forward.

Environmentalprograms.net then goes on to give a pretty good definition of a green entrepreneur.  It includes a nod towards what moving us forward looks like specifically

An ecological entrepreneur is someone who is driven not only by the possibility of making a profit, but is also driven by environmental and social concerns. They want to make the world a better place by improving the environment.

The College of the Atlantic offers an Ecological Entrepreneurship Program that has a nice discussion on the concepts and philosophy of ecological entrepreneurship. However the description of the program itself offers a good definition and shows the breadth of opportunities available to the green entrepreneur.

 It incorporates ideas from green technology and design, green and fair trade marketing, organic and community agriculture, socially responsible business, organizational management, social entrepreneurship for nonprofits, and grassroots activism into an ecological perspective of practical community sustainability.

Opportunity What is old is new again.  Above I mentioned that starting a car dealership probably wasn’t entrepreneurial.  What about a dealership that only offers “green” vehicles?  I would call that entrepreneurial and The Green Car Company is doing just that. They have found an unmet need (as well as having to convince people that they need an early generation green vechicle) and are taking the risk to make it happen.  You don’t have to come up with brand new technology to be a green entrepreneur — you can ride, and help build, the wave by finding ways to support those that are working with brand new technology.