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The economy should not turn green, but blue? Here we clarify what is behind the “Blue Economy” concept.
"The Blue Economy" is a trademarked term and describes a holistic and sustainable concept for the economy. The inventor of the “blue economy” is the entrepreneur, educator and author Gunter Pauli from Belgium, who first used the term in 2004 and published the book “The Blue Economy - 2009 years, 10 innovations, 100 million jobs” in 100. He sees his approach as a further development of the basic ideas of the “green economy”. The book was also sent as an official report to the experts at the Club of Rome. The color blue refers to the sky, the ocean and the planet earth as viewed from space.
The “blue economy” is based on the natural rules of the ecosystem and relies heavily on regional ones Recycling, Diversity and the use of sustainable energy sources. As in nature, it should be managed as efficiently as possible. “After the financial and economic crisis of 2008, I (...) finally realized that green is only good for those who have money. This is not good. We should create an economy that can meet the basic needs of all people - with what is available. That is why I am of the opinion that the blue economy has to rely very heavily on innovation, we should be entrepreneurs, we should not divide society into good and bad, and we should only choose the best, "says Pauli in an interview in Factory Magazin .
Blue Economy is bearing fruit
The concept is primarily aimed at developing and promoting sustainable business models. In the meantime, the “blue economy” is predominantly bearing fruit in developing countries. According to Pauli, more than 200 projects had created around three million jobs there by 2016. He sees the greatest challenge of the present in the conviction of large international companies: “I think we as Greens or Blue have a language level that has so far only been understood in the area of corporate social responsibility and in the world of sustainability, but not in the Business area. And that's why we, as those who want these innovations in the direction of a sustainable society, have to change our language in order to make our arguments understandable for large companies, ”he explains in the interview.
So you have to translate the arguments into cash flow and highlight the benefits for the balance sheet. On the subject of growth, he says that we need “new growth”. In the blue economy, growth means "that the basic needs of the entire population are met."
Gunter Pauli was, among other things, founder and chairman of PPA Holding, founder and CEO of the European Service Industries Forum (ESIF), general secretary of the European Business Press Federation (UPEFE), chairman and president of Ecover and advisor to the rector of the United Nations University in Tokyo . In the 1990s he founded “Zero Emissions Research and Initiatives” (ZERI) at the United Nations University in Tokyo and then the Global ZERI Network, which connects companies and scientists.
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