Blue Economy

Gunter Pauli’s Blue Economy is a different way of economic thinking. The Blue Economy intents to create jobs and build social capital without polluting and exhausting the (natural) environment in the process.

If we wish for a speedy transition to a sustainable world, green thinking is not exactly an accelerator. Green economy features (slow) global thinking, while the solutions are often expensive, and are also dependent on government subsidies.
Gunter Pauli’s Blue Economy is a different way of economic thinking. Basic needs are taken care of by what is available locally. It takes its inspiration from nature itself in instigating cooperation between parties that until now haven’t ‘seen’ each other. A ‘blue business model’ always features multiple income streams; for example by using the waste, or output, of one process as the input of another process. The Blue Economy intents to create jobs and build social capital without polluting and exhausting the (natural) environment in the process. Numerous examples around the world prove that we can imitate nature's designs, perfected over millions of years, in our own production – using the waste of one product as the input for another. Thinking in systems and cycles, we become witness to the dawn of the 3rd industrial revolution.

Gunter Pauli is an Economy Professor and world improving entrepreneur. He is an Economics graduate from Belgium and obtained his MBA from INSEAD in France. He also has an honorary master in Systemic Design from the Instituto Politecnico di Torino (Italy) and an honorary doctorate in economics from  the University of Pecs (Hungary).
He started his career as a science assistant to the Club of Rome. His professional life as an entrepreneur, author and advisor is characterized by promoting sustainability. Not only ecologically but also socially and, foremost, economically. Green is not enough. Pauli advances the position that we can better utilize available materials and waste products. Across the world, together with local businesses, Pauli managed to translate problems into opportunities. He is a strong believer of the local approach and that ‘sustainable’ also means that you can make money, preferably through various cash flows.

Gunter Pauli, currently residing in South Africa, is visiting the project ‘The Discovery of Groningen’ and the festival ‘Let’s Gro’ (www.letsgro.nl). ‘The Discovery of Groningen’, headed by entrepreneurs, system thinkers and creatives, intents to take a ‘Blue Economy’ look at the province of Groningen in order to discover and create unexpected sustainable solutions.
 

Interesting links:
Website Gunter Pauli
YouTube: Gunter Pauli at TED

Video recording lecture Gunter Pauli