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Understanding the blue economy
And it all started with the Belgian multi-talented economist and businessman, Gunter Pauli, creator of the blue economy (Blue Economy). Proposes copy nature to be more efficient. A hundred business projects spanning various sectors of the economy show that a sustainable and highly competitive business model with environmental, financial and social benefits is possible…. Are we inspired by nature?
According to Pauli … "Consumers will be able to regain their ability to decide what they want and change the current global mode of production, which generates large amounts of garbage, unemployment and failed governments". Although it has its similarities with the concept of circular economy, let's investigate a little more …
What is the blue economy?
It is a holistic and innovative concept in the business approach: we only have to emulate natural ecosystems to be efficient in the production of goods and services that citizens need to be happy, with shared responsibility and respect for future generations.
The theory embodied in Pauli's book "The Blue Economy" faces a problem of major proportions worldwide. It aims to change the way we think about the environment, agriculture, manufacturing, waste … etc, in order to accentuate the circle of sustainable development with the planet, proposing a way of redesigning our entire way of life and conducting it in the likeness of nature.
"The so-called green economy is only for the rich and is not sustainable" …
We must forget about pursuing a single benefit. We want to achieve everything that the production process offers us. Specialization, or economies of scale, are useless. It is about taking advantage, with an innovative attitude, of a multitude of sources of income throughout our production process.
In this way, we maintain risks and reduce costs. It does not make sense to try to evaluate the by-product or eliminate the residue, these become business opportunities and it is necessary that they be taken advantage of by the entrepreneurs to take advantage of them.
The blue economy rejects the elitist attitude of the green economy that aims to offer ecological products that respect the environment but are only accessible to a conservationist elite with high purchasing power. Everyone: entrepreneurs and consumers, we have access to the blue economy in a sustainable way.
To understand it better, we leave an excellent video from the famous TED conferences where Gunter Pauli (speaks Spanish) explains his perspectives …
Pauli launched the Zero Emissions Research and Initiative (Zeri) platform. A global network to expand your ideas. Since then, it has created 50,000 jobs and more than 1,500 companies, with projects such as the cultivation of high-quality edible mushrooms with coffee residues, biodegradable detergents with orange peel residues or the transformation of gas stations into stations to recharge electric vehicles. .
“I can't bear the logic that junk food is the cheapest and healthy is the most expensive. All my projects are economic, sustainable and social »…
What is the difference between blue economy or green economy?
The green economy requires businesses to invest more and consumers to pay more to get the same in exchange for preserving the environment. The blue economy consists of understanding waste as resources and seeking solutions inspired by nature's design.
The principles of Blue Economy
Gunter Pauli, defines the blue circular economy such as the ability to respond to everyone's basic needs with what they have, introducing nature-inspired innovations, generating multiple benefits, including jobs and social capital, offering more with less.
The infographic produced by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation illustrates the concept.
The blue economy or blue economy is based on several principles that distinguish a different way of seeing business, sustainable entrepreneurship and innovations.
- The solutions are mainly based on the basic laws of physics. The decisive factors are the pressure and the temperature, as they are in a place.
- Replace "something" with "nothing." Question each resource wondering if it is really indispensable for production.
- In nature, nutrients, energy or materials are always reused. Waste or garbage does not exist. Each product can be the basis of a new product.
- Nature has been able to evolve from a few species to a rich biodiversity. Wealth really means diversity. Industry standards are the opposite.
- Nature creates entrepreneurs who do more with less. Nature opposes the aptitude for monopolization.
- The force of gravity is the main resource we need for energy, the second renewable resource is solar energy.
- Water is the main soluble (instead of complex, toxic and chemical catalysts)
- Nature is subject to constant change.
- Nature works only with what is available locally. The sustainable economy not only respects natural resources, but also culture and tradition.
- Nature is oriented towards basic needs and then goes from mere satisfaction to overproduction. The current economic model is based on scarcity as the starting point for production and consumption.
- Natural systems do not develop in linear processes.
- In nature everything is degradable, depending only on the weather.
- In nature, everything is connected and developed in a symbiotic way.
- In nature, air, water and soil are common goods, freely accessible and available in abundance.
- In nature a process has multiple uses.
- Natural systems have risks. Every risk is a motivator for innovation.
- Nature is very efficient. Therefore, the sustainable economy makes the most of available materials and energy, producing a low price for the consumer.
- Nature seeks the best possible for all those involved.
- In nature, disadvantages turn into advantages. Problems are opportunities.
- Nature pursues the advantages of diversification. A natural innovation provides a multitude of benefits for everyone.
- It responds to basic needs with what it has, develops innovations inspired by nature itself, creates multiple benefits for all, as well as employment and social capital, offers more with less.
From the following link, you can see projects worldwide based on this trend.
As you can see in the principles of the Blue Economy, it is a current strongly inspired by nature, which seeks to avoid waste, taking advantage of everything available from an intelligent, innovative and creative perspective.
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