I have recently read an inspiring and extremely thought provoking book by Gunter Pauli called ‘The Blue Economy 3.0’. I would recommend the book to anyone who wants to promote economic development in an environmentally and socially sustainable way or who wants to just explore a better way we can do development and society overall. The Blue Economy approach is a more inclusive, sensible, smarter and inspired way for us to think about development and economic growth.

The book highlights the benefits of connecting and combining apparent unrelated environmental issues with scientific solutions that are focused on physics and geometry instead of our traditional chemistry and biological approaches which in most cases creates unintended consequences and problems. By basing industrial processes on processes common in the natural world we can create solutions that are both environmentally beneficial while also delivering financial and wider social benefits. The Blue Economy approach focusses on creating more value instead of the current business model of cutting costs.

The aim of the book is to inspire entrepreneurs to “adopt its insights, by demonstrating ways in which this can create economic benefits via job creation, reduced energy use, and more revenue streams from each step of the process, at the same time benefiting the communities involved”¹.

The book contains many examples of how and where the Blue Economy approach has been, or could be, implemented. One example that is used several times in the book is the utilisation of coffee waste. We only ingest 2-3% of coffee material so there is a lot of coffee waste produced. The left over coffee is generally burnt or goes to landfill. It is actually good for the garden and we’ve used the left coffee material from my partners work as a fertiliser. But if we were able to able to bring together all the coffee waste produced it makes a great substrate for growing mushrooms. If 1000 tonnes of coffee can then produce 1000 tonnes of mushrooms we have a whole new industry resultant of the initial coffee industry which can mean greater profit and less waste. Mushrooms are a great source of protein and a healthy food option that would be grown in a sustainable manner. Once the mushrooms have done there thing in the coffee the coffee material can then be used as animal feed which provides another use for the product.

The guiding principles of the Blue Economy approach are:

1. Be Continually Inspired by Nature

Natural systems cascade endlessly, and the term ‘waste’ has no meaning; as anything that is seemingly of no value for one is a desired item for another, without exception. This creates continuous flows – on which all life on earth depends.

Nature has the power to evolve, create what has not existed before, and to adapt to new realities by adding, out of nothing, what is required to exploit the opportunities or the needs that emerge within its boundaries.

Once we truly embrace Nature as out inspiration, we can transform our perceptions of the realities around us to see opportunities that were, in fact, right in front of us. We can now revise the logic of past approaches that rely on solutions derived from chemistry (designing new molecules) and biology (even designing new forms of life) to consider how the laws of physics and geometry determine much of life.²

• Develop Non-Linear Logic
• Optimise the System to the Benefit of all
• Build greater resilience through diversification
• Look to Physics First
• Go Beyond Organic and Biodegradable – Renewable is the New Goal

2. Change the Rules of the Game

The Blue Economy takes a radical approach that not only embraces change but actually designs for continuous change. The business models that emerge are open to change and ready for improvement. A Blue Economy approach advocates a portfolio-based approach to competition; multiple, interconnected revenue streams are established, such that the basis of competition is at the system level, rather than at a level of the individual product or service.²

• Discover Interconnected Problems as a Basis for Opportunities
• Shift from Standardisation to Diversification and Abundance
• Strengthen the Commons
• Meet Basic Need First
• Replace Something with Nothing
• Value Everything and Everyone
• Hold out for Health and happiness

3. Focus on what is Locally Available

The third set of principles focus on the core of the Blue Economy approach, which is to focus on what is available locally to design initiatives that can deliver multiple benefits. This is done by designing interventions where money is redirected back into communities, innovative approaches are taken to renew and create industries, and ethics is always at the core. In order to do we need to chance how we perceive economic opportunities, how we manage their scaling up and how we maintain control of their performance.²     

• Create Portfolios of Local Opportunities
• Design Initiatives with Multiple Cash Flows and Benefits
• Redirect the Flow of Money Back to Communities
• Look for Opportunities for the Capitalisation of Costs
• Revive Stranded Assets and Infrastructure
• Let Mathematics Design your Business Plans
• Always keep Ethics at the Core

4. See Change as the only Constant

The practitioners of the Blue Economy approach embrace change as the only constant in life and that we have to be prepared to unlearn what we have learned. We do have the curiosity to know and understand what we did not know and understand before.² 

It became apparent while reading the book that it applies some of the concepts and ideas that the Unchartered Leadership Institute promote for leadership and personal development.³ Some of the concepts and ways of thinking they promote include structured thinking, negative capability, beginners mind and the benefits of greater observation and appreciating multiple perspectives. I found that the Blue Economy Approach utilises these same ways of thinking to environmental issues and in trying to find new ways of using materials and creating greater returns and profits in sustainable ways. An example is the use of structured thinking which is a process of putting a framework to an unstructured problem, the framework in this case being the guiding principles as outlined above. An important facet of this approach is ensuring that the framework includes identifying multiple interpretations for a problem and the systems involved.  Furthermore, as identified in the Blue Economy, when we impose something on a natural and complex system there is certain to be unintended consequences. What Gunter Pauli promotes in his book without saying it in this manner and what the team at Unchartered Leadership Institute also advocate for is continually asking, “What else could be true?” This enables us to reduce the likelihood of unintended consequences from a leadership perspective, and from a Blue Economy Approach perspective it enables the exploration and linking of what previously may have been disparate issues but that can result in even greater environmental, economic and social benefits. This way of thinking and always exploring other perspectives opens ourselves to all the potential possibilities we could envisage.

Taking the idea of ‘perspective’ even further I was also fascinated by the Blue Economy approach and how it links to our need for a new renaissance and how it may influence what that may look like. Goldin and Kutarna in their book, “Age of Discovery – Navigating the Risks and Rewards of Our New Renaissance”, advocate for a new renaissance which requires perspective but it is something we currently lack and urgently need. With perspective we can better assert our own will upon the wider forces shaping the world. We need perspective to craft a compelling vision that connects the big drivers of change with our daily lives. Perspective is what enables each of us to transform the sum of our days into an epic journey.

The Blue Economy approach provides perspective that has a compelling vision, connects big drivers for change and enables us to assert a positive influence on the wider forces shaping our world. The Blue Economy approach will bring social cohesion and equity, sustainability and a way to transform our society to a better one while also providing an approach for us to withstand and confront our current global issues of climate change, environmental degradation and social inequity.

The pervasive perspective at the moment is one based on a corporate business paradigm and a neo-liberal ideology that dictates much of the political decision making in Australia as well as most western democracies.  It is apparent our Federal and State Governments have entrenched views and vested interests in the status quo remaining and don’t currently appear open to alternatives, we just have to look at how they are dealing, well not dealing with, climate change, renewable energy, social inclusion, the Murray Darling Basin, the list can go on.

Whilst the catalyst for implementing the Blue Economy approach will rely on entrepreneurs willing to embrace the approach there is a definite role for Local Government to become an advocate, facilitator and potentially an investor in implementing the Blue Economy approach within their local communities. For those of us living in regional Australia and working in Local Government this is an opportunity we can embrace to bring potentially substantial benefits for our communities while not being beholden to other global impacts we have no control over. This book has inspired me to think at what opportunities we may have here in the Riverland in South Australia. We are reliant on horticulture, producing wine grape, citrus fruits and almonds, is there a waste product from these industries that can be utilised for something else to create an industry? Is there an opportunity to create a whole new industry based on growing hemp and/or medical marijuana which are suitable crops for our climate while providing an alternative to cotton. These crops will also need to be processed into an array of products which could be the catalyst for new industries and opportunities.  Anyway, minds much greater than mine will be able to identify opportunities and determine their feasibility but I am convinced a Blue Economy approach should become our norm when considering opportunities to ensure a sustainable future for our communities.

On a more global and national level, one of the things I think about a lot is the need for a new ‘ism’, a new way for us to organise our society that not only encourages innovation and industry but is also equally striving for social and environmental equity.

As humanity we’ve rewritten our mission statement several times from animism, polytheism, monotheism and now scientific materialism. Bruce Lipton would tell us that ‘holism’ is our evolving paradigm, Peter Ellyard talks of ‘planetism’, I like the thought of a version of communitarianism. The Blue Economy Approach as detailed by Gunter Pauli is a compelling example of how we can organise and approach our lives and society in a better way.

The Blue Economy Approach has provided me with much inspiration and it has definitely provided me with another perspective and approach that will be a significant inspiration and driving element of the new ‘ism’ that I believe we need at a global scale but it’s also made me think of the opportunities that may exist for my own community at the local scale.

I thoroughly recommend the book to anyone who wants to contribute to a better future for our local and global communities.

For more information and to learn about the many successful examples of where the Blue Economy approach has brought tremendous benefit I recommend you visit the Blue Economy website at:

https://www.theblueeconomy.org/

Many thanks to Myles Fauser for lending me his copy of the book, much appreciated.

¹ Extracted from The Blue Economy website at https://www.theblueeconomy.org/

² Extracts from the book, ‘The Blue Economy 3.0’, 2017

³ I had the opportunity to attend the Executive Leadership Program through Local Government Professionals SA facilitated by Andrew Stevens, Diana Renner and Barry Bales from the Unchartered Leadership Institute in 2018