This concept was proposed by G. Pauli, the founder of the "Zero emissions" initiative and represents a response to the basic needs of the population within the limits of available resources.. In the paper "The blue economy: 10 years. 100 innovations. 100 million jobs", he mentions that the blue economy differs from the green economy by a number of characteristics. First of all, "green" solutions are only for the very few and the very rich. Second, the green economy requires subsidies, becoming expensive and uncompetitive, providing investors with lower profits and forcing consumers to pay more.
The blue economy does not require subsidies, which is very important given the budget deficits faced by many developed countries. More than that, it proposes the application of low prices for high quality products. Since lower prices for goods of increased quality can only be obtained through the use of new technologies, the representatives of the blue economy propose the large-scale use of innovation and the development of the entrepreneurial spirit.
An example of entrepreneurship in the spirit of the blue economy is the one offered by G.Pauli: Only 0.2% of the biomass put in a cup of coffee is ingested, the rest is thrown in the trash. We developed a company in the Netherlands with 200 employees that collects this waste from cafes and uses it in mushroom growing. Instead of growing mushrooms on oak wood (you realize how expensive it is to get oak wood in Europe), we grow them on a coffee bed, which provides the necessary woody mass and stimulates growth. The caffeine in the coffee grounds makes the mushrooms mature in three months instead of nine, which greatly reduces the price of this luxury product. Note that the raw material is obtained for free, the cafes pay for the removal of these "leftovers".
"Every day, we will discover new inventions and exciting developments. Our goal is to inspire hundreds, thousands and even millions of entrepreneurs", Gunter Pauli.