In the last years, more and more often, it is heard about blue economy. A model of economic development, which aims to revolutionize the world economy through a sustainable approach. In this article, therefore, we will explain what the blue economy is and why it can really change the world economy.

What is the blue economy

The term blue economy, as is easy to guess, alludes to water, but goes beyond this element. It was introduced, for the first time in 2010, by the Belgian economist Gunter Pauli, in his book Blue economy. 10 years. 100 innovations. 100 million jobs. In those pages, Pauli introduces a new form of sustainable economy, similar to the green economy, but different from it. Let’s see why.

The blue economy: a definition

In the book, Pauli starts from a scientific discipline still little known: biomimesis. It deals with studying, and possibly imitating, the biological and biomechanical processes of the earth’s flora and fauna. In essence, scientists study nature to find solutions to be applied to human activities.
A well known example of this discipline is Velcro, that particular system of closure that uses a strip of hairy tissue and a strip of tissue equipped with hooks. This invention, introduced in 1941 by the Swiss engineer George de Mestral, was realized starting from the observation of some species of flowers that, seen under a microscope, had hooks that allowed them to “cling”, for example to the animal hair, to be dragged around favoring pollination.
Why is the concept of biomimesis so important in the blue economy? According to the Belgian economist, through the study of the functioning of the nature, it is possible to improve the techniques of production and transformation, with an important impact in different fields:

• economic: the possibility of exploiting new forms of production can help revitalize sectors in crisis and identify emerging sectors;
• social: this entrepreneurial dynamism can lead to an increase in the number of jobs, to the benefit of people;
• environmental: the improvement of production techniques, in the direction dictated by the blue economy, allows to reduce harmful emissions, to the benefit of the environment.

The difference between blue economy and green economy

This environmentalist vocation could lead to the exchange of the blue economy with the green economy. In reality, the first represents an evolution of the second: while the green economy asks companies to invest resources in reducing the environmental impact, the blue economy intends to completely eliminate emissions harmful to the planet, revolutionizing production systems through biomimesis. And of examples, in addition to Velcro, there are many: the architect Mick Pearce, using special mathematical models, has designed a building that, using the principles of construction of termitai, is able to cool itself. This is the Eastgate Building Centre in Harare, Zimbabwe, which has no ventilation system to cool the structure. This same approach can be applied in every production area, as we will see, also in the goods transport sector.

The blue economy and goods transport

A very interesting approach of the blue economy, in fact, is just that one tied to the transport and, in particular, to the transport of the goods. As said, the term blue economy alludes just to the important resource represented from the sea. Suffice it to think that, according to the estimates of the European Union, the maritime economy produces approximately 340 billion euros of turnover, giving work to 1.2 million people.

For this reason, in recent years, much has been done to identify a European definition of the blue economy, but also to promote this model of sustainable development. Specific projects, in fact, have been approved in order to favor the transit of the goods from the transport on road to the maritime transport. In this sense, intermodal transport plays a decisive role, i.e. that form of freight transport that combines different means (vehicles, trains, airplanes and ships) exploiting the specificities of each in order to reduce time, costs and environmental impact.

Despite what it may seem, Italy is one of the most advanced countries in this field. Suffice it to say that the fleet flying the tricolor, with a tonnage of 16.5 million gross tonnage, is among the largest in the world. This offers immense possibilities to reduce the environmental impact of national transport. In this field the SMET Group, also thanks to strategic partnerships, is at the forefront. Not only with regard to intermodal transport, but also with regard to the reduction of harmful emissions, adopting a fleet of vehicles with reduced environmental impact. But this, as we have seen, does not concern the blue economy.