1

On Gunter Pauli’s Strategic Business

Model of the Blue Economy
Thierry De Mees

e-mail: thierrydemees @ telenet.be

Prof. Gunter Pauli’s statement “10 years, 100 innovations, 100 million jobs” is not an appeal to the govern-
ments, but to each of us. His methodology and strategy for designing business models based upon his Blue Econo-
my paradigm is discussed here. When comparing this model to the classic problem solving models, we find a po-
tential for an exponential improvement of strategic successes. The amazing rules that makes this model work are
further analyzed.

Keywords: Blue Economy, Gunter Pauli, business model, business strategy.

1. Gunter Pauli’s Blue Economy In this paper, we will discuss Gunter Pauli’s Blue Economy
method, “Case 100”, to create new business models. It appears to
Pauli’s book “Blue Economy, 10 years, 100 innovations, 100 be an amazing methodology to generate cash flows.
million jobs”, based upon the idea of a sustainable green
The methodology and the study that follows is based upon a
economy, is a bestseller.
three-day workshop, given by Prof. Gunter Pauli in Belgium on
The Blue Economy is a comprehensive model and business December 6, 7 and 8, 2012 at the GreenVille site.
concept that was founded by Gunter Pauli and that is conti-
Gunter Pauli considers his Blue Economy as open source, so,
nuously inspirited by himself and by hundreds of trained col-
this information is a public property.
leagues.
Like the term suggests, the Blue Economy supports the values 2. General principles
contained in ecology, often named “green” ideology in politics,
We need to find some opportunities for the creation of new
but goes far beyond it by connecting and merging this ideology
business, cash flows and jobs. There are two points of view: the
to the business profit and so, and thus guarantees the sustainabil-
first is a general principle, the second a cyclical tactic.
ity of our economy in a way that it is not forbidden to consume.
1) Abundance principle
This means that the Blue Economy is not known as a defen-
sive system against the excessive exploitation of our resources, The aim of humanity is that the abundance which some of us
nor as a central regulating organism, nor as a cost-ineffective own, would become commons. The best way to obtain this is by
substitution system of nature-incriminating processes, imposed augmenting the global assets.
by the authorities or by lobbies. Which assets do we need to augment? Firstly, the basic needs
Instead, it is known as a legacy that innovates the existing of humans: clean water, clean air, clean food, energy, resources,
business models and allows the reorientation of existing cash health, employment, housing...
flows and unused assets in the economy in an auto-regulating 2) Crisis approach
way, while it performs durability of the resources and energy In times of crisis, we have to win back the lost assets. The
and sustains the ecology systems. Moreover, the creation of these current crisis made 50 million jobs in developing countries
cash flows is within everyone's reach. disappear. The Blue Economy uses the technique of reallocation
Blue Economy business models are mainly driven by innova- of the lost assets.
tions, but that doesn’t necessary mean high tech. The ingenuity
of knowledge ‘hidden’ in Earth’s nature is the greatest source of
inspiration.

1
3. Setting-up a Blue Economy business model It is clear that in comparison with classic problem solving, the
probability of opportunities increases dramatically.
Prof. Pauli first starts from a target, the problem, through a
“pain analysis”. Then, he applies his technique “Scan, screen, and If one uses a multidisciplinary team of people to scan the
implement”. The pain analysis and these three phases are briefly problem, the problem list as well as the number of possible con-
explained below. nections will increase.
One discovery that resulted from such a screening was that
3.1. The pain analysis: where does it hurt?
coffee ground are not manure but substrate for mushrooms. Cof-
In order to find business potential, the first step is to identify fee ground consists of about 2000 different molecules whereof
unhealthy business situations. In these situations the willingness some have coloring properties and some even have deodorant
to listen and change is likely to be high. Thus, the method to find properties, which can be integrated in sports clothing.
business potential is to determine where it hurts. Because when it Another example is the pain “overfishing”. Here, we also
hurts, there probably is a will to remove that pain (and to pay for added, besides typical problems and pains, typical needs, which
it). Generally it hurts where the losses accumulate. can be seen as “soft pains”. The reader will immediately find
Such situations may be indicated by financial losses or large some connections.
companies closing down production units, leading to unem-
Omega 3 Energy
ployment and a deteriorating local economy. Another indicator is
the abundant presence of waste at the end of a process. Like in
nature, Blue Economy considers that the waste of a process is Overfishing
Nutrition Fuel
potentially a nutrient for another process. A typical Blue
Economy example is the puddle of coffee from large cafe and
restaurant chains. There can be the preparedness to provide you
Transport
Freshness Taste
the funds of these costs, if you come with an attractive plan. And
when collected, this coffee ground could provide a perfect and
Shipyards
free resource to generate additional revenue.
The result of this “pain chart” is further discussed in this pa-
3.2. Phase 1 : the Scan: the clustering of problems.
per.
In classic problem solving, the first thing we do is to analyze Each of the connections is a potential for cash flow. The more
the problem and to solve the problem or to look for opportuni- out-of-the-box the problems and the needs are, the more is the
ties. Here, we don’t. We only open the case by putting other probability for cash flow. While classic and vertical problem solv-
problems (“pains”) next to it. ing reaches a 1 to 1 probability of cash flow, and sometimes
Example: The problem is manure. create new problems, the new method allows to combine many
Opening this problem with other problems and pains gives: of them. The more open the multidisciplinary team of people
(techniques, finance, law, biology, etc), the higher the probability
Income Energy Meat for out-of-the-box thinking and for successful screening and im-
waste plementing.
Building
Agriculture Manure A third example: the problem is the closing of an automobile
materials
factory in an affected region, where a glass bulb factory has
Odor difficulties and where too ineffective coalmines were closed, but
Transport
Nutrition Insulation where lots of white sand are available. Some connections are
shown below.
And so on… The list is far from complete.
The other problems can be related to it or preferably, out of
Automobile Glass bulbs Mining
the box.
Then, connections between the problems have to be made. A Glass supply Energy
few are drawn below:

Income Energy Meat Insulation

waste supply Housing
Building 12 V DC
Agriculture Manure materials supply
Transport Odor The connections here suggest a possible use of 12 Volt DC
Nutrition Insulation technology in houses, thus avoiding electrocution risks. Glass can
be used for housing material. Heat can be extracted from coal
mines, and so on.
2
 RULES: into new raw materials. Coffee-grounds must not be incinerated
1) Define the main pain. but can be reused as manure for mushrooms.
2) Create a multidisciplinary team. It is even possible to get cash out of branding the waste.
3) Extend to other pains, whether or not directly connected. Starbucks in Spain makes publicity for their choice of depositing
4) Cluster and integrate pains together. their coffee-grounds to the mushroom agriculture.
Taking all these arguments together, it will not even need to
3.3. Phase 2 : the Screening: identifying the cash flows. have a business plan to build.

When the first problem, the pain, has been extended to a sys- It is always better to not get all the protagonists gathered for
tem of pains and needs, it is time to put the multidisciplinary a contract, because some of them can be suspicious, influenced,
team on the assignment of a detailed screening of possible oppor- and so on. One sole member can turn the project down. Some
tunities of cash flows. The key is mostly technology, but not al- will say: “I will only go for it if the others do too”. Then, it is
ways high tech. The Blue Economy also looks at the animal useful to get conditional commitments from all the individual
world and at nature. How does it happen there? participants: the problem company, the banker, the supplier, the
customers of new cash flows, and the multidisciplinary team you
Other kinds of opportunities are found, in the case of sectors
are working in. Therefore, you can make a conditional contract
and businesses in crisis, by reallocating the production to another
between the team and each of the protagonists, which states that
sector than the original. It is possible to manufacture glass foam
the signatory agrees with the project if all of the other partners
as a construction material, extract heat and methane from
will sign their conditional contract. When all the contracts are put
inactive coal mines, provide houses with safe DC current,
together, you get a contract for the whole group of protagonists.
avoiding so electrocution and so on.
Do you need to be a millionaire to implement such a concept?
Don’t necessarily think big, small and multiple is better. The
Not at all! Don’t buy the cripple business nor demand to get the
chances of success come from the local business community, with
money flows through your bank account. Just get strongly
short delivery times, and prevent unnecessary transport.
involved. At least, you can show the success of your participation
Don’t create the waves, but surf on the waves. In other in your records. And maybe someone will propose you to stay a
words, use what you get right there, in your region, at your few years to help running one or more of the new cash flows.
immediate reach.
Another very important thing is to not go public and to stay
RULES: invisible as long as possible for new strategies and
1) Define multiple cash flows. implementations: your plans, how positive they might be, will
2) Make business shifts to other sectors. always disturb some others, which are powerful enough to
3) Make small, clustered projects. destroy them.
4) Use what you have; don’t create new uncertainties.
RULES:
5) Think and act local so you can deliver fast.
1) Find responsible protagonists with a pain, for recovering
6) Check the feasibility on the short, medium and long
the existing costs (waste).
term.
2) Find responsible protagonists with pain (bankers), for
3.4. Phase 3 : Implement: the Financial Plan. (re)financing. Argue on the risk-lowering by the multiple
cash flows and the shift of sector.
A decreasing profit due to competition, or due to a crisis,
3) If applicable, find responsible authorities with budgets
causes high risks to the stake holders and the bankers. And the
that are already approved.
ones who are feeling the pain are the bankers who will soon have
4) Don’t let the money go through your bank account.
to write-off the costs of a company having difficulties.
5) Choose preferably family businesses to get involved in.
So, the business partner can be the banker of the credit com- 6) Try the branding of new cash flows.
mittee, because the banker needs his bonus to be safeguarded. 7) Stay invisible.
When you are able to change the business sector of the
problem business, you can strongly reduce the risks, and create 4. Results of the Blue Economy
stable new cash flows. There are more than 180 innovations up to now that have
Other sources of financing through the local authorities are to been gathered by Gunter Pauli and that are typical examples of
cash the CO2-neutrality of your project, the added value, the the Blue Economy. Probably, much more unknown projects exist.
creation of jobs, and avoiding delocalization. For example, the topic of overfishing resulted in the invention
The best partners, having lack of ideas or of future vision, of a modern catamaran with rigid sails and dual-function water-
and willing to change their policy, are the family businesses. and photovoltaic cells that generate electricity and hot water,
which is propelled without fuel, and captures fish without nets,
Other financing can be found by cashing the costs of burning
the same way as whales and dolphins hunt the fish shoals.
or liquidating the waste of processes, by transforming the waste
The catamaran makes circles and releases air bubbles out of a
large vertically immerged ring that confines the fish and make
3
them rise upwards, except the larger ones that can escape, so that - To give preference to what is locally available: the
procreation still continues. This new fishing boat keeps the fish money, the people, the waste, the factories.
alive and asleep at low temperature, due to the cooling capacity The levers that are created by Pauli’s practical strategy to set
of the circulating water in the dual-function water- and up a business model, are the exponential increase of the chances
photovoltaic cells at night (reaching as low temperatures as 6°C of success by :
or 43°F). After the fishing, but still on the ship, the fish fillets are - The use of the working method of the “pains” to detect
made, the heads crushed for the extraction of omega 3, some fish opportunities;
smoked, and the bones processed. If only 2/3th of the waters is - The deployment of self-organizing multidisciplinary
fished in, sufficient fish remains to ensure sustainable fishing, groups;
forever. - The lowering of risk through the search for multiple cash
flows and a shift of sector;
- The use of existing resources: financing (costs of waste,
avoiding bankruptcy, etc), HR, production, raw
materials and waste;
It has already been stated in Pauli’s book that these concepts
are able to change the rules of the game and come to a new ma-
cro-economic order, by avoiding the ever-lasting private debt
culture and the auto-destroying competition, by avoiding the
chastening green politics, but instead by opening new business
niches and by engaging the entrepreneurship of all the citizens,
including the unemployed and the pensioners.
I cannot but promote this ideology and this strategy for
setting up business models, certainly from the theoretical point of
view, but also from the multitude of examples that have been
realized till now. Of course, the spreading of the ideas and me-
thodology is of utmost importance in order to start changing
Fig.1: Blue Economy example: CO2 emission-free Maréthix sardine globally.
fisher, 24 m x 12 m, that produces more energy than it consumes, and Everyone must be aware that he or she is potentially a Blue
that ensures sustainable fishing of shoal fish. Economy entrepreneur who can set up a multidisciplinary group
to not only eradicate pains by rethinking processes, but also to
generate new employment and new profits.
5. Discussion and conclusion
The concepts of the Gunter Pauli’s Blue Economy and its
References
strategies have some major global advantages: [1] Pauli G., "The Blue Economy", Paradigm Publications, USA, ISBN
- The aim of sharing the abundance by lowering the pric- 978-0-912111-90-2 (2010).
es, creating innovations, and jobs, to change basic needs [2] Case 100 of the innovations at :
into commons; http://www.theblueeconomy.org/blue/Innovations.html
- The aim of making a chain of ecosystems without waste; [3] http://www.gunterpauli.com
- The chance to involve all citizens; [4] http://www.zeri.org
- To create new and multiple niches and cash flows; [5] http://www.clubofrome.org