Meet basic needs first

Once we clearly understand the concepts of a portfolio of opportunities and the Commons, we need to set clear priorities. Are we supporting a society where people are only considered to be consumers with purchasing power, or are we imagining a society where human dignity is respected by ensuring that all have access to the bounty offered by Nature, and that the basic needs of all are met, without endangering future generations from enjoying the same? The Blue Economy first and foremost steers innovation and entrepreneurship towards initiatives that respond to the basic needs of all with whom we share life on this planet. The United Nations World Social Report 2025 confirms that more than a third of the world’s population lives on between US$2.15 and US$6.85 a day. Even a minor setback can push people into extreme poverty. As far as water, food, shelter, employment and health care are concerned, approximately 25% of the world's population is neglected by the globalised economy and live in poverty. After decades of gradual improvements, we are witnessing the last few years worsening statistics.

Decades of deregulation, privatisation, and austerity have sparked social backlash, sowing distrust and political anger. Even more disconcerting is the fact that 50% of the world's youth is excluded from it. Only one out of every two young people has a chance of ever earning a decent wage. Under the current business model, we run the risk that half of the world’s young people will remain unemployed, searching for opportunities elsewhere, causing massive waves of emigration, tempted by easy money from drugs, extortion or sex trade. A major portion of those who do have jobs, do not earn enough to buy a house over a lifetime.

Many great initiatives already exist with the aim of improving resource efficiency, reducing the impact of climate change, cutting pollution levels, or eliminating toxins. What sets The Blue Economy apart is that every project designed, supported, implemented or participated in, has a direct and traceable reach to the currently unreached. Being circular is not enough, as it improves the competitiveness of industry but it does not respond to the basic needs of all. We know, through experience, that applying systems design and using portfolios of opportunities, all can be reached and all could benefit.

The power of systems design lies in the fact that one initiative has the potential to respond to many needs at the same time. When we embarked on the production of earthquake resistant housing in the Andean highlands using a variety of local species of bamboo, we responded to the urgent need for shelter. Creating 50 prefabricated one-family houses per day (which sold at approximately US$ 1,000 per unit), required planting 2,000 hectares of bamboo to guarantee the supply of these renewable building materials. Once the bamboo had grown to 25 metres, which takes about three years, it was harvested. While this was happening the area started producing filtered water, as contaminated effluent from the informal settlements situated higher up in the highlands was purified. The social housing initiative responded to the needs for housing, water and jobs.

In investigating the production of paper from crushed stone, a residue product of mining, our aim was not only to offer a locally produced alternative to internationally traded paper manufactured from tree cellulose, but also to reduce the carbon footprint of paper manufacture. As the manufacture of stone paper requires no trees and very little water, this initiative relieves the pressure on sources of potable water and releases massive land resources. These land resources can now be used for restoring indigenous forests or expanding farm land that produces food for the local population. As a result of this systemic approach, supported by computer modelling, this initiative succeeded in producing paper that is competitive in price and quality, while saving 20 trees and 60 tonnes of water per tonne of paper produced, and consuming 60% less energy. Now that we no longer require trees for making paper, ecosystems can be liberated from monocultures such as pine and eucalyptus plantations that are known as ‘empty forests’ and which have led to the depletion of top soil, without any measures having been put in place to replenish the nutrients for generations to come.

While paper is not considered a basic need, its current production model impacts adversely on the ability to provide water and food for local use. The manufacture of stone paper on the other hand, improves living conditions as it contributes to minimising the adverse effects of the mining process, by eliminating tailing dams that subject the local population to dust and to acid leaching into waterways. It helps reducing the fine airborne dust that is a proven cause of respiratory diseases. The latest innovation permits crushed rocks to be blended with synthetic or renewable polymers and air, reducing the average weight of stone paper to that of cellulose paper. The stone paper project therefore is not only an opportunity to generate value from waste. In addition, it offers opportunities to improve water supply and air purity, make land available for food production and enhance living conditions – while generating one hundred jobs for every 100,000 tonnes of rock converted into stone paper, a product that is 100% recyclable indefinitely, without requiring de-inking or without competing for water.