WHAT IS THE ECONOMY?
Planet Water
Human well-being, sustainable development and economic growth depend on healthy oceans. They significantly influence our climate as well as weather and are among our most important buffer systems. Their phytoplankton produce as much oxygen as land plants, and yet they are the least understood of the world's largest ecosystems and in many ways more unknown to us than the moon.
Beyond the shelf areas (shallow coastal regions up to 200 m water depth), oceans are still poorly understood, despite the fact that more than 200 million people live on the coast and more than a billion people rely directly on the ocean as the world's largest food source. We call our planet Earth, even though it is 70 % covered with water and should really be called Planet Water.
The Call for Action of the UN Ocean Decade
As awareness needs to be raised for the relevance of the world's largest ecosystem (80 % of all life is found in oceans), we advocate for business partner of the UN Ocean Decade to shape oceans the way we need for the future: healthy, full of life, with protected areas – but also as sustainably used economic areas. In the Business Working Group, we support the German Ocean Decade Committee as the only business consultancy and ensure that the goals of the UN Ocean Decade are reflected in our work with businesses.
Oceans and Economy go Hand in Hand
We need solidarity between business and the oceans. The Oconomy approach helps companies to take into account the needs of the oceans in their economic decisions, thereby preserving the largest ecosystem on earth and one of the most important economic factors. If the oceans were an economy, they would be the seventh largest in the world.
The economy is based on three main pillars:
What will become important in the medium and long term for companies whose core business has a direct connection to water or the sea, or none at all?
One thing is certain: the time when this issue only affected the former is over. That's why we helped two major German soccer clubs – FC Augsburg and HSV – to holistically design their sustainability strategy. In the process, the topic of water became a central focus. With AUDI, we also defined the topic of water as a key issue in the context of the MISSION:ZERO environmental strategy in production and designed and moderated various workshops on the topic of water.
Together with the Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging (Fraunhofer IVV), we have developed a Sustainable Innovation Process for the innovation space NewFoodSystems – one of four innovation spaces in the "Bioeconomy Innovation Spaces" program of the "National Research Strategy Bioeconomy 2030" of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). The Sustainable Innovation Process (SIP) is suitable for innovations in both the product and service sectors and, thanks to its modular structure, can be used both for innovation projects that are still at the very beginning as well as for those that are already one step further along in their development.
Companies committed to the marine ecosystem are becoming increasingly attractive to investors. No wonder, given that the global gross value added of key marine sectors such as tourism, shipping, fisheries, aquaculture and renewable marine energy was already estimated by the OECD at US$1.5 trillion in 2010. By 2030, this figure is expected to reach $3 trillion, with some marine industries growing faster than the global economy. Funds focus, for example, on companies that help curb ocean acidification, reduce marine pollution, and those involved in sustainable use of marine resources, ecosystems, and sustainable fisheries. These include companies that contribute to ocean health and focus on sustainable consumption, reducing carbon emissions, and preventing water pollution. There is also a focus on ocean-dependent sectors such as shipping and ports, energy and resources, coastal tourism, and aquaculture.
Avoiding stakeholders is no longer an option
The demands of external stakeholders are putting companies under increasing pressure. These demands are not only superficial – as they are most visible – such as not adding plastic to the oceans, but also much more complex – such as not participating in deep-sea mining or curbing ocean acidification. Companies are increasingly being confronted with these demands, regardless of whether or not their core business has a direct connection to water or the ocean. If companies do not meet these demands, but try to avoid them, they will encounter problems on the financial market at the latest: initially only through poorer ratings, but in the future also through refusal to be included in so-called Blue Economy funds, for example.
How we support companies
We support companies in the need of the hour: anticipating demands instead of avoiding them. Those who confront demands are ready to embark on a search for strategies and innovative solutions. The latter in particular help companies that understand the principle of economy to gain competitive advantages and a stronger positioning – also on the financial market. We show you how to anchor ocean protection in your sustainability strategy, how to achieve sustainable innovations in your company, and how to gain attractiveness for investors and capital providers.
Grasping OCONOMY
