For decades, green became a synonym for sustainability. It was adopted by the market through labels, certifications, and communication campaigns, until greenwashing* was identified, questioned, and progressively countered through regulation and enforcement. Will we see the same movement with blue?

Increasingly, we hear terms like Blue Economy in Portugal. This makes complete sense, given that our maritime territory is larger than our land territory, and we also have the possibility of extending the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles. This could increase the maritime area over which Portugal may exercise sovereign rights regarding the resources of the marine soil and subsoil from 1.7 to around 4.1 million km² (GEE, 2022).

The sea therefore represents an enormous economic opportunity. But it is precisely for this reason that we need to make an important distinction: being blue does not, in itself, mean being sustainable.

The term Blue Economy is used to describe economic activities related to the seas and oceans, whether traditional or emerging, such as fishing, aquaculture, maritime transport, ports and logistics, tourism, the naval sector, offshore exploration, and biotechnology, among many others.

This definition closely resembles the Portuguese concept of the Sea Economy (Economia do Mar). According to the Directorate-General for Maritime Policy (DGPM), this concept considers economic activities that use the sea, directly or indirectly, prioritising the value chain in which they operate. It includes activities located in maritime space, in coastal zones, and also in inland areas, provided they are related to the sea (INE, 2025).

We are thus faced with various economic activities and sectors that use the sea and its resources, often with their own objectives, value chains, and forms of use. There is, however, no single universal definition of the Blue Economy. The concept has evolved and, especially in the European context, is increasingly associated with sustainability. In this evolution, a more integrated view of these different activities also gains importance, grounded in planning, cooperation, and coordination between sectors that share the same space and the same resources. This association is particularly evident in public policy and in European funding opportunities.

But here a fundamental question arises: if an activity is blue, does that mean it is sustainable?

The answer is no.

In 2021, a study dedicated to the sustainability criteria of the Blue Economy set out to answer precisely this question. The work identified four fundamental dimensions for assessing the sustainability of blue activities: environmental, economic, social, and governance (CINEA, 2021).

In other words, a sustainable blue economy promotes economic growth, social inclusion, and improved livelihoods, while simultaneously ensuring the environmental sustainability of the natural capital of the oceans and seas.

And there is another important point: a blue activity does not begin or end at sea. Its value chain – from raw materials and energy to transport, processing, and final destination – also influences its performance. In the environmental pillar, tools such as Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) help us understand these impacts.

In other words, blue on its own describes the origin of the activity. Being sustainable does not necessarily mean performing equally across all four pillars. It means understanding the impacts and trade-offs of the activity in each of these dimensions, taking its context into account.

This is where the concept of bluewashing deserves attention. If blue begins to be used to convey an image of sustainability that is not backed by evidence, we will be facing the same problem we already know from greenwashing.

Being blue is not being sustainable. Blue is the starting point. Sustainability is what we need to demonstrate.

This is also where organisations like B2E CoLAB have a role to play: bringing science, business, and innovation closer together, promoting collaboration between different actors in the blue bioeconomy, and helping to ensure that new value chains are developed with sustainability as an integral part of the process – not merely as a feature associated with being “blue.”

*Greenwashing is the practice of conveying, through communication, marketing, or advertising, an image of environmental performance or benefit greater than what can actually be demonstrated, through vague, misleading, exaggerated, or insufficiently evidenced claims (EC, 2023).