Ocean and Circularity: A Shared Sea of Opportunities
In a world marked by uncertainty – from geopolitical crises and wars causing disruptions in global value chains – it becomes imperative to find sustainable, resilient, and innovative solutions that ensure not only human well-being but also the balance of our planet. The ocean, as a common heritage of humanity, offers untapped potential and a tangible promise in this journey of transition.
The importance of the ocean to society goes beyond the obvious. In addition to regulating the climate, providing oxygen, and serving as an essential food source for millions of people, the ocean is also a reservoir of biodiversity with growing strategic value for the blue bioeconomy. From marine biotechnology to pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and new sustainable materials, many solutions have emerged from scientific research, demonstrating disruptive applications aligned with the principles of circularity. In this context, the circular economy emerges as a critical model to pursue. By rejecting the linear “take, make, dispose” paradigm, the circular economy not only reduces consumption but also promotes resource regeneration, the extension of product life cycles, and the redesign of production systems to be environmentally positive². At sea, this translates into the prevention of pollution and negative environmental impacts, the valorisation of by-products from fishing and aquaculture, and the full utilisation of biological resources.
Building bridges between businesses, research centres, and universities – both nationally and internationally – is one of the key pillars for the success of the circular blue economy. The transversal and interdependent nature of the ocean makes it clear that no single actor can, alone, address global challenges or fully seize emerging opportunities. We are all connected to the sea, directly or indirectly, and it is through collaboration, shared knowledge, and the co-creation of solutions that we can develop effective, sustainable, and lasting approaches.
As stated by the World Economic Forum, embracing the circular economy is essential to ensure a regenerative future. The ocean offers that possibility: a natural platform for the development of products and services with a smaller ecological footprint, created based on efficiency, innovation, and respect for the planet’s limits. Now is the time to act with determination and vision. Protecting the ocean is more than an environmental urgency: it is an economic and social imperative. In an era of global challenges, the sea represents one certainty: a shared heritage of opportunities that, if preserved with intelligence and creativity, will allow us to build a fairer, more resilient, and bluer future.
In this context, the role of collaborative initiatives becomes inescapable. It is within this scenario of complexity and interdependence that B2E CoLAB positions itself as a strategic platform to accelerate science-based solutions with real applications in the blue economy. And it is precisely in this spirit that the theme of Blue Wink-E 2025 arises — “Ocean in Loop”. This gathering will be a privileged space to discuss practical solutions, effective policies, and business opportunities focused on the regeneration of natural systems and the mobilisation of collective intelligence — understood as the ability to bring together and articulate knowledge, experience, and skills from multiple actors to respond more effectively and collaboratively to global challenges. For the good of the planet and its people.
