Water Footprint and Life Cycle Assessment: Strategies for Sustainability in Water Use
The blue bioeconomy, which promotes the sustainable use of marine and coastal resources to generate economic and environmental growth while preserving the health of aquatic ecosystems, has gained prominence as an essential strategy for tackling global challenges such as climate change, environmental degradation, and resource scarcity. The blue economy is therefore one of the main objectives of the European Green Deal, promoting sectors such as aquaculture, fisheries, clean energies, ecological maritime transport, shipbuilding, and coastal tourism. The European Green Deal also emphasizes the importance of research, skills, innovation, and cooperation between countries and users of the sea. It is in this context that entrepreneurship plays a central role, offering innovative and potentially scalable solutions to promote sustainability in marine ecosystems.
Entrepreneurship is an engine of innovation, transforming ideas into practical solutions. In the blue bioeconomy, entrepreneurs focus on creating technologies, business models and strategies to exploit marine resources responsibly. Areas such as marine biotechnology, sustainable aquaculture, offshore renewable energies and the fight against pollution have been the areas of greatest entrepreneurial initiatives.
Socio-economic development is also boosted by entrepreneurship in the blue bioeconomy, thus generating jobs and promoting social inclusion in coastal communities. Small ventures in sustainable fishing, eco-tourism and aquaculture have helped to diversify local economies and improve the quality of life in regions that depend heavily on marine resources.
Gender equality and opportunities in the sector, with young people and women playing a particularly important role, promote greater equity and encourage the participation of traditionally marginalised groups in the labour market. This social impact strengthens the economic resilience of communities and extends the reach of sustainable initiatives.
Entrepreneurship in the blue bioeconomy has great potential, but there are significant challenges that need to be overcome. Firstly, the lack of access to funding, the large European regulatory environment, which creates regulatory uncertainties. Also, the need for advanced technologies can hinder the emergence and growth of emerging businesses. Finally, I would emphasise that many entrepreneurs face barriers to validating their innovations in increasingly competitive and highly regulated markets.
On the other hand, I would emphasise the growing interest in ESG investments (translated as environmental, social and good corporate governance practices), which offer opportunities to overcome these barriers. It is important to create public policies that are favourable to entrepreneurship, boost public-private partnerships and strengthen support networks for entrepreneurs – these are the promising ways to foster the sustainable growth of the blue bioeconomy.
Entrepreneurship will certainly continue to be a determining factor in the advancement of the blue bioeconomy. The combination of technological innovation, sustainable business models and a robust support ecosystem will enable the sector to reach new heights. In addition, global awareness of the importance of protecting marine resources should attract more investors and consumers to initiatives aligned with the principles of the blue bioeconomy.
