Skip to Content
Gunter Pauli

Speaker Gunter Pauli Entrepreneur, economist and pioneer of the Blue Economy

Creator of the Blue Economy concept, Gunter Pauli has spent more than thirty years developing economic models that combine innovation, performance, job creation and ecosystem regeneration.

Languages
Dutch / Nederlands, English (US), French / Français
Duration
De 45 minutes à deux heures
Formats
Conference, International Keynote, Masterclass, Strategic Workshop, Fireside Chat, Panel Discussion, Conference-Debate

Biography

Belgian entrepreneur, economist and author Gunter Pauli created the Blue Economy concept. For more than thirty years, he has developed and implemented economic models that combine innovation, performance, jobs and ecosystem regeneration.

Turning constraints into opportunities

For Gunter Pauli, the ecological transition should not be limited to reducing, offsetting or consuming less. It should enable us to do better with what is already available. Waste, local resources, by-products and constraints can become the starting points for new economic models.

Innovating like nature

In an ecosystem, the waste of one species becomes a resource for another. Gunter Pauli applies this logic to business. His ambition is to create systems in which each resource generates multiple uses, multiple revenue streams and greater local value.

From idea to proof

A former executive at Ecover, he founded ZERI – Zero Emissions Research and Initiatives in 1994. From agriculture and energy to materials, water, food and health, Blue Economy projects aim to demonstrate that radically different solutions can also work economically.

A laboratory for innovation

With PORRIMA, a laboratory vessel using solar energy, hydrogen and kite propulsion, and through his work on LiFi, Gunter Pauli seeks to show that technological innovation and ecological regeneration can move forward together.

What if nature were our best innovation laboratory?

— Gunter Pauli
Would you like to invite Gunter Pauli to your event?

Conferences

Gunter Pauli does not simply ask companies to reduce their impact: he challenges them to create more value with fewer resources while regenerating ecosystems.

01

The Blue Economy

Turn constraints into opportunities

What if waste did not exist? Gunter Pauli shows how underused resources can become new businesses, new jobs and new revenue streams. A radically different approach to ecological transition.

  • Turn waste into resources
  • Create multiple revenue streams from one flow
  • Reduce costs and dependencies
  • Develop local activities
  • Reconcile ecology and economics
Ideal for Executive committees, innovation, industry, CSR and conventions
Format Conference or Keynote · De 45 minutes à deux heures
02

Let us be as intelligent as nature

3.8 billion years of innovation are already in front of us.

Comment pouvons-nous produire sans déchets, utiliser moins d'énergie et construire de la résilience ? La nature résout ces problèmes depuis des milliards d'années. Gunter Pauli montre comment les entreprises peuvent apprendre des systèmes vivants pour concevoir de nouveaux produits, processus et modèles commerciaux.

  • Observe before inventing
  • Learn from ecosystems
  • Reduce dependencies
  • Create simple local solutions
  • Turn constraints into innovation
Ideal for Innovation, industry, design, foresight and transformation
Format Conference or Keynote · De 45 minutes à deux heures
03

Zero waste, multiple revenue streams

What if every by-product became a new business?

A conventional company seeks to optimise its main product. Nature works differently: every flow feeds several other activities. Gunter Pauli shows how to move from a linear model to a genuine economic ecosystem.

  • Identify untapped resources
  • Multiply revenue streams
  • Create new value chains
  • Reduce waste
  • Turn costs into assets
Ideal for Industry, food and agriculture, circular economy, innovation and entrepreneurs
Format Conference or Masterclass · De 45 minutes à deux heures
04

Regenerating territories

Create wealth from what already exists locally

And if the competitiveness of a territory started with its own resources? Gunter Pauli shows how raw materials, know-how, waste streams, and local needs can create new entrepreneurial ecosystems.

  • Create local jobs
  • Make better use of available resources
  • Develop new value chains
  • Strengthen territorial resilience
  • Connect economy, environment and inclusion
Ideal for Local authorities, territories, chambers of commerce, institutions, local companies and economic development actors
Format Conference or Keynote · De 45 minutes à deux heures
05

Disruptive technologies serving living systems

From LiFi to hydrogen-powered vessels

The transition will not happen solely by optimizing existing technologies. LiFi, new energy systems, innovative materials, and maritime propulsion: Gunter Pauli presents solutions capable of transforming our infrastructures.

  • Discover disruptive innovations
  • Anticipate technological transformation
  • Combine performance and resource efficiency
  • Rethink existing infrastructure
  • Move from prototype to system
Ideal for Innovation, industry, energy, mobility and foresight
Format Conference or Keynote · De 45 minutes à deux heures
06

Inspiring the next generation

Teach children to think like solution entrepreneurs

How can we prepare younger generations to solve problems adults have failed to solve? Through Gunter's 365 Fables, Gunter Pauli uses stories inspired by science, nature and real innovations to develop curiosity, creativity and systems thinking.

  • Develop systems thinking
  • Stimulate curiosity and creativity
  • Learn to search for solutions
  • Encourage an entrepreneurial mindset
  • Create the desire to act
Ideal for Education, institutions, universities, foundations, CSR and youth programmes
Format Conference or Fireside Chat · De 45 minutes à deux heures

For which events?

Gunter Pauli speaks at the key moments where people, performance and impact matter.

  • Seminars and conventions
  • Leadership committees and strategic talks
  • Product launches
  • CSR and climate events
  • Institutions, schools and universities

Possible formats

Formats adaptable to your goals and context.

  • Inspiring talk
  • Impactful keynote
  • Participative workshop
  • Panel
  • Webinar

Why choose them?

A unique experience serving strong, useful messages.

  • Field experience backing the message
  • Authentic and inspiring stories
  • Human, demanding and accessible approach
  • Tailored content aligned with your stakes
Would you like to invite Gunter Pauli to your event?

Videos

Discover Gunter Pauli in action on the Blue Economy, nature-inspired innovation and turning waste into new sources of value.

Looking for more content or a specific clip? Contact us
Ecological innovation in practice 2:01:33
Conference clip

Ecological innovation in practice

How can environmental constraints become drivers of innovation, employment and economic performance?

Watch video
TEDxTaipei — Innovating like nature 14:00
Conference clip

TEDxTaipei — Innovating like nature

Gunter Pauli montre comment les écosystèmes peuvent inspirer les entreprises à créer plus de valeur avec moins de déchets et moins de ressources.

Watch video
Turning waste into opportunities 18:14
Conference clip

Turning waste into opportunities

A concrete demonstration of how the Blue Economy turns local resources and by-products into new engines of growth.

Watch video

Want to feature Gunter Pauli at your next event?

Our team helps you craft a tailored intervention, aligned with your goals and your audience.

Publications

  • The Blue Economy — Turning waste into resources and constraints into opportunities
  • The Blue Economy 5.0 — Doing much more with what the Earth already produces
  • Let Us Be as Intelligent as Nature! — Learning from living systems to innovate differently
  • Gunter’s Fables — 365 stories to explore nature, understand science and become an agent of change
Would you like to invite Gunter Pauli to your event?

Workshops

Find value where no one is looking

Participants identify waste, unused resources and secondary flows in their activity. Objective: turn a constraint into an economic opportunity.

Think like an ecosystem

Products, suppliers, customers, resources and territories are considered as components of an interdependent system. Objective: move beyond linear thinking.

Create multiple revenue streams from one resource

Les équipes explorent comment multiplier les usages et les chaînes de valeur autour d'une ressource existante. Objectif : concevoir de nouveaux modèles commerciaux.

Innovate with what we already have

A reflection on the resources immediately available within the company or its territory. Objective: move from dependency to resilience.

Would you like to invite Gunter Pauli to your event?