Gunter Pauli

Summary

Gunter Pauli is an entrepreneur, economist, and author born in 1956 in Antwerp (Belgium). He is best known for his main work, The Blue Economy.[1]

Gunter Pauli
Born (1956-03-03) 3 March 1956 (age 68)
Antwerp, Belgium.
EducationINSEAD
Occupations
Known forThe Blue Economy
SpouseKatherina Bach
Children6 (five sons and one daughter)
Website
  • Official website

He has lived on 4 continents, is fluent in 7 languages, is a resident of Japan since 1994 and spends most of his time in South Africa.[2]

Biography edit

Gunter Pauli holds a degree in economics from Loyola University (today University of Antwerp) in 1979 in Belgium and an MBA from INSEAD at Fontainebleau (France) in 1982.[3][4]

Pauli’s entrepreneurial activities span culture, science, politics, business and the environment.[5][6] He is also a member of The Club of Rome and served three years since 2017 as an elected member of the Executive Committee.[7] Gunter Pauli has served as an advisor for governments in Spain,[8][9][10] Argentina[11][12] and Italy.[13]

 
Gunter Pauli visiting Shanghai, Blue Economy-10 Years 100 Innovations 100 Mil Jobs, November 2012

He has also worked as an author, notably of The Blue Economy. He assisted Aurelio Peccei, founder of the Club of Rome from 1979 to 1984 and later wrote a biography about him.[14]

In 1989 he was elected as an independent substitute to the European Parliament, but never took up the seat.[15]

Former chairman of Ecover, an ecological detergent company, before realizing in 1990 that its components – palm oil in particular – destroy primary forests, he is nicknamed the "Steve Jobs of sustainable development", or even the "Che Guevara of biodiversity ”, or “the apostle of sustainable growth ”.[16][17][18]

Blue Economy edit

Gunter Pauli is committed to design and implement a competitive business model which respond to people’s needs using what is locally available. He introduced “The Blue Economy” philosophy in 1994 when asked by the United Nations to reflect on the business models of the future in preparation for COP 3 in Japan where the Kyoto Protocol was decided.[19][20]

ZERI (Zero Emission Research Initiatives) edit

In 1994 Pauli founded the Zero Emissions Research Initiative (ZERI).[21]

Controversy edit

In particular, the ZERI Foundation signed an agreement in 2016 with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) of Quimper to develop the concept of blue economy on the territory of the CCI. The CCI thus planned to pay €500,000 to the foundation for the identification and development of projects and job creation on the territory. In July 2018, the CCI announced the end of the agreement with the Foundation, questioning[22] [23] the content of the service provided by the Foundation.

In 2020 he made the headlines in the Italian press for controversial statements on the coronavirus,[24] including those – lacking scientific evidence – that see the 5G network connected to the Covid-19 epidemic.

References edit

  1. ^ "Interview with Gunter Pauli: next generation innovation and the Blue Economy". Eco-innovation Action Plan - European Commission. 14 July 2015.
  2. ^ "Gunter Pauli, Author".
  3. ^ "Gunter Pauli/More information".
  4. ^ "The Blue Economy/Gunter Pauli/Author Information".
  5. ^ "Gunter Pauli, Environmental entrepreneur, author & speaker".
  6. ^ "Gunter Pauli". 2019.
  7. ^ "Members".
  8. ^ "Tiny Spanish Island Nears Its Goal: 100 Percent Renewable Energy". text.npr.org.
  9. ^ Cala, Andrés (19 January 2011). "Tiny Spanish Island Has a Huge Stake in the Future (Published 2011)" – via NYTimes.com.
  10. ^ "El Hierro: Island of Hope | visionews.net". www.visionews.net.
  11. ^ "Plan A" (PDF). www.argentina.gob.ar. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  12. ^ "Cómo es el Plan A de la "economía azul" que aspira a transformar la Argentina". www.ambito.com.
  13. ^ "Se abbiamo fallito abbiamo diritto a chiedere perché: parola di Gunter Pauli".
  14. ^ "hypothesis.it".
  15. ^ Crols, Frans (29 November 2016). "Blauwe, rode of groene economie in de Lage Landen?".
  16. ^ "Gunter Pauli: From deep ecology to blue economy: Principles for new business models".
  17. ^ "Gunter Pauli, le "Steve Jobs du développement durable": "Il faut mieux tirer parti de ce que la nature nous offre"".
  18. ^ "Interview #1: GUNTER PAULI, le Che Guevara du développement durable".
  19. ^ "Gunter Pauli: From deep ecology to blue economy: Principles for new business models/".
  20. ^ "The Blue Economy Principles".
  21. ^ "Zero Emissions Research and Initiatives". ZERI.
  22. ^ "Blue economy. Divorce entre la CCI, Zeri et Gunter Pauli". Le Telegramme (in French). 2 July 2018. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  23. ^ Seznec, Erwan (8 October 2020). "Gunter Pauli, ce curieux gourou du développement durable qui fascine les Pays de la Loire". Mediacités (in French). Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  24. ^ "Contrordine: l'imprenditore che pubblica bufale sul Coronavirus non sarà consulente di Palazzo Chigi". Open (in Italian). 3 April 2020. Retrieved 11 February 2022.