Sustainable Innovations for the Blue Economy

Abstract

Nature needs constantly water for living but the global water resources are limited and unevenly distributed. At the continental level, America has the largest share of the world’s total freshwater resources followed by Asia Europe and Africa. Our aim is to present a conceptual framework for innovations concerning water management and water-related business opportunities. Based on that, our submission´s goal is to generate visionary concepts for different actors in water ecosystem. The framework for the study consists of futures research paradigm, network research in ecosystems, conditions of sustainability and new business opportunities in blue economy. This paper will give answers to the questions concerning the megatrends and their impacts on water use in long run, the main actors in water ecosystem context and finally concerning innovations can be developed for this purpose based on process, product, system or legislative and social innovations influencing on consumer behaviour?