Hello! My name is Patty Kluytmans. I recently moved to The Hague and in 2013 with four others I founded Bright Future Lab. In this blog I would like to share with you how Bright Future Lab can help you to contribute to a Blue Economy
Bright Future Lab was founded because we were triggered by Gunther Pauli’s Blue Economy. We all feel that as human beings we’ve created impressive innovations and developed ourselves in intelligent ways. However, we’ve also created an economic system with many negative side effects, such as climate change, extinction of species, and unequal division of wealth. It is essential that we rethink our economic system and we believe a better system can be created!
Blue Economy: Inspired by Nature
The Blue Economy sees nature as its teacher being that nature is a concept that has proven itself over the past 3,8 billion years. Nature turns out to be quite genius. It consists of structures in which the players are interdependent of one other; an ecosystem. Hence, the players need to cooperate to make the ecosystem as a whole stronger, which in its turn benefits all players within the ecosystem. This is a bit of a contrast with our current competition model in which, in many cases, the gain of one becomes the loss of another. In nature, waste does not exist, because waste products are used by other players within the ecosystem.
Unfortunately, our current economic system functions quite differently and we feel it needs to change into a system that is inspired by nature, that is based on ethics and is economically viable.
Blue Café
So, we decided, if we want to change our current system, there is work to do! To spread the word, we organize a ‘Blue Café’ regularly. At the Café, we work with groups on several Blue Economy issues. We also organize Blue Economy courses, workshops, guest lectures, and network events.
Recently we organized our first ‘systems session’ with a group of entrepreneurs. Our aim at these gatherings is to discover how entrepreneurs can strengthen one another. So we start with a focus on the waste streams. How can the waste stream(s) of one be turned into valuable input for the other? An example is RotterZwam. They recycle used coffee grounds to grow oyster mushrooms. The CO2 and warmth that the oyster mushrooms produce is used by another startup that is trying to grow algae. Another example includes this beer brewery:
Let’s Make a Change Together!
As Bright Future Lab we can help put you on a ‘different thinking track’ to gain more knowledge of the Blue Economy, biomimicry, and systems thinking. Or, we can help you start functioning as an ecosystem with other entrepreneurs in your area. We have to discover the path together. Nobody has all the answers, but together we can collaborate, learn, develop knowledge and be successful!
Do you want to know more? Contact us at brightfuturelab@gmail.com. Interested in a Blue Café? Visit the site of Bright Future Lab for more information, they will soon organize a Blue Café in The Hague so stay tuned on their Facebook page.
Bright Future Lab: Jules Rijnierse, Patty Kluytmans, Désirée Driesenaar and Saskia Verbunt (from left to right)
Gunther Pauli's Blue Economy in a Nutshell
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