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During the past few years, the term “Blue Economy” or “Blue Growth” has surged into common policy usage, all over the world. For some, Blue Economy means the use of the sea and its resources for sustainable economic development. For others, it simply refers to any economic activity in the maritime sector, whether sustainable or not.

Despite increasing high-level adoption of the Blue Economy as a concept and as a goal of policy making and investment, there is still no widely accepted definition of the term. To fill this gap in shared understanding about what characterises a sustainable Blue Economy, and to help ensure that the economic development of the ocean contributes to true prosperity, today and long into the future, WWF has developed a set of principles.

This report Reviving the Western Indian Ocean Economy: Actions for a Sustainable Future details the values of the ocean assets, the growing threats they face and the priority actions needed to provide a more certain and sustainable future for its people.

The report All Hands on Deck: Setting Course to a Sustainable Blue Economy in the Baltic Sea Region looks at the sea’s economic and environmental situation through the lens of a “SWOT” analysis — strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats — that is based on the Principles, and it proposes a set of action steps to realize this singular opportunity: the chance to create a global model of prosperity and environmental stewardship in the Baltic Sea region’s maritime economy.

Living Blue Planet Report: Species, Habitats and Human Well-being shows that populations have been reduced on average by half globally in the last four decades, with some fish declining by close to 75 percent. The latest findings spell trouble for all nations, especially people in the developing world.

The global demand for clean innovation – new technologies, products and practices that improve environmental performance – is rapidly growing. Accelerating the pace of clean innovation in Canada is not only an important tool for meeting climate and environmental goals, it also represents a critical economic opportunity across all Canadian sectors.

Canada’s cleantech sector can tap into a fast-growing global market that is expected to be worth as much as C$2.5 trillion by 2020. Resource and manufacturing sectors can also gain market advantage through clean innovation. For example, McKinsey estimates that improvements in energy and resource efficiency will represent a C$3.8 trillion economic opportunity by 2030.

This research initiative seeks to define the clean innovation opportunity, evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of Canada's performance, and to identify the key opportunities for public and private actors to accelerate the pace of clean innovation.