Gunter Pauli

Gunter Pauli is perhaps most well-known for his launch of the "Blue Economy," a project that began with a focus on finding 100 of the best nature-inspired technologies that could affect the economies of the world, while sustainably providing basic human needs.

One of these innovations has been introduced weekly since 2010, with a global Blue Economy summit slated for this October. The summit is intended to take the exploration and conversation around these innovations and what they can mean for the global economy to the next level.

Gunter Pauli's other entrepreneurial activities span business, culture, science, politics and the environment.

Under his leadership, the Belgium-based company cleaning products company Ecover pioneered an ecological factory in 1992, featured on CNN Prime Time News.

He founded the "Zero Emissions Research and Initiatives" (ZERI) at the United Nations University in Tokyo, and subsequently established The Global ZERI Network as a foundation, redesigning production and consumption into clusters of industries inspired by natural systems.

He is dedicated to design and implement a society and industries which respond to people’s needs using what is locally available. His latest initiatives include the redesign of mining operations and the development of a novel concept of transparent investment banking.

He is a fellow of the World Academy of Arts and Sciences (San Francisco, USA), a creative member of the Club of Budapest (Hungary), member of the Club of Rome, moderated the Roundtable of Nobel Science Laureates hosted by the King of Jordan State and obtained a doctorate from the Italian Government in systems design. He has been awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Pécs, Hungary.

Gunter has published 19 books, with his next book The End of Globalization forthcoming in 2012. He is father of four sons, one daughter (adopted) and married to Katherina Bach.