Social Economy as a key factor for enhancing Blue Growth in Greece. A conceptual perspective

In recent years, Blue Economy has been an expanding concept in the EU, both as a tool for development as well as an economy transforming concept while its strategic orientation is reflected in EU’s Blue Growth strategy. On parallel Europe’s 2020 Strategy goals and their translation into targets for the member states, serves as a common ground for -among others- the implementation of Blue Growth goals and the enforcement of the activities of Social Economy Enterprises. Starting from this fact, a survey has been conducted to address: (a) the contribution of the Blue Growth goals to the activities of the Greek private and public economic sectors, as well as of the Social Economic one; (b) the current state of the art interaction between Blue Economy and Social Economy in Greece, and; (c) the current and future trends regarding the contribution of Social Cooperative Enterprises (SCE) as a tool for enhancing Blue Growth impact. Key findings include the level of engagement of SCEs with Blue Growth sectors, their potential of future involvement and the reasons for the current skepticism towards the Blue Growth potential. The above mentioned are complemented with a discussion on the viability and compatibility of a Blue Growth Social Concept adapted in the special environment of a heavily maritime related economy such as Greece