The Green Economy (or Ecological Economy) is a model of economic development that manages to combine economic growth in terms of GDP (Gross Domestic Product) with the environmental impact that such growth entails.
Not only do companies in the "green" sector, such as the energy sector, belong to the Green Economy, but also almost all traditional economic sectors that use eco-sustainable materials and processes.
Green Economy, Sustainable Economy and Sustainable Development are often misused as synonyms, but there are substantial differences between the various concepts:
- Green Economy is an economic model that not only pays particular attention to the environmental impact, but that sees the "environment" sector as a real economic sector from which it is possible to generate income;
- Sustainable Development is that development model in which the industrial and productive world operates in a logic of sustainability, reducing the environmental impact and preserving natural resources for the needs of future generations;
- Sustainable Economy is a development model of society that must respect the concept of sustainability from an economic, social and environmental point of view. Development is modulated on the regenerative capacity of the planet in such a way that the resources used can be renewed for future generations in the same quantity.