The Pentagonal Problem and the Offshore Energy Sector in Portugal: Why Does It Matter?

Abstract

The relationship between circular economy and offshore energy is a big step for “eco-innovation industries.” The use of renewables has become one of the main issues in the European economy. Therefore, the latest European agenda for 2020 set up policies in order to implement new business models based on sustainability, cooperation, and collaboration between industries, towards more environment efficiency. This article shows the importance of offshore energy in Portugal and its linkages to a circular economy based on technology and innovation where natural recourses comprise a business model based on natural innovation system which performs a new method of analyzing the economy. The methodology will be based on the pentagonal problem (resources gap, technical challenges, public challenges, climate change challenges, problem statement) focusing on the Portuguese organizations which use renewable energy. In order to analyze the offshore energy sector, a quantitative analysis (IO matrix) and a qualitative analysis (Porter’s model) are used. The use of renewable in the circular economy is expected to have an impact on three main areas: economic, environmental, and communal. The sharing of economic savings and collaborative consumption between organizations will contribute to redistribution markets and collaborative lifestyle platforms. The new challenge is to move towards a new business model based on eco-products, service providers, and energy recovery.