THE IMPORTANCE OF SUSTAINABILTY FOR INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS AIMED AT SOLVING THE POLLUTION OF THE OCEANS

A wide range of pollutions affects our oceans. Greenhouse gas emissions, plastic waste, maritime traffic and noise from deep sea mining are example of pollutants. Innovative solutions in different areas from technology, to policy, strategy system innovation and process innovation have been scientifically researched and developed. However, the concept of sustainable innovative solutions is fundamental. For example, a new technological innovation, resulting from scientific research activity, must be sustainable in itself in order to benefit the society and the environment. In this paper, we highlight three innovative and sustainable solutions capable of addressing the rapidly worsening pollution of the oceans. The first solution is a combined process and technological innovation with the goal of reducing marine pollution from plastic waste. The second is a technological innovation for the reduction of pollutants in maritime traffic and the third is a policy innovation aimed at drafting guidelines for the acoustic impact of extraction activities related to Deep Sea Mining.