Monday 29 July 2019 is Earth Overshoot Day 2019 - the shocking date when humanity will have exhausted nature's resource budget for the entire year.
The planet's ecological deficit has been worsening each year. In 1970 Earth Overshoot Day was 29 December – just 2 days short of the year end. 29 July is the earliest date that it has ever been recorded - more than 5 months too soon.
1.75 times too fast
In 2019 nature's resources are being used up 1.75 times as fast as the planet’s ecosystems can regenerate. That equates to humanity using 1.75 Earths this year alone.
Non-profit research group Global Footprint Network calculates Earth Overshoot Day by dividing the amount of natural resources generated by Earth in a single year by the amount of natural resources consumed by humanity for that year. This figure is then multiplied by 365, representing the typical number of days in a calendar year.
Earth's growing inability to regenerate its natural resources at the fast rate they are being depleted reflects the urgent need for a radical rethink on how we consume resources and run our economies.
How to reverse the ecological deficit
On 29 July we're joining forces with edie to host a free webinar. This is titled 'Earth Overshoot Day: How business can #MoveTheDate through a circular economy'.
Global Footprint Network will be joining us to discuss ways to reverse the ecological deficit and push back the days and months on future Earth Overshoot days.
At the webinar you'll hear how inspirational business leaders from Tesco and AB Sugar are putting sustainability and resource efficiency at the heart of their growth strategies to tackle the climate emergency. These organisations are shifting away from linear, degenerative business models towards circular economy-based strategies that based on regenerative, closed-loop supply chains.
Carbon reduction is crucial
Carbon dioxide emissions currently make up 60% of humanity’s demand on nature, so decarbonising our economy will have the greatest impact on ecological regeneration. Global Footprint Network reports that if we were to cut our global carbon use in half, the date of Earth Overshoot Day would be pushed back by about three months.
Fortunately, carbon reduction makes good sense from both an environmental and commercial perspective. Our latest research report on future trends in sustainable growth shows that 61% of the best performing businesses surveyed also demonstrated advanced energy leadership.
Leading on sustainability
The webinar will offer insights and case studies from businesses that are leading on environmental performance. We will explore how organisations are deploying distributed energy technologies to address the 2050 net zero carbon target. Our experts will explain how these innovative energy solutions are helping Centrica to embed sustainability across our own global operation and how we've succeeded in reducing our emissions by 80% over the past decade.
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