Earth Overshoot Day in 2024
Humanity will have used up all the resources the Earth needs to regenerate for a whole year, in just 7 months. That is why Earth Overshoot Day falls on the 1st of August this year – 5 months earlier than it should be. In other words, we would need 1.71 earths in order to live sustainably. And the worrying statistics don’t stop there. In the UK, Overshoot Day fell on the 3rd of June. Whilst this is actually an improvement on last year, it shows we are using more than double the Earth’s resources than is sustainable.
However, we can all contribute to pushing this date back and making resources go further, especially as sustainable business owners. Whilst this might seem daunting, this article will help give you an idea of what you can do to help as a sustainable business.
Understanding Earth Overshoot Day
Earth Overshoot Day is calculated annually by the Global Footprint Network and aims to show how much we exploit the earth. It also shows how much (if any) progress we are making in living more sustainably because we can see if the day falls earlier or later than the year before. This year it’s not great news: Earth Overshoot Day falls one day earlier than last year. This means that humanity has used even more resources than in 2023, showing that we can all do more to protect the planet. The effects of climate change are becoming more and more obvious, with every decade since the 1980s being recorded as warmer than the last. The Earth’s budget is well as truly used up. The question is, why is this so important to us as sustainable business owners?
Why Earth Overshoot Day Matters for Sustainable Businesses
Climate change has been shown to impact businesses, with estimates that 55% of global GDP is at least moderately dependent on intact ecosystems. And it’s not just the sectors you think would be affected like the food sector; the economic impact of climate change will be far-reaching. However, this reliance on natural resources works both ways. By making sustainable choices, businesses can actively push back Earth Overshoot Day. In fact, doing this will probably get you more clients. As consumer awareness is growing, so too is an overall preference for sustainable brands, and this is shaking up the business world.
In the last five years, there has been a 71% increase in online searches for sustainable goods globally, whilst it has been suggested that in 2023, a third of consumers in the UK stopped buying from certain brands due to ethical or sustainability-related concerns. In other words, the shift towards sustainable businesses is getting bigger than ever, and you could use your brand to help build on this momentum and create positive change.
The Role of Sustainable Businesses in pushing back Earth Overshoot Day
With the increase in popularity of sustainable businesses, this is a great chance to lead by example and use your brand to help your clients make sustainable choices. In fact, it has been reported by the Havas Group Worldwide that two-thirds of consumers consider brands to have the same amount of responsibility in causing a positive change in society as governments do. You could use your platform as a sustainable business to bring awareness to environmental issues and help bring about change in your community. One idea to start doing this would be by speaking up about Earth Overshoot Day and the need to push back the date.
As a sustainable business, you can also make sure people know what makes your brand an environmentally conscious choice. From having sustainable suppliers to being minimum waste, promote everything your brand does to be a sustainable business on your social media and website. Make sure to also let your clients know what further steps you are taking to become even more sustainable. Publishing an annual sustainability report on your website is a great way to highlight all the measures you already take to help the environment, as well as listing your sustainability goals and how you plan to reach them.
Using Earth Overshoot Day to create change as a sustainable business
Earth Overshoot Day is so important for us to see how we are doing when it comes to using the Earth’s resources sustainably. As sustainable businesses, we have a responsibility to spread awareness about Earth Overshoot Day and the drastic need for us to live within nature’s budget. By assessing our own sustainability practices and spreading the word for others to do the same, Earth Overshoot Day can be a great opportunity for us to use our role as sustainable businesses to help push back the date next year.