In 1971, Earth Overshoot Day fell on December 25. In 2024, it is August 1. By this date, humanity will have used up all the natural resources that our planet can provide for the year. Put differently, our consumption habits mean we need 1.7 Earths to sustain our lifestyles. To prevent ecological and economic collapse, global efforts must focus on sustainable practices and biodiversity conservation.
How can we change course to avoid an uninhabitable climate and a human-induced sixth mass extinction? Economies depend on nature, but the top four risks to the global economy in the next 10 years all come from a degraded environment. We risk losing entire industries if we do not reverse course.
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) proposes a pragmatic approach to support companies in their transformation planning. Its Business Transformation Framework provides guidance along five key steps:
Sub-steps: Evaluate (1) materiality and traceability, (2) impacts and dependencies, and (3) risks and opportunities.
Sub-steps: Set (1) corporate culture, (2) management systems and capacity, and (3) commitments, strategies and targets.
Sub-steps: Carry out plans in (1) direct operations, (2) adjacent areas and communities, and (3) upstream and downstream value chains.
Sub-steps: Support and promote (1) industry initiatives, (2) public policy, and (3) public disclosure.
Sub-steps: Realize targeted outcomes and impacts.
For each step, specific tools, standards, and guidance materials are made available to companies. The standards include science-based targets for nature, from the Science Based Targets Network (SBTN), as well as recommendations for reporting and disclosure based on the principles of the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD).
We cannot keep living on borrowed time. Companies that know what their exposure to nature risk is, who can quantify their impact, and set targets to help us push back the clock on overshooting Earth will be those that thrive in the future.
Earth Overshoot Day highlights unsustainable trends
The WWF Business Transformation Framework
Official reporting structures are vital, but don’t change entrenched views. Answer the following questions to gauge how you’re currently dealing with homophobia, and consult the practical framework to go from merely reporting...
Have you ever experienced behavior by a leader that defies conventional norms of engagement? Merete Wedell-Wedellsborg suggests strategies to handle bosses who dispense with widely accepted norms of civility, empathy, and ethical...
Culture has never been a more important factor in business success. Consult this checklist to gauge whether you’re adapting successfully to geopolitical, economic, and technological upheaval, read on for definitions of what...
According to the American Institute of Stress, 80% of US employees feel stress at work, with a third suffering from exhaustion and 44% feeling overworked. Ronit Kark, Sabine Sonnentag, and Laura Venz explain how...
Explore first person business intelligence from top minds curated for a global executive audience