You may be wondering what on earth Overshoot Day is? It is the date within the year that the world’s demand for ecological resources exceeds the amount the Earth can generate in that given year.
Today is the UK’s turn.
Each country has its own overshoot day, the date on which Earth Overshoot Day would fall if we all consumed like the people in that country.
The overshoot days are calculated using the 2021 National Footprint and Biocapacity edition, which contains data from 1961 up to the latest data year of 2017, as there is usually a three to four year lag.
A country will only have an overshoot day if their Ecological Footprint per person is greater than the global biocapacity. The overshoot day for the UK this year is estimated to be the 19th of May, meaning that we will have used up the Earth’s ecological resources for 2021 within the first five months of the year!
Part of the work we are doing at Tiger Global is to help combat this and to #MoveTheDate, as we realise while it may not be possible to completely prevent Earth Overshoot Day, we can all do our part to delay it as much as possible.
Overshoot Day Solutions have identified the key areas that are determining long term trends.
One of these areas is energy.
- If we can reduce the carbon component of humanity’s Ecological Footprint by 50% it would take us from consuming the resources of 1.6 Earths down to 1.1 Earths, which would move the date of Overshoot day by about three months.
As a B Corp Certified business, we are part of the community of leaders using business as a force for good.
- Certified B Corporations must meet the highest standards of social and environmental performance.
- We are working to reduce carbon emissions wherever possible through our ethical and sustainable manufacturing and supply chain practices.
- We want to use our knowledge to support other brands and businesses with this through our sustainability consultancy.
The four other areas defining long term trends are the planet, cities, energy, and population. These are shaped by our individual and collective voices, and on a smaller scale we can look to make a difference in our day to day lives. Whether this be through conscious food consumption or remembering to turn off the light.
By trying to incorporate the three R’s – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle – into our routines where we can, together we can make a difference.
