Earth Overshoot Day marks the date when humanity’s demand for ecological resources and services in a given year exceeds what Earth can regenerate in that year.
To determine the date of Earth Overshoot Day, Global Footprint Network calculates the number of days Earth’s biocapacity can support humanity’s Ecological Footprint. The remainder of the year corresponds to global overshoot.
Earth Overshoot Day by the Numbers
| 3,800 million years ago life first appeared on Earth |
121% increase in world population since 1970 |
| -58% decline in average population size of vertebrate species since 1970 |
57% of humanity's Ecological Footprint is Carbon |
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The date keeps moving earlier due to ecological resource consumption and accumulating waste, primarily carbon dioxide. Key contributing sectors include:
| CITIES How they're designed & managed  |
ENERGY How we power ourselves  |
FOOD How we feed ourselves  |
PLANET How we help or hurt nature  |
POPULATION How many of us there are  |
The past doesn’t dictate the future. Natural resources are finite, but human innovation is not. Through better choices in how we source food, energy, materials, and manage waste, we can shift the trajectory.
There are many data sources advocating for the circular economy. E-waste is a growing concern. The Global E-waste Monitor reported that e-waste nearly doubled in 16 years to 53.6 Mt in 2019—only 17.4% was formally documented. According to the World Health Organization, e-waste now affects the health of millions of children.
SK Tes, formerly TES, has been committed to "sustaining tomorrow" by managing technology assets from deployment to decommissioning, through to recycling and repurposing. Our success is tied to human health and the planet's ecosystem.
Our mission: to securely, safely, and sustainably transform and repurpose one billion kilograms of assets by 2030. We align our work with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the UN Global Compact.
Through expanding global facilities and circular capabilities, we support clean tech solutions by refurbishing and recycling IT, mobile, and battery assets.
These aren’t just good for the planet—they're good business. According to Dr. Arunabha Ghosh and Jamshyd Godrej: “Economic recovery focused on climate action and a healthy natural world is the best means of long-term prosperity.”
The World Economic Forum estimates transitioning to a sustainable economy could generate over USD 10 trillion and 395 million jobs by 2030.
SK Tes is committed to moving Earth Overshoot Day in the right direction. Our 2020 Sustainability Report will cover GHG reduction, zero waste commitments, product lifecycle extensions, diversity initiatives, and more.
The only limits are those we place on ourselves. We can all do better. If not now, when? The time for sustaining tomorrow is now.
References
1. UNEP Report on Preventing Future Zoonotic Disease Outbreaks
