ONE-planet prosperity is the key for companies to stay competitive in the long term, especially in a world increasingly shaped by resource constraints, according to Schneider Electric.
The term one-planet prosperity refers to the improvement of humanity’s well-being within the ecological resource budget of the planet, and using that as the framework for creating a sustainable future by design.
Such a framework was launched in 2019 by Schneider Electric and international sustainability organisation Global Footprint Network (GFN).
“The choice is between planning ahead to support human needs for well-being and resource security, thus enhancing their chance to become economically successful and resilient, or keeping with business-as-usual and becoming irrelevant.”
“With the necessary economic recovery on everybody’s mind, the time has come for entrepreneurs and industry leaders to recognize that delivering products and services that enhance humanity’s ability to succeed is not about doing good, but doing what’s necessary for their business,” said GFN founder and president Mathis Wackernagel.
The launch is on the same day as Earth Overshoot Day 2020, which marks the day humanity has used up all the natural resources that Earth can replenish in the entire year.
The two organisations also noted that Earth Overshoot Day 2020 has been pushed back by more than three weeks compared to 2019, which is usually a good thing, but for the wrong reasons.
The significantly later date reflects a reduction of the global ecological footprint by almost 10% between Jan 1 and Earth Overshoot Day, largely due to travel and construction slowdown from the Covid-19-induced lockdowns around the world.
“Carbon emissions dropped 14.5% and forest product harvests went down by 8%. The drop in resource consumption observed in 2020 was sudden and unexpected. Because it was imposed, it is bound to be temporary. Humanity continues to demand as much from nature as if we lived on 1.6 Earths.”
“Together we can move from the Covid-19 crisis forced onto us to a future that is resilient and workable for all, by design. One key ingredient is to shift the sustainability conversation from noble to fundamentally necessary. This can help unleash the groundswell for one-planet prosperity, the most viable strategy we know of. It surely beats one-planet misery,” said Schneider Electric chief strategy and sustainability officer Olivier Blum.
The two organisations will be releasing a joint e-book on Aug 22 that presents such a framework for companies in conjunction with Earth Overshoot Day 2020. – Aug 21, 2020
