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.

A country’s overshoot day is the date on which Earth Overshoot Day would fall if all of humanity consumed like the people in this country.

For 2022 in Germany, that day is today, 4 May. Five months into the year, and if the planet consumed as we do as a country, we would have already exceeded the planets resources.

You can see from the graphic below, where we stand in the year compared to other countries.

Countries in the European Union all come within the first half of the year, the latest being Romania on the 11 June. Compared to our neighbours within the EU, Germany sits around the middle, however it is clear from the numbers that there is a lot of work to be done in the whole region.

Building and construction is responsible for 39% of all carbon emissions in the world, with operational emissions (from energy used to heat, cool and light buildings) accounting for 28%. The remaining 11% comes from embodied carbon emissions, or ‘upfront’ carbon that is associated with materials and construction processes throughout the whole building lifecycle.

Our top 3 tips for the building sector would be:

1. Reuse existing building structure instead of building new buildings – whether retrofitting your existing building to be more energy efficient (heating, ventilation, HVAC, lighting and water systems) or adaptive reuse for preservation of historic buildings, there are significant time, carbon and cost saving benefits. Even if you were to build a new ‘green’ building, taking into consideration the life cycle and embodied carbon, reusing a building that already exists is almost always more sustainable over time.
2. Build with reused or recycled materials – many construction materials can be reused including (but not limited to) concrete, bricks/blocks, timber, paving, glass and metals. Where new construction is necessary, there should be a focus on resource efficiency by reducing waste, reusing materials and using recycled products or those produced using low-carbon methods.
3. Stop using fossil fuels altogether – this might seem like a big leap, but reducing emissions to reach our net-zero goals (and in turn slowing climate change and using less of the world’s natural resources) requires using low-carbon energy sources to replace fossil fuels. Switching to clean energy providers or investing in on-site renewables can reduce costs in the long-term as well as shrinking your carbon footprint.

They key message is that although our planets resources are finite, there are many solutions already out there, and more to be developed, that can help us move to a carbon positive world and Move the Date.

You can learn more about Earth Overshoot Day here.

If you would like support in lowering the emissions of your portfolio or implementing any of the measures above, please get in touch.