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Climate Action
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Nature
Diagrams that aren’t boring: Planetary Boundaries
Why is planetary health important for the health of business?
Businesses have awakened in recent years to the understanding that a key foundation to their long-term viability is the health of our planet. No company can be successful if our forests disappear, our atmosphere becomes too hot, our seas too acidic and our fresh water more scarce.
The planetary boundaries model helps us understand the key ingredients to a healthy environment, and highlight where we are already going beyond what is considered to be safe.
The model, based on the latest scientific data, also helps remind us that climate change is by no means the only danger we face and that all the nine processes that regulate the stability and resilience of the Earth system are inter-connected.
Leading companies are already starting to reduce their impacts on the environment through the creation of environmental profit & loss accounts, understanding natural capital or using frameworks like SASB’s Materiality Maps. These help companies to know what they are dependent on, along with understanding the risks and costs to their business and where to prioritise action.
Credit: Felix Müller Licence: CC-BY-SA 4.0
