Swiss Overshoot Day – 2.5 Earths for Switzerland

Calculating Earth Overshoot Day is simple: Switzerland’s ecological footprint is 3.74 global hectares per person. This is the impact that everyone in our country has on the planet (calculate your personal footprint here). The biocapacity – i.e. the biological capacity of the Earth’s ecosystem – is just 1.51 global hectares per person. If we divide the biocapacity by the ecological footprint, the result is a factor of 2.5. In other words, 2.5 Earths would be required to support humanity if everyone on the planet had the same lifestyle as Swiss citizens. As 2024 is a leap year with 366 days, Swiss Overshoot Day 2024 can be calculated as follows: 366 x (1.51/3.74) = 148 days. After 148 days, the renewable resource budget for 2024 will be completely exhausted. The 148th day of 2024 is 27 May 2024.

Switzerland’s position in the Overshoot Day Ranking 2024 shows that we have a high environmental impact. The situation is similar or worse in many other countries (see Global Footprint Network 2024 illustration). Luxembourg, Canada and Belgium, for example, are among the top 10 countries with the world’s highest ecological overshoot.

If we manage to halve our greenhouse gas emissions in Switzerland by 2030 compared to 1990, as envisaged in the Paris Climate Agreement, Swiss Overshoot Day would be 72 days later. There are many other ways of postponing Overshoot Day by saving resources and emissions. But the careful and efficient use of natural resources isn’t only important for our environment. Companies can save costs and reduce supply risks in procurement. As a family business, we are already implementing various measures to reduce our resource consumption.

We have been working with the swisscleantech member Freitag for over 25 years and jointly implement the circular principle of upcycling. Here’s how it works: Disposing of old truck tarps would produce considerable amounts of CO₂. This innovative, Zurich-based company turns our discarded tarpaulins into iconic bags and lifestyle accessories and returns the material to a new product life cycle. One truck tarp lasts four to five years on average, and then goes on to produce around 20 to 25 bags. In the 2023 reporting year, we sent 120 tarpaulins to Freitag. After dismantling the tarpaulins and removing the loops, buckles and other non-recyclable parts, this represents a net weight of 4,423 kg (11,391 kg gross).

Our buildings throughout Switzerland provide an excellent opportunity for the eco-friendly use of our natural resources. That is why we have been working to improve the energy efficiency of our properties and reduce the CO₂ emissions in our buildings nationwide for years. We have therefore expanded our existing building efficiency drive to another 21 properties at 14 Planzer sites this year. Read more about this in our blog post: ‘Energy efficiency of buildings: power for the environment’.

Sustainability is associated with change. In order to change things, you have to rethink them. The Planzer Workbench programme aims to promote new ideas from employees and external partners and examine whether we can use these for small everyday improvements or groundbreaking innovations. Read more about our innovation efforts in support of sustainability in the ‘Innovation’ section.