On April 6th 2023 is “Country Overshoot Day” in Austria. It is the day on which the human consumption of raw materials by the inhabitants can no longer be covered by the production of new resources. This means that from today onwards we will live at the costs our future generations. Under the motto “Move the Date”, circular economy is the requirement these days to achieve a turnaround of these trends. SECONTRADE is already demonstrating the way to a circular future.
We are living the high life
Every year, the Global Footprint Network calculates the day when the Earth’s capacity for biological regeneration is reached. For this purpose, the Earth’s biocapacity is compared to the global ecological footprint. If the demand for resources is greater than the supply, it is called “overshoot”: Last year, the global “Earth Overshoot Day” was on 28 July 2022; in Austria, this day already coincides with 6 April this year. This means that with a raw material consumption of over 6 hectares per person, we are economizing in this country as if we had three planets at our disposal.
Secondary raw materials for a resilient economy
Austria is an importing country – this means that our own renewable resources are limited and the dependence on complex supply chains is high. This negatively affects the national climate balance and the ecological footprint. To decrease CO2 emissions, the transition from a linear economy to a circular economy is essential for climate and environmental protection. By returning secondary raw materials to the resource cycle, we ensure a stable supply of raw materials.
Move the Date: Circular economy postpones
With the motto “Move the Date”, the Global Footprint Network names 100 solutions for a climate-neutral future. Whether it is the expansion of renewable energies such as wind power, the implementation of the Green Deal or the recycling of resources – by working together for the transformation to a circular economy, we save days, months and – in the long term – years for a future worth living. The key to a successful green turnaround is the returning of highly needed raw materials to the economic cycle. With the digital marketplace, SECONTRADE supports industry, trade and economy on the way to achieving this goal.
