“In the universe are billions of galaxies, In our galaxy are billions of planets, But there is Only One Earth.” World Environment Day
Celebrated annually on 5th June, The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), World Environment Day is the biggest event on the calendar when it comes to environmental public outreach with millions of people from across the world engaging to protect the planet.
United Nations explains “Only One Earth” was the slogan for the first United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, held in Stockholm in 1972. This put sustainable development on the global agenda and led to the establishment of World Environment Day. Fifty years later, Sweden is hosting Stockholm+50 from 2 to 3 June, and World Environment Day on 5 June.
Each year the celebration brings together millions of people to keep sustainable development on the global agenda and educate the public on issues of concern and how each of us can make a difference through the actions we take in our daily lives, both at home and in the workplace.
Why is World Environment Day so important?
Well if we take a look at the bigger picture, its easy to see why we need to take action now.
We are using the equivalent of 1.6 Earths to maintain our current way of life, and ecosystems cannot keep up with our demands.
The gap between what we need to spend to adapt and what we are actually spending is widening. Estimated costs of adaptation continue to rise and could reach US$280-500 billion per year by 2050 for developing countries alone.
Individuals and civil society must play a key role in raising awareness and urging governments and the private sector to make large-scale changes.
This year Sweden are hosting World Environment Day under the theme #OnlyOneEarth , with over 150 countries participating. The UN will engage governments, businesses, civil society, schools, celebrities, cities and communities to raise awareness and celebrate environmental action.
There are a range of idea’s, activities, pledges, and awareness opportunities that we can take part in, and most of them are free, making it easy to get involved. You can access them HERE.
Climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste –evidence that Earth is “code red” is all around us and growing more ominous every day. The way out of this dilemma is to transform our economies and societies to make them inclusive, fair, and more connected with nature. We must shift from harming the planet to healing it.
We need to take action on a global scale and the good news is the solutions and the technology exist and are increasingly affordable to enable us to start making measurable changes today.
The #OnlyOneEarth Practical Guide outlines some of the transformative actions that organisations and people can take. The guide can be downloaded from the IoSCM resources page HERE.
At IoSCM we are passionate about minimising our environmental impact and work tirelessly to support businesses across the supply chain to reduce their carbon footprint, improve their and become a green, sustainable business. In 2019 we launched The Sustain Chain as a way of providing free resources, support and guidance to our members and organisations committed to making positive changes within their operations, and to celebrate the successes of those that have already started to introduce environmentally friendly incentives, processes, and resources into the workplace.
With an annual magazine, a toolkit packed with resources, focussed learning, and an awards and accreditations scheme The Sustain Chain is a one-stop shop for businesses and professionals alike.
To celebrate World Environment Day we are making The Sustain Chain Toolkit FREE to access throughout the whole of June. CLICK HERE to access the toolkit now.
