Conducting business within planetary boundaries
The ever-increasing extraction and processing of natural resources is putting increasing pressure on our planet. Climate change, biodiversity loss, and access to water are some of the main consequences. Circularity is a key enabler to protect planetary stability.
05 Jul 2024According to the UN, the ever-increasing extraction, processing and transformation of virgin raw materials is responsible for around 50% of global climate emissions, 90% of biodiversity loss, and 90% of increasing water scarcity. This is putting a lot of pressure on our planet.
To assess the impact of human activities, researchers frequently turn to the planetary boundaries’ framework. The framework identifies nine processes that are critical for a stable earth system and defines safe boundaries for human impacts. The most recent assessment of the planetary boundaries concluded that six of the nine limits have been transgressed. This threatens to cause extreme environmental changes that put humanity at risk.
In order to reverse this trend and protect the stability of our planet, we need to move from linear to circular material flows. In practice, this means reducing the extraction, processing, and transformation of virgin raw materials in favour of reusing or recycling the resources we already have.
Today, only 7.2% of the global economy is considered circular. By simply doubling the circular share of production, we can significantly lower the world’s climate emissions while reducing our impact on biodiversity and water supplies.
To support this shift, Ragn-Sells is committed to leading the transformation to a circular economy and bringing more resources back into the production cycle. We do this by developing advanced circular solutions that continually push the boundaries of what can be recycled. We also act as a strong voice for the circular transition by sharing our knowledge and influencing policymakers at the
highest political level.
Ragn-Sells works actively with the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals. We want the world to stand by the original climate target of the Paris Agreement – a maximum of 1.5 degrees of global warming compared to the pre-industrial era – and we remain convinced that it can be achieved.
With our 2030 Pledge, we aim to help protect the planetary conditions that have supported life on earth for millennia.
The planetary boundaries are a framework for understanding and assessing the impacts of human activities on the planet. The framework identifies nine processes that are critical for a stable earth system and defines safe limits for human impact. This means that within the boundaries, humanity can continue to thrive, but beyond these limits, we risk irreversible environmental change.
The nine planetary boundaries are: climate change, biosphere integrity, land-system change, freshwater use, biogeochemical flows, ocean acidification, atmospheric aerosol pollution, stratospheric ozone depletion, and release of novel entities.
The most recent assessment of the planetary boundaries, conducted in September 2023, shows that six of the nine limits have been crossed.
The planetary boundaries framework was first proposed in 2009 by Swedish professor Johan Rockström and a group of 28 internationally renowned scientists.
Read more: Earth beyond six of nine planetary boundaries | Science Advances
