Abstract

Since industrial revolution, the development model followed by different countries has been primarily aimed at achieving accelerating growth more often at the cost of environmental degradation and over-exploitation of resources. According to a report published by United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP, 2024), extraction of the Earth’s natural resources tripled in the past five decades. On the other side, there exist fundamental inequalities between countries. High-income countries consume six times more resources and generate 10 times more climate impacts than those living in low-income countries. In the process, ecological and environmental balance was compromised to a great extent leading to several negative impacts on our planet. In response, sustainable development model was advocated. Internationally, several initiatives were undertaken to promote sustainable mandate – Rio declaration (1992), UN Millennium Development Goals, Paris agreement and recently originated Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Pressure is also mounted on the corporates to integrate sustainability into their core business strategies. MNCs, therefore, are compelled to rethink their business models, integrate ESG principles into decision-making, and enhance transparency in sustainability disclosures. But the focus of sustainability is largely confined to macro level and as such individuals and communities are still outside the ambit of sustainability which limited the extent of success. The concept of sustainable living assumes significance in this respect. Sustainable Living is a micro level concept that aims to reduce impact on the planet by conserving natural resources, minimizing waste and using less energy. It is a philosophy to reduce personal and societal environmental impact. It encourages people to minimise their use of Earth’s resources and reduce the damage caused during human and environmental interactions. Sustainable living simply means rethinking and reorienting our mindset; changing our behaviour and consumption pattern so as to live in harmony with nature. There is, however, no direct way to measure or understand the extent of sustainability of our living pattern. The recently introduced idea of Earth Overshoot Day (EOD) and Country Overshoot Day (COD) may provide significant insight into it. Simply speaking, EOD is the date in a year when humanity’s resource consumption exceeds the planet’s ability to regenerate them. It marks the date of a year when human consumption has reached a level equivalent to regenerative capacity of planet ecosystems. For example, in 2023, the EOD was 202 days which means that earth bio-capacity can sustain the livelihood of humanity (at current consumption pattern) for 204 days or up to 25th July. It also meant that from 25th July 2023 to 31st December 2023, humanity is living at the capital stock of earth. In other word, humanity is using 1.7 fold resource than our earth can regenerate. By 2030, it is expected that population of earth will require resources of 3 Earths. Interesting to note that in 1971, EOD was 362 days meaning that consumption of humanity was almost fully aligned with earth’s regenerative capacity. Unsustainable resource consumption and waste generation are largely responsible for the declining trend in EOD suggesting that our living has become more and more unsustainable over time. The continuous decline of EOD reinforces the need of reorienting our lifestyle choices on urgent basis. Individuals need to adopt lifestyle choices which promote circular economy. We must embrace 7 R’s of sustainability – Rethink, Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Repair, Repurpose and Recycle – with regard to consumption and waste generation. These principles facilitate our move towards a more circular economy by questioning our ever-increasing needs, avoiding unnecessary consumption and waste minimization. Undoubtedly, it will not happen overnight. Neither all will endorse it. But even a handful of people or groups can make huge difference. A study by the University of Michigan in the United States confirms that the rules agreed upon by groups of the population guarantee the efficiency of a sustainable life strategy. This appears to be the silver lining of the problem.