Day by day, the climate crisis worsens. The human race is aware that something needs to be done to protect the environment and there is no better time to focus on this challenge than on Earth Day. Earth Day was born in the US in 1970. Then and now, it unites everyone around the world to look at ways of saving the planet.
A final warning
2023’s Earth Day comes with a final warning from the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Scientists paint a bleak picture, stating that current actions to stem global warming are insufficient. If nothing is done, the 1.5-degree limit specified in the Paris Agreement may be surpassed by the 2030s. Whilst it’s not too late to do something, solutions must be implemented now to “secure a liveable, sustainable future for all”.
The aim of Earth Day is to make millions of people around the globe face up to the serious environmental plight we find ourselves facing. Climate crisis, deforestation and air pollution are problems that are not going to go away. They will only worsen if nothing is done.
Earth Day 2023
Although Earth Day is just one day, people around the world will spend the whole of this month focusing on saving the planet. Gaylord Nelson, a US Senator and environmentalist, initially created the event after the disastrous 1969 oil spill in Santa Barbara. He organised additional college lectures focused on the need for clean air and water. Come 1970, organisers dubbed the event Earth Day – that year, 20 million people in the US hit the streets in support of it. Earth day continued to grow in popularity and in 1990, it hit the international stage.
This year, as last year, the theme of Earth Day is ‘Invest in our Planet’: campaigners will put pressure on everyone – individuals, businesses and governments – to strive towards a greener future. ‘Going green’ has never been more important.
K2’s role in Earth Day
Developing sustainable business activities needs to become the norm, which is why K2 has made this challenge a big part of Kinetic, its strategic business plan. K2 is working closely with EcoVadis, a company which provides business sustainability ratings, and with Carbon Footprint, an organisation which will help us report on our greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). We are also collaborating with the University of Bath: we have developed an industry/academia partnership which aims to help tackle the global sustainability challenge within the relocation sector. The partnership combines K2’s resources and extensive sector experience with both the academic prowess of the University’s Centre for Sustainable & Circular Technologies (CSCT) and the business acumen of its School of Management. Together, K2 and the University of Bath are working to understand the stumbling blocks in a customer’s journey towards sustainability and to develop a Life Cycle Assessment tool for the sector.
Earth Day challenges each and every one of us to take action against climate change.
“We can’t save the world by playing by the rules, because the rules have to be changed. Everything needs to change and it has to start today.”
Greta Thunberg
