Earth Overshoot Day is the day on which the demands humans make on ecological resources exceed the Earth's capacity to produce those resources over a period of one year.

This year, Earth Overshoot Day falls on 22^nd August. Once we hit Earth Overshoot Day the reserves intended for future generations then have to be depleted from the day after until the end of the year. So, the later this day falls in the year, the better it is. In an ideal world, that would be 31^st December at the earliest. Through our sustainability policy, KBC aims to reduce our negative impact on the environment and drive positive change.
 
Covid-19 is indirectly helping the environment
With Earth Overshoot Day falling on 22^nd August this year, it means that we actually need the resources of 1.6 Earths to meet our needs. Nevertheless, we performed better than last year when Earth Overshoot Day was on 29^th July. Covid-19, which caused a lockdown worldwide had a  positive impact on reducing global carbon emissions.
 
Each country is different
Because both the supply and use of raw materials vary from one country to the next, each country has its very own Overshoot Day. Ireland’s Overshoot Day fell on 26^th April so as a country we have lots of room for improvement!!
 
 
By making some small changes to our daily lives, we can all do our bit to move the Overshoot Day for Ireland (and the rest of the world) in the right direction.

Throughout 2020, KBC Bank Ireland have been encouraging our Team Blue colleagues to go green by asking people to make a new environmental commitment on the KBC virtual green wall. If we all make one small change it can drive a ripple effect of positive change.
 
What are we doing across the KBC Group?
As a financial institution, we know that we can drive positive change by reducing our own carbon footprint but also through our products and services: 

• We set very high standards when it comes to our SRI funds. Governments that make the effort to achieve a more sustainable society are recognised. Besides social aspects and good governance, environmental performance also plays an important role.
• KBC Group no longer fund the coal business and we are phasing out all existing loans in this sector.
• Across KBC Group , we have reduced our carbon footprint by 50% between 2015-2020 and are aiming for a further 15% reduction before 2030. In Ireland we have signed the Business in the Community Ireland Low Carbon Pledge and by doing so we are committed to reducing our carbon intensity by 50% by 2030 .

 
Our commitment to the environment will remain a key focus area for us into the future. We will continue to track our own footprint but also identify ways that we can support our employees and customers transition to the low carbon economy through our products & services.
Check out our simple message here

 

 
KBC Bank Ireland plc is a distributor of funds managed by KBC Asset Management. KBC Bank Ireland plc is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland. KBC Asset Management NV is authorised in Belgium and regulated by the Belgian Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA).