Shared Content

Welcome to our Shared Content Center! This is where you will find news, current developments and interesting stories about our company and the topics that keep driving us forward. We share information here, about our projects, innovations and events, in a variety of formats, such as blog posts, press releases and files. If you want to keep yourself updated, you're in the right place. 

News

Latest First: In our news articles, you’ll find everything we currently have to report.

Blog

Why is Earth Overshoot Day coming earlier and earlier?

© [Translate to English:] Sergey Nivens - Fotolia.com

May 2, 2024, was Germany’s Earth Overshoot Day, i.e. the calculated day on which people in Germany will have used up all the ecological resources that the Earth has provided us with for the entire year. This is an alarming sign that we are depleting our ecological resources faster than ever before. Our blog article explains why this day arrives earlier every year and what role the construction and real estate industry plays in this.

 

Global Earth Overshoot Day

In 2024, Global Earth Overshoot Day is August 1. Since 1971, apart from minor outliers, it has been moving further and further forward in the calendar year, despite all recent efforts to protect the environment. 

The science and sustainability organization Global Footprint Network is behind Earth Overshoot Day. It calculates an Earth Overshoot Day for the world as a whole and for each individual country on the planet on the basis of data including biocapacity, per capita consumption, and emissions.  

While many countries, mainly in Africa or India, do not have an Earth Overshoot Day because their population consumes less than the global biocapacity, Qatar already reached this limit on 10 February. Luxembourg followed four days later. Germany is also shamefully high in the ranking.

Once again, this shows that we are living beyond our means and therefore reducing living space and wiggle room for future generations and people in other parts of the world. The construction and real estate industry is one of the biggest producers of CO2 emissions worldwide. This also means that it has the power to help initiate a counter-movement.

Measures to move Earth Overshoot Day back

Under #MovetheDate, you can find initiatives and projects online that aim to significantly delay Earth Overshoot Day. One example is the town hall in Freiburg’s Stühlinger district, which was completed in 2017. It is the first public net-plus-energy building in the world, and Drees & Sommer created the holistic energy concept for it. We have been working on the topic of zero carbon for years and support organizations, companies, municipalities, and cities in their transformation. The European Green Deal and the EU Taxonomy both show that the European Union has also taken measures to ensure we do what we have failed to do in the recent past: live more resource-efficiently overall.  

Unsurprisingly, one promising approach is to reduce CO2 emissions. According to Mathis Wackernagel, President of the Global Footprint Network, reducing CO2 emissions from fossil fuels by 50 percent would delay the global Earth Overshoot Day by a whole 93 days. Read the interview with Mathis Wackernagel to find out how Earth Overshoot Day differs in different countries and what solutions we can use to delay Earth Overshoot Day.

Solutions for the construction and building sector

According to the United Nations (UN) Environment Program’s Global Status Report for Buildings and Constructions, the construction and building sector is responsible for around 40 percent of all energy and process-related CO2 emissions worldwide.  

Building more resource-efficiently and operating buildings more sustainably is not just a question of responsibility and morality, but also a question of economic efficiency and competitive advantage. Steffen Szeidl, one of Drees & Sommer’s three board members, is convinced that “in the medium to long term, only companies that act sustainably will survive because there is no alternative and because it pays off—provided that all risks are honestly and fully accounted for.”  

The President of the Global Footprint Network and developer of the ecological footprint concept, Mathis Wackernagel, also pointed out in his 2021 interview with us that we should not strive to consume as many resources as the earth can regenerate, but actually much less: “After all, there are other species on our planet besides us humans.”  

And how can we succeed in making construction more resource-efficient and operating buildings more sustainably? With ideas for the circular economy such as Cradle to Cradle® and other solutions.

Related News

More News

Blog posts

Get new insights into the work of Drees & Sommer and learn more about current topics, projects and trends.

Blog

Why is Earth Overshoot Day coming earlier and earlier?

© [Translate to English:] Sergey Nivens - Fotolia.com

May 2, 2024, was Germany’s Earth Overshoot Day, i.e. the calculated day on which people in Germany will have used up all the ecological resources that the Earth has provided us with for the entire year. This is an alarming sign that we are depleting our ecological resources faster than ever before. Our blog article explains why this day arrives earlier every year and what role the construction and real estate industry plays in this.

 

Global Earth Overshoot Day

In 2024, Global Earth Overshoot Day is August 1. Since 1971, apart from minor outliers, it has been moving further and further forward in the calendar year, despite all recent efforts to protect the environment. 

The science and sustainability organization Global Footprint Network is behind Earth Overshoot Day. It calculates an Earth Overshoot Day for the world as a whole and for each individual country on the planet on the basis of data including biocapacity, per capita consumption, and emissions.  

While many countries, mainly in Africa or India, do not have an Earth Overshoot Day because their population consumes less than the global biocapacity, Qatar already reached this limit on 10 February. Luxembourg followed four days later. Germany is also shamefully high in the ranking.

Once again, this shows that we are living beyond our means and therefore reducing living space and wiggle room for future generations and people in other parts of the world. The construction and real estate industry is one of the biggest producers of CO2 emissions worldwide. This also means that it has the power to help initiate a counter-movement.

Measures to move Earth Overshoot Day back

Under #MovetheDate, you can find initiatives and projects online that aim to significantly delay Earth Overshoot Day. One example is the town hall in Freiburg’s Stühlinger district, which was completed in 2017. It is the first public net-plus-energy building in the world, and Drees & Sommer created the holistic energy concept for it. We have been working on the topic of zero carbon for years and support organizations, companies, municipalities, and cities in their transformation. The European Green Deal and the EU Taxonomy both show that the European Union has also taken measures to ensure we do what we have failed to do in the recent past: live more resource-efficiently overall.  

Unsurprisingly, one promising approach is to reduce CO2 emissions. According to Mathis Wackernagel, President of the Global Footprint Network, reducing CO2 emissions from fossil fuels by 50 percent would delay the global Earth Overshoot Day by a whole 93 days. Read the interview with Mathis Wackernagel to find out how Earth Overshoot Day differs in different countries and what solutions we can use to delay Earth Overshoot Day.

Solutions for the construction and building sector

According to the United Nations (UN) Environment Program’s Global Status Report for Buildings and Constructions, the construction and building sector is responsible for around 40 percent of all energy and process-related CO2 emissions worldwide.  

Building more resource-efficiently and operating buildings more sustainably is not just a question of responsibility and morality, but also a question of economic efficiency and competitive advantage. Steffen Szeidl, one of Drees & Sommer’s three board members, is convinced that “in the medium to long term, only companies that act sustainably will survive because there is no alternative and because it pays off—provided that all risks are honestly and fully accounted for.”  

The President of the Global Footprint Network and developer of the ecological footprint concept, Mathis Wackernagel, also pointed out in his 2021 interview with us that we should not strive to consume as many resources as the earth can regenerate, but actually much less: “After all, there are other species on our planet besides us humans.”  

And how can we succeed in making construction more resource-efficient and operating buildings more sustainably? With ideas for the circular economy such as Cradle to Cradle® and other solutions.

Related News

Dreso-Blog

Press Releases

Find out more about the latest developments and exciting news from our company in our current press releases.

Blog

Why is Earth Overshoot Day coming earlier and earlier?

© [Translate to English:] Sergey Nivens - Fotolia.com

May 2, 2024, was Germany’s Earth Overshoot Day, i.e. the calculated day on which people in Germany will have used up all the ecological resources that the Earth has provided us with for the entire year. This is an alarming sign that we are depleting our ecological resources faster than ever before. Our blog article explains why this day arrives earlier every year and what role the construction and real estate industry plays in this.

 

Global Earth Overshoot Day

In 2024, Global Earth Overshoot Day is August 1. Since 1971, apart from minor outliers, it has been moving further and further forward in the calendar year, despite all recent efforts to protect the environment. 

The science and sustainability organization Global Footprint Network is behind Earth Overshoot Day. It calculates an Earth Overshoot Day for the world as a whole and for each individual country on the planet on the basis of data including biocapacity, per capita consumption, and emissions.  

While many countries, mainly in Africa or India, do not have an Earth Overshoot Day because their population consumes less than the global biocapacity, Qatar already reached this limit on 10 February. Luxembourg followed four days later. Germany is also shamefully high in the ranking.

Once again, this shows that we are living beyond our means and therefore reducing living space and wiggle room for future generations and people in other parts of the world. The construction and real estate industry is one of the biggest producers of CO2 emissions worldwide. This also means that it has the power to help initiate a counter-movement.

Measures to move Earth Overshoot Day back

Under #MovetheDate, you can find initiatives and projects online that aim to significantly delay Earth Overshoot Day. One example is the town hall in Freiburg’s Stühlinger district, which was completed in 2017. It is the first public net-plus-energy building in the world, and Drees & Sommer created the holistic energy concept for it. We have been working on the topic of zero carbon for years and support organizations, companies, municipalities, and cities in their transformation. The European Green Deal and the EU Taxonomy both show that the European Union has also taken measures to ensure we do what we have failed to do in the recent past: live more resource-efficiently overall.  

Unsurprisingly, one promising approach is to reduce CO2 emissions. According to Mathis Wackernagel, President of the Global Footprint Network, reducing CO2 emissions from fossil fuels by 50 percent would delay the global Earth Overshoot Day by a whole 93 days. Read the interview with Mathis Wackernagel to find out how Earth Overshoot Day differs in different countries and what solutions we can use to delay Earth Overshoot Day.

Solutions for the construction and building sector

According to the United Nations (UN) Environment Program’s Global Status Report for Buildings and Constructions, the construction and building sector is responsible for around 40 percent of all energy and process-related CO2 emissions worldwide.  

Building more resource-efficiently and operating buildings more sustainably is not just a question of responsibility and morality, but also a question of economic efficiency and competitive advantage. Steffen Szeidl, one of Drees & Sommer’s three board members, is convinced that “in the medium to long term, only companies that act sustainably will survive because there is no alternative and because it pays off—provided that all risks are honestly and fully accounted for.”  

The President of the Global Footprint Network and developer of the ecological footprint concept, Mathis Wackernagel, also pointed out in his 2021 interview with us that we should not strive to consume as many resources as the earth can regenerate, but actually much less: “After all, there are other species on our planet besides us humans.”  

And how can we succeed in making construction more resource-efficient and operating buildings more sustainably? With ideas for the circular economy such as Cradle to Cradle® and other solutions.

Related News

More Press releases

Social Media Wall

Have you followed us on LinkedIn and Instagram yet? This is where you'll find the content that we've shared most recently on our company channel. 

 

 

Current publications

Explore an overview or discover interesting details: Here you can find our latest published material, covering a range of topics.

Sustainability Report 2023

Forward-looking sustainability: Drees & Sommer is committed to sustainable corporate development that reconciles long-term economic success with ecological and social goals.      

Download

INNOVATION SCOUTING REPORT

On the trail of innovation: Find out more about the most important technology trends for the construction and real estate industry.

Download

Dossier

The future lies in existing buildings: existing properties offer huge potential not only economically, but also ecologically and functionally.

Download

Futureproofs

Looking back and looking ahead: Drees & Sommer Group business figures, statements and forward-looking topics and projects.

Download

Trend Study 2024

Corporate Real Estate Management - Digitalization and sustainability

Download

Digital Transformation Study

Digital Transformation in the Construction and Real Estate Industry: A Central European Perspective

Download

Drees & Sommer Logo

Download

BLUE WAVES: The podcast for the world of construction and real estate

This is the Drees & Sommer podcast that explains more about the fascinating world of buildings, infrastructure, industry and urban development. Whether you're an industry insider or just curious about the world around us, Blue Waves provides insights into the real-estate industry for everyone. We discuss the topics that affect all of us.

 

this way

Events

Drees & Sommer uses various event platforms (real, digital or hybrid) to engage in dialog with customers and business partners.

Learn more