Human activities have placed significant pressure on the Earth’s planetary systems, weakening their natural resilience and driving them ever closer to irreversible tipping points that threaten the life-support systems on which humans depend. In 2025, the Stockholm Resilience Centre reviewed its planetary boundaries model, the framework that tracks nine Earth-system processes to define a safe operating space for humanity.
Planetary boundaries are scientifically defined limits that maintain safe thresholds to keep Earth in a stable and resilient state. Breaching these boundaries increases the risk of large-scale environmental change that threatens economies and societies.
The 2025 update now shows seven of the nine planetary boundaries have been breached, with ocean acidification added for the first time, alongside climate change, biodiversity loss, land-use change, freshwater stress, nutrient overload and chemical pollution. Only ozone and aerosol levels remain within safe limits. This signals that we are moving further beyond the stability of the Holocene-era and into a high-risk zone for ecological collapse.
Source: The 2025 update to the Planetary boundaries. Licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. Credit: ‘Azote for Stockholm Resilience Centre, based on analysis in Sakschewski and Caesar et al. 2025’.
The complementary Doughnut Economics model 3.0
The Doughnut Economics model (3.0) complements the planetary boundaries framework by pairing an ecological ceiling (planetary limits) with a social foundation (basic needs). The 2025 version reveals that the richest 20% of countries are driving most overshoot, while the poorest 40% still fall short on essentials like healthcare, housing and education. Both frameworks confirm humanity is overshooting planetary boundaries while failing to deliver wellbeing for all.
The two frameworks call for urgent systemic transformation rather than incremental change. Without bold shifts from business-as-usual, the convergence of ecological overshoot and social shortfall will erode long-term resilience.
What does this mean for business?
Positioning sustainability strategy within the ‘safe and just space’ means aligning business growth with the needs of people and the limits of the planet. This ambition should be set at board level, anchoring long-term value creation in ecological and social resilience. To do this, companies can draw on the planetary boundaries framework to shape targets not only for carbon reduction, but also for freshwater use, land conversion, nutrient runoff and biodiversity. Tools like the Science-Based Targets Network (SBTN) and the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) can translate global limits into measurable local action.
Investment in sustainable innovation that leverages efficiency, circular design and nature-based solutions is not only good for the planet; it also builds resilience, lowers costs and enhances brand trust.
South Africa’s Environmental Sustainability Gap (ESGAP) report, led by University College London (UCL), the Centre for Sustainability Transitions at Stellenbosch, the Basque Centre for Climate Change (BC3) and South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) provides the country’s first science-based assessment of environmental sustainability gaps. For corporates, this may signal where future policy, disclosure norms and investor expectations are headed.
Contact: David Krone
