Earth Day 2024 - Planet vs. Plastics

The theme of Earth Day 2024 (April 22) is Planet vs Plastics. 

Planet vs. Plastics unites students, parents, businesses, governments, churches, unions, individuals, and NGOs in an unwavering commitment to call for the end of plastics for the sake of human and planetary health, demanding a 60% reduction in the production of plastics by 2040 and an ultimate goal of building a plastic-free future for generations to come. 

About Earth Day

First held on April 22, 1970, Earth Day is an annual day to demonstrate support for environmental protection. It now includes a wide range of events coordinated globally by earthday.org, working to drive meaningful action for our planet across these issues: Climate Action, Science and Education, People and Communities, and Conservation and Restoration, and Plastic and Pollution. 

Here are some resources from Earth.Day.org:

• join or create a clean up: The Great Global Cleanup® is a worldwide campaign to remove billions of pieces of rubbish from neighborhoods, beaches, rivers, lakes, trails, and parks — reducing waste and plastic pollution, improving habitats, and preventing harm to wildlife and humans. It aims to continue clean ups every day of the year for a brighter, greener, and cleaner planet.
• check out the Earth Day 2024 End Plastics Action Toolkit
• 52 actions and tips to make a difference, every day of the year

• Learn More About Plastic Pollution (Factsheets) 

Earth Day and Accountants

On Earth Day 2022, the chief executives of 10 of the world’s leading accountancy institutes joined together to support a call to action in response to the nature crisis, ahead of the upcoming UN Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD) COP 15. Working together as part of the Global Accounting Alliance (GAA), the CEOs signed the call to action ‘Nature is Everyone’s Business’ to signal the important role the profession plays in this crisis. 

Since then nearly every country on Earth has signed up to the most ambitious plan ever to protect nature, and nature and biodiversity have rapidly risen up the corporate agenda as more and more companies understand the need to protect it. International initiatives addressing nature have developed: the Task Force on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) which develops risk management and disclosure frameworks for organisations to report and act on evolving nature-related risks; the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) E4 standard specifically addresses corporate sustainability relating to biodiversity and ecosystems. The ultimate aim is to support a shift in global financial flows towards nature-positive outcomes.

You can find out more about accounting for nature in the Chartered Accountants Ireland Sustainability Centre. Some quick resources are here:

• A quick read about nature and numbers
• Find out about Accounting for Nature on the Chartered Accountants Ireland Sustainability Centre
• Read our call to action ‘Nature is Everyone’s Business’ to signal the important role the profession plays in this crisis.
• Check out the Business for Biodiversity Ireland, the not-for-profit organisation helping Irish businesses transition towards a nature positive way of working
• Read about Navigating TNFD: A new era in nature reporting from Accounting for Sustainability (A4S)
• Watch Earth Day Live event series
• Follow updates on X: #EarthDay2024