Released just before Earth Day (April 22nd), and just before the implementation of new rules that require companies to care for their associates’ mental health(May 25), the Global … read moreCompact Country Network Brazil, a United Nations initiative, is launching ‘Earth’s Burnout’ to warn about the dire consequences of climate change and encourage companies to adopt sustainable practices. According to a 2024 study by ecologist William Ripple, 25 of the planet’s so-called vital signs have reached record levels of deterioration. Now, just imagine if the Earth were a human being. Surely the data, scientific research, and extreme weather events happening across the world would be enough to show, just like a medical report, that the planet is ill and needs to rest. Drawing on eight symptoms of burnout – stress, insomnia, arrhythmia, weakened immunity, hair loss, high blood pressure, reflux and fibromyalgia – the initiative draws parallels between exhaustion in humans and the critical state of the planet, using illustrations of medical exams and culminating in a request for “medical leave.” Developed alongside leading Brazilian specialists Carlos Nobre, a globally renowned climatologist and Nobel Peace Prize winner, and Paulo Saldiva, the head of the University of São Paulo Medical School’s Pathology department, this document stands as a symbolic recognition of the fact that the Earth is sick. The illustrations provide a creative comparison between the sickened planet’s 'medical exams' and comparable exams of healthy humans, underscoring just how urgent it is to mount a global response to this crisis. Developed with AlmapBBDO, this initiative is the latest collaboration between the Global Compact and the agency, which in 2023 released the 'EART4' campaign, which transformed the planet into a publicly traded company. Its symbolic IPO on the B3 alerted the private sector that the Earth is the only company of its kind on the market and that its results have been terrible – but that there’s a way to turn them around.
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