Overview

The Planetary Health Check is an annual benchmark series initiated in 2024. It provides a recurring, science-based assessment of the state of the Earth system using the Planetary Boundaries framework, enabling consistent tracking of planetary stability, resilience, and life-support functions over time.

Purpose

The series is designed to offer a standardised reference point for understanding systemic environmental pressures at a global level. It supports comparability across years and creates a shared evidence base for decision-making across policy, business, and finance.

Methodology

The benchmark applies Earth system science to assess nine critical planetary processes. It integrates peer-reviewed literature, observational datasets, Earth system models, and expert judgement. Control variables are used to assess each boundary, with updates published annually to reflect methodological advances and new data.

Use for finance professionals

For finance professionals, the series can be used as a high-level benchmark to contextualise environmental risk, inform strategic analysis, and support scenario assessment. It provides a consistent scientific reference to complement climate, nature, and sustainability-related risk frameworks without focusing on asset-level outcomes.