The planetary boundaries represent key Earth system processes and their safe limits to maintain planetary resilience and stability. In complement, the Earth Commission builds on the planetary boundaries framework by defining safe and just boundaries that integrate Earth system stability and human wellbeing. Assessments using both frameworks tell the same story – most boundaries have been breached. Human pressures are driving these transgressions, and guidance is needed to translate planetary-scale assessments into decision-relevant insights for local actors. Compounding the challenge of cross-scale translation is that the planetary boundaries do not exist in isolation but interact with one another in ways that are differentiated in space. Thus, these interactions need to be considered in evaluating the impacts of pressures and setting corresponding targets.

This seminar discusses Earth system interactions analysis, focusing on interactions between climate, land and water and the associated pressures of carbon emissions, land use change and water withdrawal. We present applications of this analysis towards:

1. Improving on an Earth System Impact (ESI) metric (prototype published by Fenner’s Steven Lade et al. in 2021) intended for a company scale and benchmarked against the planetary boundaries. The ESI is designed to aid with setting site-specific targets for environmental performance. We found greater amplification of company impacts compared to the prototype, and that smaller ecosystems are more sensitive to pressures.
2. Determining how the limits for pressures at a regional scale might need to adjust to avoid safe and just boundary transgressions. We found that interactions mean that targets need to be set simultaneously across pressures and spatially across regions.

Lastly, we share insights from engagement with multi-sectoral representatives in an event entitled “Business within Boundaries” held in Metro Manila last November 2025. The event aimed to catalyze thinking around the shifts needed in perspective and practice to better do business within the planetary boundaries. A key insight was that the transition to working within planetary boundaries requires a systems approach, which means considering not only interactions of Earth system processes, but also interactions among people and institutions in society.

About the Speaker

Kendra is currently a Research Fellow at the Fenner School of Environment & Society of the Australian National University. Her work, funded by an Australian Research Council Discovery Project under Dr. Steven Lade, involves the development of an earth system impact metric for companies and investors. Related to this, she studies interactions in the earth system and is a member of the extended secretariat of the Earth Commission.