Why is soil consumption a problem, and how can it be reversed?
Fertile soil takes millennia to form and can be sealed in a single day. What de-sealing means, why it also makes economic sense, and where projects are born.
One centimetre of soil, centuries of work
Living soil is not just dirt: it is an ecosystem — minerals, organic matter, roots, fungi, billions of organisms — that forms at the rate of a few centimetres per century. It performs irreplaceable functions: it feeds plants, stores water and carbon, and filters pollutants. When it is sealed beneath asphalt or concrete, all these services stop at once: water runs off instead of infiltrating, carbon stops accumulating, and life fades away. On a human timescale, the process is irreversible — which is why soil consumption is one of the most closely monitored environmental indicators in Europe.
The hidden cost of sealing
Every sealed hectare generates bills that everyone ends up paying: more water in sewers and more flooding downstream, more summer heat (asphalt absorbs and radiates it), less groundwater recharge. Municipalities pay through hydraulic works and air conditioning; insurers pay through damages; citizens pay through reduced liveability. Understanding these costs is the first step towards recognising that de-sealing is not a green luxury — it is territorial maintenance that prevents far greater expenditure.
De-sealing: giving soil back to the city
Reversal is possible and it is a concrete undertaking: removing asphalt from oversized squares, car parks, and school courtyards; restoring the soil beneath (often compacted and in need of regeneration); re-greening through genuine design. Every square metre freed returns to doing its job: absorbing water, hosting greenery, cooling the air. De-sealed school courtyards have become the European symbol of this practice: climate, educational, and social benefits within a single project.
Soil in supply chains: regenerative agriculture
Outside cities, the soil challenge plays out in the fields: practices that restore organic matter (cover crops, reduced tillage, crop rotations) increase fertility, water retention capacity, and stored carbon. For agri-food companies this means both supply chain resilience and measurable impact; for those working in impact, it is a growing field where projects and measurement are needed — soil organic matter can be sampled and verified.
Projects and measurement
Soil indicators are concrete: square metres de-sealed, restored infiltration capacity, increased organic matter, soil carbon. On Simbial, projects on soil and green spaces share teams and methodology: it is one of the arenas where environment, society, and economy — the three dimensions of impact — meet most visibly within the same undertaking.
Frequently asked questions
Why is soil consumption considered irreversible?
Because fertile soil forms over centuries: once sealed under concrete or asphalt, its services — absorbing water, storing carbon, hosting life — are lost across every human time horizon.
What does de-sealing mean?
Removing sealed surfaces (asphalt, concrete) and restoring living soil and greenery: squares, car parks, courtyards. Every square metre freed returns to absorbing water and cooling the air.
Can soil be measured?
Yes: square meters de-sealed, restored infiltration, organic matter and carbon in the soil (sampled and verified). Physical indicators, as always in the impact method.
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