Sustainability
This 5-part course will prepare you to reframe sustainability, think critically about where and how impacts occur, to see past 'greenwashing', to start thinking in systems, to map life cycles, and to make more sustainable decisions.
WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT
Examine the historical and contemporary underpinnings of sustainability, as both a concept and a practice.
Delve into the product of pop culture’s greenwashing and how to: (a) see through it and (b) avoid accidentally doing it.
Engage in reflective thinking around environmental impacts and consequences, including understanding function and functional impacts, and learn life-cycle thinking and assessment methods.
Receive the methods for evaluating environmental and social impacts, including determining the ecological footprint.
Available for this course
LED BY
Dr. Leyla Acaroglu
UnSchool Founder + Global Change Maker
Welcome Message from Leyla
Welcome to the Sustainability Course!
About the UnSchool Courses
Brain warm-up
A quick note...before you start
Watch: Sustainability
Read: Overview of Sustainability
Video: What is sustainability?
Read: Climate Change
Watch: We all Need nature
Read: We all Need Nature
Read: Environmental Impacts
Read: The United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals
Read: Ecological Footprints
Activity: Measure Your Ecological Footprint
Read: Biodiversity, Natural Capital & Eco-System Services
FREE PREVIEWRead: Intrinsic Value
Read: Glossary of Key Sustainability Terms
Read: Impacts Over Times
Watch: The Anthropocene
Read: The Anthropocene and Planetary Boundaries
Activity: Behavior Over Time Graph Worksheet
Read: Transition to the Green Economy
Read: Doughnut Economics
Knowledge Check: Introduction to Sustainability
Read: Life Cycle Thinking
Video: Life Cycle Thinking
Read: Life Cycles Stages
How to do Life Cycle Thinking
Read: How to do a Life Cycle Map
Activity: Life Cycle Mapping Worksheet
Read: Tips for Developing a Life Cycle Approach
Knowledge Check: Life Cycle Thinking
Watch: Systems Thinking 101
Read: What is Systems Thinking?
Video: The Systems Perspective
Watch: Adopting a Systems Perspectives
Watch: Mindset shifts
Read: Systems Dynamics
Watch: Systems Dynamics
Read: The Circular Economy
Explore: The 3 Main Systems at Play
Activity: 3 Systems at Play Activity
Download: Systems at Play Worksheet
Knowledge Check: Thinking in Systems
Read: Introduction to Busting Green Myths
Watch: Busting Eco Myths
Watch: Greenwashing
Read: Greenwashing and Green Myths
Explore: Sins of Greenwashing
Watch: Material Myths
Activity: Bust An Eco Myth
Read: The Cycle of Disposability
Knowledge Check: Busting Green Myths
Read: A Sustainable Future
Watch: Opportunities
Read: Climate Leadership
Read: About Green Jobs
Read: Activate your Anatomy of Action
Watch: The Anatomy of Action Videos
Activity: Anatomy of Action Challenge Worksheet
Read: Learning from Nature
Knowledge Check: Taking Action
Read: Tying It All Together
Additional Resources & Links
Course Reflection
A message From Leyla
Sustainability Course Final Knowledge Check Quiz
Get your certificate of completion!
Continue Your Learning Journey!
Learn all about
In this knowledge session, we take a proper look at the concept of sustainability beyond environmental folklore, and lay the foundations for how you can make more informed environmentally and socially-responsible choices in both your personal and professional lives alike.
We will explore how to integrate sustainability into decision-making and take a look at best-practice approaches to understanding its impact. Along the way we'll shatter some common “green” myths and further examine how sustainability relates to professional practice.
You will learn about how to initiate your decision-making process by considering consequences, especially around personal consumption (which is our biggest issue).
When we make choices, we consider the potential impacts of our actions and, in this case, inaction. We can consider and design for a future that avoids the potential catastrophes of inaction, by designing solutions that respect the systems that sustain life, while meeting the needs of the human species.
From there, taking a lifecycle approach will help overcome the simplistic thinking around sustainability that has caused many of the problems to begin with. Leyla weaves in fascinating examples of where good intentions have led to not-so-great outcomes, while providing you with practical tools that you can start to apply right after the session!
CHECK OUT THE NEXT COURSES IN THE SERIES
All Courses, Systems Thinking, Disruptive Design Method
Overcome linear thinking and unravel the interconnectedness of our world. This 5-part course will get your head around systems thinking and give you the tools you need to understand the complex social, industrial, and environmental systems at play.