The best 18 Sustainability books

1
The Climate Book

The Climate Book

Greta Thunberg
The Facts and the Solutions
4.1 (37 ratings)

What's The Climate Book about?

The Climate Book (2023) unites dozens of voices in a compelling and eye-opening exploration of the complex relationships between climate change, politics, and media. Offering insights into the interconnectedness of various global issues and the urgent need for systemic change, it contains practical, actionable steps towards a sustainable and equitable future.

Who should read The Climate Book?

  • Everyone concerned about our planet Earth
  • Climate activists looking to bolster their tactics arsenal 
  • Politicians and journalists who want to be part of the solution, not the problem 

2
How Bad Are Bananas?

How Bad Are Bananas?

Mike Berners-Lee
The Carbon Footprint of Everything
4.2 (252 ratings)

What's How Bad Are Bananas? about?

In How Bad are Bananas? (2010), author Mike Berner-Lee provides readers with an A-to-Z guide of how they can start living a more environmentally conscious life and reduce their own carbon footprint. You may think you’re familiar with climate change and carbon footprints, but do you really know the everyday activities that contribute to the current environmental crisis? From grocery shopping to washing your clothes, you’ll learn how to be more efficient and less wasteful.

Who should read How Bad Are Bananas??

  • Anyone curious about their own carbon footprint
  • Environmentalists in the fight against global warming
  • Consumers who want to make more informed purchases

3
The Creator Mindset

The Creator Mindset

Nir Bashan
92 Tools to Unlock the Secrets to Innovation, Growth, and Sustainability
4.2 (125 ratings)

What's The Creator Mindset about?

The Creator Mindset (2020) is a comprehensive guide to incorporating creativity into everything you do. Far from being something that only artists possess, creativity is in fact an essential ingredient in any successful career or business. Unfortunately, most of us squander our full creative potential by not realizing we have it to begin with. Get ready to unlock the latent creative talent that’ll give you and your business an edge over the competition.

Who should read The Creator Mindset?

  • Professionals who want to improve their careers and businesses
  • Leaders who want to inspire their employees to be more creative
  • Anyone who wants to think and act more creatively

4
How to Avoid a Climate Disaster

How to Avoid a Climate Disaster

Bill Gates
The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need
4.6 (406 ratings)

What's How to Avoid a Climate Disaster about?

How to Avoid a Climate Disaster (2021) is a guidebook to getting the world to an important milestone: zero greenhouse gas emissions. Bill Gates shares the knowledge he’s gained through his role on international climate commissions and as a go-to source of funding for climate solution startups. He pinpoints the ideas that show the most promise and explains the work that still needs to be done. 

Who should read How to Avoid a Climate Disaster?

  • Anyone concerned about climate change
  • Investors interested in new funding opportunities
  • Business leaders looking for ways to help

5
21st Century Investing

21st Century Investing

William Burckart and Steven D. Lydenberg
Redirecting Financial Strategies to Drive Systems Change
3.4 (185 ratings)

What's 21st Century Investing about?

21st Century Investing (2021) is a guide to ethical and responsible investment strategies. Instead of making money at the expense of our fragile social and environmental systems, you can invest in ways that will actually strengthen them – ensuring societal stability and long-term returns. 

Who should read 21st Century Investing?

  • Investors wondering how to square profitability with social justice 
  • Anyone curious about the future of investment strategy
  • Savers hoping to future-proof their investments in an increasingly uncertain world

6
What We Owe the Future

What We Owe the Future

William MacAskill
A Guide to Ethical Living for the Fate of Our Future
4.3 (215 ratings)

What's What We Owe the Future about?

What We Owe the Future (2022) makes the case for longtermism –⁠ the idea that people today have an obligation to create a good future for successive generations. Using philosophical reasoning, historical anecdotes, and social science research, it argues that the current moment could decide whether future people will live happy, flourishing lives or extraordinarily miserable ones. By carefully considering our actions with respect to issues like AI safety, biotechnology, and value lock-in, we increase the chances that future people will thrive –⁠ just as many of us do, now, thanks to people from the past.

Who should read What We Owe the Future?

  • Activists and charity donors who want to maximize the good they do
  • People interested in moral philosophy and ethics 
  • Anyone concerned about the future of humanity

7
Drawdown

Drawdown

Paul Hawken (ed.)
The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming
4.3 (123 ratings)

What's Drawdown about?

There’s no doubt: global warming is real and its main driver is carbon emissions from human activity. Drawdown (2017) argues that despite the depth of the climate crisis humans have manufactured, it’s not too late for us to turn back the clock. From solar power to agroforestry to electric cars, Drawdown compiles countless proven ways that radically reduce human carbon emissions. This essential guide contains all the knowledge and technology that we need to reverse global warming and save the world.

Who should read Drawdown?

  • Individuals who care about the future of humanity
  • Business owners, policy makers, activists and homeowners who want to make a measurable difference
  • Science nerds, tech enthusiasts and nature lovers

8
The Future We Choose

The Future We Choose

Christiana Figueres
Surviving the Climate Crisis
4.2 (194 ratings)

What's The Future We Choose about?

The Future We Choose (2020) presents us with two potential visions of life on earth: one of sweltering heat, diminishing biodiversity, and severely declining quality of life, and one where the planet’s temperature has stabilized, life flourishes, and humanity prospers. The world we choose will depend on the actions we take now, in what is a critical decade in the fight against climate change. While the prospect may seem daunting, it’s time to rise to the challenge and determine our future.

Who should read The Future We Choose?

  • Climate crusaders feeling hopeless about their cause
  • Anyone who wants to know how they can contribute to a sustainable world
  • Those worried about the future

9
Food and Nutrition

Food and Nutrition

P.K. Newby
What Everyone Needs to Know
4.1 (256 ratings)

What's Food and Nutrition about?

Food and Nutrition (2018) looks at the science behind what we eat. Based on only the best and most thorough studies, it cuts through the noise and fads to reveal what we really know about healthy eating.

Who should read Food and Nutrition?

  • Anyone interested in what actually constitutes a healthy diet
  • Foodies who want to make better choices
  • People curious about sustainable farming

10
We Are the Weather

We Are the Weather

Jonathan Safran Foer
Saving the Planet Begins at Breakfast
4.3 (226 ratings)

What's We Are the Weather about?

We Are the Weather (2019) is a rigorous investigation of climate change, what it means and why humans seem so powerless to tackle it. Jonathan Safran Foer argues that while climate change is terrifying and hard to understand, there is a very simple action that we can take: By leaving out meat and animal products for breakfast and lunch, we can make a huge contribution to the health of the planet.  

Who should read We Are the Weather?

  • People who want to save the planet, but feel paralyzed by what first step to take
  • Psychology buffs who are interested in group dynamics, and what motivates people to act 
  • Would-be vegans who need a bit more persuasion to take the plunge

11
The Fate of Food

The Fate of Food

Amanda Little
What We’ll Eat in a Bigger, Hotter, Smarter World
4.1 (60 ratings)

What's The Fate of Food about?

The Fate of Food (2019) looks at a rapidly changing world and the question of how we’ll feed our ever-growing population. Is it possible to produce a clean, climate-resilient food supply that’s adequate to meet our needs? The Fate of Food examines the technological and sociological demands of feeding the world. 

Who should read The Fate of Food?

  • People concerned with the effects of industrial agriculture on the environment
  • Food lovers fascinated by the farm-to-table journey
  • Science buffs wanting to keep up with the latest trends in agricultural science

12
Food Fix

Food Fix

Mark Hyman
How to Save Our Health, Our Economy, Our Communities, and Our Planet – One Bite at a Time
4.5 (131 ratings)

What's Food Fix about?

Food Fix (2020) shows us how the world's gravest problems, like chronic disease, inequality, and climate collapse, can all be traced back to our food and the way we produce it. Here, American physician Mark Hyman describes what we should do next, setting out the path to healthy eating and regenerative farming. 

Who should read Food Fix?

  • Anyone interested in eating and living well
  • Environmentalists and climate activists
  • Farmers looking to transition to sustainable agriculture

13
A Life on Our Planet

A Life on Our Planet

David Attenborough
My Witness Statement and a Vision for the Future
4.6 (192 ratings)

What's A Life on Our Planet about?

A Life on Our Planet (2020) is celebrated naturalist David Attenborough’s account of the incredible wonders he’s seen in his 94 years on Earth – and a vivid warning of what will happen if we continue on our current path. It’s accompanied by a Netflix documentary of the same name.

Who should read A Life on Our Planet?

  • Anyone who loves nature television
  • Those concerned about global warming
  • People who want to take action to save our planet before it’s too late

14
The Necessary Revolution

The Necessary Revolution

Peter Senge
How Individuals and Organizations Are Working Together to Create a Sustainable World
3.6 (39 ratings)

What's The Necessary Revolution about?

The Necessary Revolution (2008) sheds light on the environmental and social challenges faced by people living in today’s world. Drawing on stories from real people and real communities, these blinks introduce the mentality we must adopt to fight for sustainability.

Who should read The Necessary Revolution?

  • Eco-conscious entrepreneurs
  • Anyone interested in sustainability

15
Waste Not

Waste Not

Erin Rhoads
Make a Big Difference by Throwing Away Less
4.0 (45 ratings)

What's Waste Not about?

Waste Not (2019) is a practical guide to changing your consumption lifestyle in order to have a big, eco-friendly impact. Learn how to enjoy the conveniences of the modern world without leaving behind a pile of modern trash.

Who should read Waste Not?

  • People who want to reduce their waste output
  • Parents looking to educate their kids about recycling
  • All those concerned with climate change

16
Prosperity without Growth

Prosperity without Growth

Tim Jackson
Economics for a Finite Planet
4.5 (31 ratings)

What's Prosperity without Growth about?

Prosperity Without Growth argues that our present model of economic growth is not sustainable: it strains the resources of our planet to a breaking point, and causes climate change, environmental damage and psychological harm. Jackson presents a vision for a sustainable, ecological economic model that focuses on public welfare rather than growth, and explores the ways in which this transition might be realized.

Who should read Prosperity without Growth?

  • Economists, ecologists, sociologists and students of development studies
  • Policymakers and think-tankers interested in moving towards a sustainable economy
  • Anyone interested in alternatives to the prevailing logic of limitless economic growth

17
Eco-Business

Eco-Business

Peter Dauvergne and Jane Lister
A Big-Brand Takeover of Sustainability
4.5 (16 ratings)

What's Eco-Business about?

Eco-Business (2013) unpacks corporate sustainability initiatives to reveal a business model that has far more to do with profit and market share than earnest environmentalism. The tools and tactics described in these blinks allow businesses to cut costs and maximize profits, all in the name of the environment. Yet through firms’ collaboration with governments and NGOs, some corporate eco-initiatives can actually have a positive effect on the environment.

Who should read Eco-Business?

  • Business leaders looking to cut costs, increase efficiency and promote a “green” image
  • Policymakers curious about the real impact of corporate sustainability initiatives
  • Consumers wanting to know how their purchases affect the environment

18
The Price of Thirst

The Price of Thirst

Karen Piper
Global Water Inequality and the Coming Chaos
3.7 (10 ratings)

What's The Price of Thirst about?

In The Price of Thirst (2014), author Karen Piper reveals how private water companies have not only failed to offer universal access to clean water but also contributed to environmental degradation and political conflict amid a quest for profit.

Who should read The Price of Thirst?

  • Environmentalists concerned with global concerns over water
  • Political scientists studying water rights issues
  • Anyone interested in the environment and climate change

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