A selection of books, podcasts, courses, organisations and more, for information and inspiration.

Sustainability resources

You’ll notice that book links go to our reading list on Bookshop.org, which supports local, independent bookstores, who are much more likely than Amazon to pay the appropriate corporate tax, and you won’t be contributing to Bezos’ fortune.

Jane Goodall's Hopecast

A wonderful podcast from the inimitable Jane Goodall. Simply hearing her soothing voice will make your day. She hosts inspiring guests and, in the Mailbag episodes, responds to listeners’ questions.

Outrage + Optimism

Brought to you by Christiana Figueres, Tom Rivett-Carnac and Paul Dickinson, if you listen to one podcast about sustainability, this should be it!

The Future We Choose: Surviving the Climate Crisis

Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac, architects of the Paris Agreement, take us on a tour of our possible futures – first terrifying and then reassuring — and map out the route we need to take to safeguard our future.

How Bad Are Bananas? The carbon footprint of everything

It’s not often that you see ‘entertaining’ and ‘carbon footprint’ in the same sentence. This enjoyable book by Mike Berners-Lee is packed full of useful information including how we can aim to live a 5-tonne lifestyle.

edie

A ‘purpose-driven business media brand’ for sustainability, energy and environmental professionals. The daily news alert is a great way to keep on top of sustainability initiatives.

Ellen MacArthur Foundation

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation develops and promotes the idea of a circular economy, offering a treasure trove of resources like courses and sector-specific reports.

Sustainababble

A delightful podcast which can always put a smile on your face…you never expected to find a comedy podcast about the environment, did you? No new episodes since the end of 2022, but worth listening to past ones.

Turning the Tide on Plastic

Lucy Siegle’s book is a fascinating revelation of how this ubiquitous material has taken over our planet, and how we can turn around the tidal wave of plastic.

Doughnut Economics Action Lab

Kate Raworth’s model of doughnut economics combines the concepts of planetary and social boundaries. We want to live in the ring of the doughnut, the ‘safe and just space for humanity’. This is a community where people can share doughnut economics in action.

Business Sustainability Management

The Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership offers this whistlestop tour of sustainability in business. These eight intense weeks of reading, discussion, inspiration, and study could change your life!

Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman

Yvon Chouinard tells the story behind Patagonia: an internationally recognised, politically-active brand that epitomises sustainable business.

2040

This feels like a companion film to the book, The Future We Choose. It’s a vision of the world in 2040 if we embrace ‘the best solutions already available to us to improve our planet’.

The True Cost

A documentary about the human and environmental costs of fashion. After watching this, you’ll probably avoid fast fashion and may start buying secondhand.

Ecosia

Instead of relying on Google, which doesn’t pay its fair share of taxes, use a search engine that donates at least 80% of its profits to reforestation and planting trees. Make the world a cleaner place!

WWF Environmental Footprint Calculator

After answering a handful of questions, you can get an estimate of your environmental footprint and how it compares to the UK average, in tonnes. Keep in mind that Mike Berners-Lee advocates a 5 tonne lifestyle.

Wilding

Isabella Tree recounts the pioneering rewilding project at Knepp in West Sussex. It delves into the stories of single species as much as the benefits of rewilding, like biodiversity, soil health, and flood mitigation.

Website Carbon Calculator

Find out how much CO2 is produced every time someone visits your website. Currently ICT produces 2.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions.