Introduction to Sustainability, Value Drivers, and Linking Personal Actions to Resilience and Climate Change

This module helps to prepare and set the stage for taking action. Meet Kate, learn what motivates you and how that alignment affects which sustainable actions work best and feel good for YOU and your life. We will dive into what sustainability actually means, how it builds personal resilience, and how it supports climate change mitigation.  

Building a Successful Foundation

Module two introduces you to a growth mindset, setting SMART goals, and how to develop behavior changes that work, keep you motivated and help you reach success. You’ll hear from behavior change expert Julie Dirksen on how to overcome barriers, create successful habits, and create lasting sustainable change.

The Travel & Transportation Impact Category

Transportation is one of the largest climate impact categories in our lives. This is an exciting topic area that is evolving quickly. Learn about Emerging Mobility and Clean Modes of Transport. What is Mobility as a Service (MaaS) and how is micro-mobility the future? You’ll hear from transportation expert, Ken Montler, who is progressing urban mobility across the globe and dive into measures that relate to your own life.

The Energy Impact Category

We all need energy to heat our homes and live our lives, but in this rapidly-growing world, how can we minimize the carbon emissions caused by this necessary resource? You’ll learn how to differentiate between energy conservation and optimization, learn how to reduce your own consumption of energy, and build resilience to the extreme weather impacts and attendant challenges we already face. Learn from our energy expert Angelo Campus, an innovative micro grid entrepreneur focused on rural resiliency, to understand what is possible for you around clean energy systems.

The Food Impact Category

Food is integral to our lives, health and happiness. It is also a critical pathway for successfully mitigating climate change. We explore the different areas around food waste, consumption and our diet and ways each of us can take actions that have little-to-no cost associated with them. You will meet expert Katie Cantrell, founder and CEO of Greener by Default and learn how simple a sustainable food mindset can be implemented at home and scaled to all types of businesses and organizations.

The Water Impact Category

Water is life, and critical to our survival. You will learn the basics of water quality, availability and how climate change has dramatically impacted the quality and quantity of the planet’s water supplies. We will critically review our usage of water and the sustainability measures that can dramatically impact our water footprint. You will learn about greywater and large and small ways to conserve potable water. Expert, Mshila Sio, will share the innovative solutions he is spearheading in Africa.

The Material Goods & Consumption Impact Category

This module covers all of the items in our lives that we buy, consume and ultimately, throw away. We will take a deep dive into the world of clothing, fashion and textiles. We will hear from Material Goods experts, Scott Welch in the U.S., and Aalia Mauro, from Europe, who will share different perspectives on a familiar topic to each of us.  You will learn about chemical recycling, repurposing of textiles, and how our consumer-primed mind needs to be transformed into a sustainably-focused mindset.

The Waste Impact Category

In this module, we investigate the trash in our lives and how we can value our waste. We go beyond refuse, reduce, reuse, and recycle and learn to understand how the world  is moving towards circular flows of valuable materials. You will get a taste of how to progress towards a zero-waste lifestyle, and hear from expert Mala Persaud, owner of the first zero waste store in Fairfax County, Virginia. And we deep-dive into two major waste areas of deep concern: plastic pollution and electronic waste, and how to reduce their negative impact in our lives.

The Home & Property Impact Category

Whether you live in a large house, a tiny home or apartment, there are a variety of large and small measures to mitigate against the impacts against climate change. We will explain the difference between deconstruction, demolition, and the value of each. You will meet Home Sustainability expert, Patrick Sughrue, and get inspired about how to move your dwelling towards net zero carbon, or simply a lower carbon emissions footprint.

The Land & Biodiversity Impact Category

Beyond our homes, the property we own or the green space that surrounds and comforts us, is vital to our health, the planet’s voluminous biodiversity, and the productivity of our soils that feed us. In this module, we focus on food resilience, regenerative agriculture and edible landscapes. Learn what you can do with a garden, balcony or even a spare strip of grass by the curb. Urban landscaping expert, Bjorn Low, will inspire you with his work and passions from the country of Singapore.

Knowledge Integration & Taking a Bias Towards Action

This is your lodestar moment! You are armed with the level of knowledge and understanding about climate change, consumerism, and your individual contributions to climate change to make meaningful strides in your own life around sustainability. You now know that Individual action is important but collective action and policy change is equally as crucial to successfully transition to a sustainable future that is accessible for all. In this final module we cover how climate change, human rights and sustainability are intimately intertwined. You will meet the environmental and social justice expert, Heetan Kalan.