Our Favourite Sustainability Books, Podcasts & Docos

This summer, instead of tuning into your usual movies & TV shows, stay stimulated and inspired with one or more of our favourite sustainability books, podcasts or docos. With learnings about plant-based eating, climate change, decluttering and more, you’re sure to learn a thing or two!

Books

If you haven’t read How To  Give Up Plastic – start there. We also recommend joining your local library and borrowing these books. Usually the library will get in any book you request and for free!

Cradle to Cradle: “Reduce, reuse, recycle”. This is the standard “cradle to grave” manufacturing model dating back to the Industrial Revolution that we still follow today. In this thought-provoking read, chemist Michael Braungart and architect William McDonough propose that instead of minimising waste, we should be striving to create value. This is the essence of Cradle to Cradle: waste need not to exist at all. McDonough and Braungart make a revolutionary case for remaking the way we make things.

From What Is to What If: Unleashing the Power of Imagination to Create the Future We Want: Today we are facing an epidemic of loneliness, anxiety and poor mental health. There’s a rise in extremist movements and governments. We are facing catastrophic climate change, biodiversity loss and food insecurity. Put simply, the future looks grim. From What Is to What If is a call to action to reclaim and unleash our collective imagination, told through the stories of individuals and communities around the world who are witnessing rapid and dramatic change for the better.

The Uninhabitable Earth: Need to get up-to-speed on the climate crisis? Then this may be the book for you. The past, present and future of life in this time of global warming is unpacked in The Uninhabitable Earth, conveying not only the urgency of our environmental crisis, but the opportunity we still have to seize the solutions and turn things around.

Earth is Hiring: A playful conversation about the new way to live, lead, earn, and give. This book is an invitation to the people all over the world who give a sh*t about each other and our earth. A refreshing read with powerful messages which will leave you feeling inspired but without being overwhelmed.

Podcasts

The Minimalists: Most of you have probably come across ‘The Minimalists’ Netflix doco already. The podcast expands on this topic even further so if you enjoyed the doco, you’ll probably love this too. Joshua Fields Millburn & Ryan Nicodemus focus on living a meaningful life with less stuff. The Minimalists don’t focus on having less, less, less. They focus on making room for more: more time, more passion, more creativity, more experiences, more contribution, more contentment, more freedom. Clearing the clutter from life’s path helps make that room.

Talking Tastebuds: A fun and easy listen on your walk or commute to and from work, Talking Tastebuds is a weekly interview series in which Venetia Falconer chats to a special guest about their life with food. Whether they live to eat or eat to live, Venetia will uncover their favourite childhood dishes, their ultimate comfort food and their death row dinner. Hello, foodie inspo! She also touches on mental health, wellbeing, sustainability, slow fashion and the environment so it’s an all-round goodie.

Deliciously Ella: Hosted by Ella and Matthew Mills, husband and wife founders of Deliciously Ella, the podcast welcomes guests from business, health and nutrition backgrounds to share their stories and advice. From diet myths and sustainable fashion insights, to creating a more mindful and happy life for yourself, there’s many a theme available for listening on the Deliciously Ella podcast. A great one to pop on in the car on your drive to the bach!

Docos

Most of you have probably already seen the likes of A Plastic Ocean, The True Cost and No Impact Man and they’re packed with so much information, you almost need to watch them twice! You can check out our 8 must watch sustainability docos blog here which has all the classics.

The Game Changers: One of the newer docos to Netflix, The Game Changers delves into the correlation between plant-based eating and athletic performance. With a star-studded production team including Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jackie Chan, Novak Djokovic, Lewis Hamilton and Chris Paul, The Game Changers covers multiple success stories of plant-based athletes, references scientific studies and touches on other arguments for plant-based diets that extend to non-athletes. It is an enlightening watch for those wanting extra inspo to go plant-based.

2040: Concerned about his young daughter’s future, filmmaker Damon Gameau travels the world in search of new approaches and solutions to climate change – reducing our dependence on carbon, pulling people out of poverty and helping create a better 2040. It features Damon meeting with innovators and changemakers in many fields to draw on their expertise.

Forks Over Knives: Remaining on the theme of plant-based eating, Forks Over Knives is another Netflix must-watch. Researchers explore the possibility that people changing their diets from animal-based to plant-based can help control or eliminate diseases like cancer and diabetes. Some have referred to Forks Over Knives as “one of the most influential documentaries of our time”.