“If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito.” – His Holiness The Dalai Lama
Creating a sustainable future does not rest on our individual shoulders alone. We can adopt more sustainable lifestyles, but this needs to be supported and facilitated by those in power, especially Governments, international institutions, businesses and billionaires. By galvanizing a global movement, we can demand a call to action.
The Anatomy of Action challenge is doing just that. Brought to you by the United Nations Environment Programme, the UnSchool of Disruptive Design and their partnership network, including Sustainable & Social, the initiative will re-energize the motivations to uptake a sustainable lifestyle across food, stuff, movement, money and fun.
We know that our hands are powerful tools for taking action in the pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals, especially SDG #12 – Responsible Production and Consumption.
Through education, stimulating conversations and online activity that will run from Tuesday 28th September to Tuesday 12th October, the Anatomy of Action initiative will champion 15 actions to transform our everyday habits.
Take a look below at the myriad of ways we can help to change the world. From each section, I have handpicked one topic that strongly resonates with the mission behind Sustainable & Social and have shared some key tips and tricks to consider!
Food
- Protein swaps
- Grow your own
- Use all your food
- Store food in sealed containers
- Extend food life by canning, preserving, fermenting and freezing
- Make stock from your leftovers and compost your food scraps
- Share your food with those that may need it most
- Plan precisely and design your meals to use the entire food product
- Only buy what you can finish or save
- Fall in love with the ugly foot and veg
Read my tips on fighting food waste and the latest news about food redistribution on Forbes here.
Stuff
- Beyond buying
- Ditch disposables
- Fashion slow down
- Prepair, reuse, share, sell and recycle
- Purchase vintage/old/second hand
- Opt for quality over quantity
- Support sustainable brands
- Question conventional brands about how they make their clothes and how they are moving towards sustainability
- Voice your concerns – tell brands when you are not happy with their practices.
You can read more about sustainable fashion on S & S here.
Move
- Share your ride
- Go cleaner
- Keep active
- Start a cycling, walking or running commuter group
- Switch from driving to cycling, walking, or (safely) scooting!
- Use public nature spaces to support urban conversation and regeneration projects
- Get outside for at least 1 hour a day
Alongside the environmental benefits, keeping active has a powerful positive impact on our mental-health. Read more about content on mindfulness here.
Money
- Divestment
- Energy positive homes
- Ethical investment
- Ask your bank about their sustainable investment policy. (If they don’t have one, take a look at these alternatives)
- Ask your employer about your pension fund. Switch to an ethical pension provider.
- Make a request to your investment fund manager to move your money to responsible stocks, bonds and funds aligned to your values
- Divest from fossil fuels
- Swap energy providers to renewable suppliers
You can read more about sustainable finance on S & S here.
Fun
- Enjoy the journey
- Choose experiences
- Stay curious
- Learn from nature and see where it fits in with your life
- Embrace a life of constant learning, adventure and curiosity and keep an open mind
- Foster an independent open mindset and adopt a systems thinking approach
- Be future focused, stay optimistic about how we can contribute to a better world
- Use formal and informal education tools to learn new things
- Seek and support new ideas that make the world a better place
Intellectual curiosity and a desire to constantly grow our knowledge on sustainability is perfectly aligned to the mission of S & S.
These areas are initial thought starters and there are of course, numerous other ways we can contribute to society and the environment to create planetary resilience. Read more about the in-depth research and analysis on sustainable living here and you can also view details for the official event.
Interested in learning more about sustainable lifestyles and education? Head to One Planet Network for more.
Join the conversation on Instagram with us at any time, but especially from 28th September to 12th October by following @TheOfficialAnatomyofAction and using these hashtags #AnatomyofAction #ActNow #GlobalGoals
Follow the Anatomy of Action on LinkedIn.
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