This 5-part course on sustainability will help you think critically about where and how environmental and social impacts occur, see past ‘greenwashing’, start thinking in systems, map life cycles, and make more sustainable decisions.
Our Course on Sustainability:Social, Economic and Environmental
Sustainability is all about the social, economic and environmental considerations we can make to ensure we create a future that works better for all of us. In this course, learn how to map life cycles, how to calculate your ecological footprint, develop your ability to think critically about sustainability and bust through persistent eco-myths. This 5-part course on sustainability will equip you to reframe sustainability, think critically about what it is and isn’t, see past greenwashing, start thinking in systems, understand life cycles, and make more (truly) sustainable choices in your life and work.
Examine the historical and contemporary underpinnings of sustainability, as both a concept and a practice.
Delve into the product of pop culture’s greenwashing and how to: (a) see through it and (b) avoid accidentally doing it.
Engage in reflective thinking around environmental impacts and consequences, including understanding function and functional impacts, and learn life-cycle thinking and assessment methods.
Receive the methods for evaluating environmental and social impacts, including determining the ecological footprint.
Curriculum
What’s inside this course on sustainability
In this knowledge session, we take a proper look at the concept of sustainability beyond environmental folklore, and lay the foundations for how you can make more informed environmentally and socially-responsible choices in both your personal and professional lives alike.
We will explore how to integrate sustainability into decision-making and take a look at best-practice approaches to understanding its impact. Along the way, we’ll shatter some common “green” myths and further examine how sustainability relates to professional practice.
You will learn about how to initiate your decision-making process by considering consequences, especially around personal consumption (which is our biggest issue).
When we make choices, we consider the potential impacts of our actions and, in this case, inaction. We can consider and design for a future that avoids the potential catastrophes of inaction, by designing solutions that respect the systems that sustain life, while meeting the needs of the human species.
From there, taking a lifecycle approach will help overcome the simplistic thinking around sustainability that has caused many of the problems to begin with. Leyla weaves in fascinating examples of where good intentions have led to not-so-great outcomes in this course on sustainability. She also providing you with practical tools that you can start to apply right after the session!
Sustainability involves many dimensions of social, economic, and environmental value. It is the overarching term used to define the aspirations of building a human world which is aligned with the natural world.
Sustainability is an all-encompassing strategic approach to equalizing the economic, social, and environmental impacts of all actions, whether individually, in business, in governments, or in society as a whole. During this course on sustainability, you will understand the many aspects of behavioral, technological, organizational, operational, and cultural transformation that enable us all to move into a future that is healthier, more sustainable, and more positive than today.
LCA is a complex, detailed process of breaking down all the inputs which go into making something exist, and looking at the outputs that occur as a result.
Absolutely everything that is created goes through a series of life cycle stages, from raw material extraction to end of life. The scientific process of understanding what impacts occur as a result of the materials that move through our economy is called Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) (or analysis, depends on what country you are in).
Life Cycle Thinking (LCT) is a mindset which encourages producers to think about cause and effect, consequence and potential, before they start taking any action. This means that the decisions made will maximize the environmental benefits of what is created.
Systems thinking is about understanding dynamics so that more informed decisions can be made, consequences can be explained, and positive interventions can be designed.
Systems are essentially networks made up of nodes or agents that are linked in varied and diverse ways. By using systems thinking, we identify and understand these relationships as part of the exploration of the larger systems at play. Everything is interconnected; every system is made up of many subsystems, and is itself a part of larger systems. Just as we are made up of atoms with molecules and quantum particles, problems are made up of problems within problems!
The most important thing is to start thinking differently about problems and solutions. Things are never as simple as they first appear.
Many people say things like, “But, it’s biodegradable… so, it’s obviously better.” Terms like biodegradable, recyclable, and renewable are used interchangeably to mean good for the planet.
However, these words simply describe a material’s property – not an environmental benefit. They are often used by marketers to misdirect consumers into thinking that just because something is capable of biodegrading, it will also have an opportunity to do so.
Materials
Material one
We all have the capacity to help design a more sustainable future because we each have agency over our choices.
Finish this course on sustainability by activating your agency! From what we consume to what we produce, we have the opportunity to behave in a more sustainable way… so why don’t we? Yes, there are systemic issues that make it hard at times, but tension is part of creativity, and we have the scope and potential to solve the current set of issues we face.
Certification
Looking to advance further?
Consider taking the UnSchool Practitioner Certification. This 6 month program is for anyone interested in making a positive impact on the planet through the practice of systems, sustainability and design. It is a practice based program packed with content, including handbooks, videos, learning challenges, systems thinking, and the circular economy. Includes all 12 modules of the Disruptive Design Method, perfect for anyone looking to enhance their personal practice.
“Being part of the UnSchool is not just about finding a connection with a global group of individuals eager to do good. It’s about finding a way to activate your own agency, knowing that that’s the only real way to change your world.”
“The content has given me a practical way to delve into complex problems, exploring thinking far beyond my normal lines of inquiry, and to surface new areas for intervention and innovative ways of designing those interventions. Everyone who is tackling systems should learn this.”
Catriona McLagan
Refreshing
“As someone operating in the nonprofit sphere, it was refreshing to branch out and learn a new way of thinking. I’m going to take this new learning to become an agent of cultural change in my circles.”
Michael Paone
World renowned expert training
Your instructor: Leyla Acaroglu
Dr. Leyla Acaroglu teaches this course on sustainability. A sustainability provocateur, award-winning designer, UNEP Champion of the Earth, and creative changemaker pioneer, she challenges people to think differently about how the world works. Leyla’s main-stage TED talk on sustainability has been viewed over a million times, she is the founder of the UnSchool and creator of the Disruptive Design Method. As as a renowned international expert on systems thinking and sustainability, she runs workshops around the world and designs unique educational experiences that help equip people with the tools to intervene and change systems to make the status quo obsolete. Leyla is sought after for her unique approach to activating positive social change by design.
Options and Pricing
Two payment options
What you get
Best-practice approaches to understanding sustainability decision making
Shatter some common “green” myths
Examine how sustainability relates to professional practice
Overcome the simplistic thinking around sustainability
Practical tools that you can start to apply right away
You will have access for 180 days from the date of purchase.
We recommend a few hours a week over the course of a month.
If you need more time, please send us an email. There may be a small fee depending on how much more time you need. These are granted on a case by case basis.
Find out if you are eligible for our Equity Access Scholarships
As part of our goal to make our programs equitable, we offer both partial scholarships and payment plans. Our limited number of scholarships are awarded based on demonstrated need to certain select courses and programs. We fund these to promote equitable access to our programs. We are committed to offering our scholarships to community members who would otherwise be unable to access a program at all.
