10 Great Books Written About Sustainable Living

By Lauren Groff

Sustainable living is the ‘hot topic’ of the 21st century, as you probably already know by now. It is a great idea to read up on this topic before getting yourself nose deep in saving the planet, as many things we do, eat, buy, and create can be unsustainable for the planet as a whole without us even knowing it! These ten books below were written to allow the average person to wrap their head around sustainable living. Happy researching!

1: ‘How Bad Are Bananas? The carbon footprint of everything’ - Mike Berners-Lee

Mr. Berners-Lee takes an in-depth look into the world and its carbon footprint. This book dips its toe into the impact of buying food locally, environmental impact, and gives the reader a little tell-all into what carbon footprint actually is. Often times, people do not realize which purchasing structures and decisions actually cause an impact on the environmental world as a whole. 

2: ‘Where the Crawdads Sing’ - Delia Owens

This gorgeous fictional tale is Delia Owens’ first book and an incredibly detailed story of a small village on the coast of Northern Carolina. This story is set in the 1950s and 1960s and based around a twisted murder mystery story. However, the focus of this book is environmental work, pressure around keeping the world safe and contained. 

3: ‘Don't Even Think About It: Why Our Brains Are Wired to Ignore Climate Change’ - George Marshall

This is a great one for anyone who is looking into sustainability for the first time, or if you are interested in trying to live a sustainable life but do not quite know-how. The main focus of this book is the highlighting of the poor (so far) response to climate change, and how we as a society can improve it. 

4: ‘How to Give Up Plastic: Simple steps to living consciously on our blue planet’ - Will McCallum

By now, almost everyone knows how dangerous plastic can be, and how seriously we need to take it as a danger in order to tackle the issue as a whole. However, this is not at all a ‘bad news book’, and actually takes a more optimistic and pragmatic look at the situation, focusing on how we can make positive change instead.

5: ‘The History of Bees’ - Maja Lunde

This book is a wonderful work of nonfiction that tells the true stories of three beekeepers: one from the past, one from the present, and another from the future. The focus of the book is on sustainable living, human nature, and the way that humans and the environment interact. 

6: ‘Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things’ - Michael Braungart, William McDonough

This book is a great tale about the future of the industry, including the philosophy behind recycling and sustainability. It is beautifully written and very thought-provoking.  

7: ‘The Overstory’ - Richard Powers

This famous tale inspired by California Redwoods involves the lives of nine separate Americans and their experience with the destruction of forests. Deforestation is a really important part of sustainable living awareness that is not often addressed. 

8: ‘Small Is Beautiful: A Study of Economics as if People Mattered’ - E. F. Schumacher

This is a beautifully written collation of essays that were published in the late 1900s. This was written by critics of globalization, foremostly, but also by a staunch critic of western democratic governments. The energy crisis is also addressed here and sustainable future living is hit on. 

9: ‘Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Roll Back Global Warming’ - Paul Hawken 

‘Drawdown’ is a book written by Paul Hawken, but most accurately, is a book that collates ideas, recommendations, and policies from all the leading experts in those respective fields. Sustainable living is crucial for future generations and the conservation of our planet as a whole, and this book highlights the best ways to do this. 

10: ‘The Lorax’ - Dr. Seuss 

This one is a classic. You cannot really go wrong with a good doctor. Although this is on the outside a sweet little fairy-tale, it is actually a stark warning from Dr. Seuss about the incredible dangers of the destruction of our environment. A beautiful story with an environmental message? Thanks, Dr. Seuss. 

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