The Open University held its first online Sustainability event for staff in 2020 and we looked at breaking this issue down into easier 'manageable challenges' in our lives, so we can all do our bit to create positive change. We invited a range of external speakers to share their ideas with colleagues and recorded these sessions to share wider with those looking to make sustainable changes in their lives.
Talks about living sustainably
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Being Sustainable(ish)
Jen Gale explores the idea of leading a sustainable(ish) lifestyle.
Watch nowBeing Sustainable(ish)Level: 1 Introductory
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Fashion and the environment
There is a growing awareness that fashion – and particularly fast fashion – is environmentally unsustainable.
Watch nowFashion and the environmentLevel: 1 Introductory
Going on a plastic diet
Sisters Against Plastic (Mary and Theresa) are ‘normal people’ who noticed just how much plastic they were using.
Watch now ❯Going on a plastic diet
What you need to know about carbon footprints
Jo Hand explores carbon footprints and how we can all make an environmental impact.
Watch now ❯What you need to know about carbon footprints
Fighting Food Waste
Ann Storr explores simple options to tackle food waste.
Watch now ❯Fighting Food WasteExplore more activities
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Adventure in the Amazon
Pack your bags, board the plane and your journey starts now! Take the adventure through the Amazon and see how your choices will impact on the future of the rainforest.
Take part nowAdventure in the AmazonLevel: 1 Introductory
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How the fish we eat makes it onto our plates
Have you ever wondered how the fish you’re eating makes it onto your plate? Dr Vicky Johnson reveals several of the important stages of the journey, starting with the initial catch, to ending up at a restaurant or food supplier.
Take part nowHow the fish we eat makes it onto our plates -
Plastics in our ocean
Test your knowledge about plastics in our oceans, and learn about how they impact the environment by clicking on the image below...
Take part nowPlastics in our ocean -
In your garden: Bees
How can you support bees in your garden and why is it important?
Take part nowIn your garden: BeesLevel: 1 Introductory
Explore more articles
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How to respond to the climate emergency
Tackling climate change requires change at every level of society, and particularly in the systems and institutions of governance and leadership. As individuals, issues of climate change can feel remote to our own lives and leave us feeling disempowered. This article presents some ideas about how we can personally act in using the products we own differently, and reducing the environmental impact of those products across their lifetime.
Read nowHow to respond to the climate emergency -
Vegans: why they inspire fear and loathing among meat eaters
Matthew Cole and Kate Stewart explore why veganism stimulates such aggressive responses.
Read nowVegans: why they inspire fear and loathing among meat eatersLevel: 1 Introductory
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Traditional Ecological Knowledges: Learning from the past to inform the future
Many indigenous communities have used their environmental knowledge to manage their environment. This article explores Traditional Ecological Knowledges and how we can live more sustainably.
Read nowTraditional Ecological Knowledges: Learning from the past to inform the futureLevel: 1 Introductory
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Consumer choice
Jane Bickerstaffe provides some ideas about how to be an environmentally friendly shopper
Read nowConsumer choiceLevel: 1 Introductory
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What impact does your pet's food have on the environment?
Producing food for our four-legged friends comes with a massive environmental costs, explains Cailin Heinze.
Read nowWhat impact does your pet's food have on the environment?Level: 1 Introductory
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Is your wash day polluting the oceans?
Every time you wash your clothes, microfibres escape into the environment. And that, explains Dr Natalie Welden, is a huge threat to our oceans.
Read nowIs your wash day polluting the oceans?Level: 1 Introductory
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Amazonian challenges: Cattle ranching and agriculture
Extensive cattle ranching and agriculture have resulted in deforestation in virtually every Amazon country.
Read nowAmazonian challenges: Cattle ranching and agriculture -
In my backyard: How can I help the environment?
The environment may be a global issue, but there are many ways you can act locally. Here are a few ways in which you can ‘do your bit’ to really make a difference
Read nowIn my backyard: How can I help the environment?Level: 1 Introductory
Explore more courses
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Could we control our climate?
Climate crisis is one of the grand challenges we face as a society, but it can be hard to approach as a subject. Not only can the science at times seem dauntingly complex, but the solutions are also far from clear. This leaves many people feeling confused, guilty, anxious, angry, or else completely switched off from the subject. This course tells the story of climate science in a new way, to find a fresh perspective for thinking about the future. It looks at the problem through the lens of climate engineering - the idea of deliberately trying to modify the climate, to counteract the changes we’re observing and predict what will happen in the future. The subject contains everything from hope – new technologies that could prevent the worst impacts of climate change – to enormous controversies over their risks and the way they could be used. More than that, climate engineering serves as a useful tool to move beyond the usual, often frustrating conversations around what to do about the climate crisis. By examining exactly what we want for our planet's climate, and what we would be willing to sacrifice to get there, we might find more clarity in our search for solutions.
Learn moreCould we control our climate?Level: 1 Introductory
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Why sustainable energy matters
Access to safe, clean and sustainable energy supplies is one of the greatest challenges facing humanity during the twenty-first century. This free course, Why sustainable energy matters, will survey the world's present energy systems and their sustainability problems, together with some of the possible solutions to those problems and how these might emerge in practice.
Learn moreWhy sustainable energy mattersLevel: 1 Introductory
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An introduction to sustainable energy
The search for sustainable energy will dominate the twenty-first century. This free course, An introduction to sustainable energy, provides an introductory overview of the present energy systems and takes a brief look at where the world may find energy in the future - cleaner use of fossil fuels or renewable energy sources?
Learn moreAn introduction to sustainable energyLevel: 1 Introductory
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Eating for the environment
‘You are what you eat’, goes the old adage, but what you eat also has an impact on the environment. Transcript This free course, Eating for the environment, will explore the links between food, nutrition and environmental sustainability. It will start by exploring the diversity on your dinner plate and encourage you to reflect on it in relation to dietary choices and preferences of people around the world. It will explore the connections between food, culture and traditions, and the challenges in providing healthy and nutritious food to the world’s growing population. The course will examine innovative approaches to food that also help environmental sustainability.
Learn moreEating for the environmentLevel: 2 Intermediate
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Can renewable energy sources power the world?
We ask the question ‘Can renewable energy sources power the world?’ as a response to the growing awareness that increased use of renewable energy technologies is making a major contribution to global efforts to limit anthropogenic climate change. The course begins by examining the environmental concerns that have caused a rise in interest in renewable energy, introducing the main sources and technologies, and describing global efforts to increase the share of renewables. The course then looks at each of the principal renewable energy technologies and the contributions they might make to global energy demand. Finally, several future energy scenarios are analysed to show how combinations of renewable energy sources and technologies could provide a major share of global energy needs.
Learn moreCan renewable energy sources power the world?Level: 1 Introductory
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Citizen science and global biodiversity
This free course, Citizen science and global biodiversity, deals with the importance of biodiversity and explores how anyone can contribute to and be involved in identifying and recording wildlife, as a citizen scientist. It looks at what citizen science is, and how citizen science facilitates public involvement in scientific research activities as individuals learn and build skills. Traditional biological keys are introduced and online recording is demonstrated using citizen science techniques and practical activities using the www.iSpotnature.org platform. The course goes on to demonstrate how, once a species is identified, web resources can be used to research its ecology. The role of citizen science is illustrated through a number of case studies from across the world. Finally, the course concludes by exploring the impact citizen scientists are having on recording biodiversity around the globe.
Learn moreCitizen science and global biodiversityLevel: 1 Introductory
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Climate change: transitions to sustainability
Human societies have to take urgent action to end their dependences on fossil fuels. We have to alter the whole path of our development and decision making in order to make our societies both environmentally adaptable and sustainable. This free course, Climate change, takes on the task of trying to chart some of the ways in which it might be possible.
Learn moreClimate change: transitions to sustainabilityLevel: 2 Intermediate
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Global warming
This free course provides an introduction to global warming. We will be considering the history of global warming by looking at the pattern of ice ages and analysis of recorded temperatures. We will aim to gather meaningful information from this data. We will briefly assess the impact and influence of humans on global warming and, finally, we will examine climate models and how to predict future changes.
Learn moreGlobal warmingLevel: 1 Introductory
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Introducing environmental decision making
Many of the decisions we make have implications for our environment, particularly those concerning natural resources and waste. Taking account of environmental factors in decision making can be both complex and challenging. This free course, Introducing environmental decision making, considers decisions in their broader contexts and advocates a systems approach to environmental decision making.
Learn moreIntroducing environmental decision makingLevel: 3 Advanced
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Nature matters: caring and accountability
This free course, Nature matters: caring and accountability, considers environmental responsibility and what may matter from a caring perspective and an accountability perspective. Caring for an environment compromising the natural world and ensuring accountability for harm or wrong done to the environment.
Learn moreNature matters: caring and accountabilityLevel: 3 Advanced
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