10 best books to help you live more sustainably

Best: Overall

“Sustainability” can sometimes sound drab and boring, but it needn’t be! This surprisingly feel good guide grabs us by the hand and runs, joyfully, straight into the solutions. It examines every aspect of our lives and how we can do better, without losing our personalities and pals in the process.

From a meltdown over plastic cutlery in Wholefoods, to “being a little bit activist” by playing drums for Extinction Rebellion, Isabel Losada takes us on her own inspiring, and often hilarious, eco journey. Honest and humble, with many laugh out loud moments, it’s a genuinely enjoyable read for anyone who is feeling eco anxious.

Best: For easy swaps

It was the crucial “ish” in the title of this new book that hooked us. Blogger turned author Jen Gale recently spent a year buying nothing new and documenting the challenge online. She’s relaxed her rules a little now but remains passionate about all things sustainable living.

Covering everything from food and fashion to work and travel, she offers hundreds of tips for doing good every day without radically changing your life. Get ready to go zero waste and plastic-free. Ish.

Best: For fast fashion facts

Rarely a day goes by without fast fashion brands hitting the headlines. We’re waking up to the scary fact that global clothing production has roughly doubled in just 15 years, with many cheap clothes worn once and piling up in landfills.

Journalist and long-term fashion aficionado Lauren Bravo set about changing her fast fashion habits in an effort to be more sustainable. The result is a book that’s refreshingly honest and never patronising, overflowing with fabulous tips for repairing, recycling and buying clothes that last, even on a budget.

Best: For reducing single-use plastic

Enough plastic is thrown away every year to circle the planet four times. If we don’t act powerfully, and fast, there will be more plastic than fish in our oceans by 2050. These are just two of the hard hitting stats from sustainability journalist Lucy Siegle’s accessible guide to cutting back on plastic usage.

Given how many single-use water bottles, coffee cups and carrier bags we get through, Lucy reckons that if just 12 readers adopt her “reduce, rethink, refill, refuse” approach, it could save up to 15,000 single-use plastic items from landfill every year. Not too shabby, huh?

Best: Motivational book

This pocket-sized manifesto by teen climate activist Greta Thunberg will motivate anybody who has ever felt powerless in the fight against climate change. That’s all of us, right? 11 speeches written and presented by the activist on the global stage – including her historic United Nations address – have been collated into an 80-page call to arms. It’s impossible not to be inspired by this New York Times bestseller from a deserving Nobel Peace Prize nominee. Tiny book, big voice.

Best: Cookbook

The very cool Jack Monroe has made a name for themselves campaigning on poverty issues and writing budget cookbooks. The plant-based recipes in Vegan(ish) are simple and affordable, with glossy colour photos tempting you to try something new.

The recipes are 100 per cent vegan, with the “ish” referring to Monroe’s belief that forgoing animal products, even if only once a week, is good for both the environment and your bank balance. We’re trying the beetroot and lentil lasagne next.

Best: For eco-friendly travel

Lonely Planet is the leading travel guidebook publisher for good reason, so we were excited to see this new guide to the world’s best eco-friendly destinations join its extensive range.

Full of savvy tips on how to be a more sustainable traveller, it introduces us to nearly 180 “escapes”, including an Egyptian eco lodge that’s powered solely by beeswax candles. Each “escape” is labelled with its sustainability brownie points – from conservation opportunities to community homestays.

Best: For information about carbon fooprint

A decade on from its first publication, this groundbreaking green guide has been fully updated and expanded. Mike Berners-Lee, brother to internet inventor Tim, is an Oxford educated professor of social futures.

This book focuses on humanity’s carbon footprint, revealing the effect that everything from Google searches to volcanoes (and, of course, bananas) has on carbon emissions. He arms the reader with clear figures and tools to help us reduce our own carbon footprint and lobby government and businesses.

This is serious stuff delivered with a light touch, and never patronising.

Best: Gardening book

During lockdown, those of us lucky enough to have some outdoor space induldged our inner Monty Dons. But did you know that there are ways of gardening that are kinder to our planet than others?

This book by bumblebee expert Dave Goulson will inspire you to grow your own wildflower meadow that bees, moths and beloved earwigs will be thrilled to call home. Though a tad too wordy in parts, this guide overflows with passion and Goulson’s lists of his favourite plants for pollinators and birds are particularly handy.

Best: For simple solutions

Green activist Martin Dorey is the founder of #2minutebeachclean, which encourages beachgoers to spend two minutes picking up all the litter they can see. His new book takes this successful approach further, suggesting a host of ideas for making a difference every day, even when you’re busy. The chapters on where our waste goes, the uncluttered guide to what we can recycle and the suggestions for simple product swaps are particular highlights.