Cultivate: Personal Sustainability for Professional Growth
We’re living in a time that calls us to act—not with grand gestures, but with thoughtful, effective steps.
People care. About their families, their communities, the health of the natural world around them. They want to make good choices that leave this painfully gorgeous Earth better than they found it.
But even with the best intentions, navigating sustainability in everyday life can feel overwhelming. What actions actually matter? Am I doing enough?
Confusion and self-doubt can lead to inaction. When our choices feel small or uncertain, it’s easy to wonder whether personal change is even worth it.
The hard part isn’t finding the will; it’s figuring out how to act in ways that make a real difference. And doing this across all the systems that shape our lives: food, energy, transportation, waste, water, and more. And then sustaining that kind of change, even as the world keeps shifting around us.
That's a lot to ask of anyone. But only when you lack the knowledge and support to guide you on your path.
Here’s a hopeful reminder: The climate crisis is real, but we are not powerless.
As Project Drawdown notes, individual actions—when multiplied across communities—can reduce global emissions by up to 30%. That’s not a side note. That’s a climate solution.
Thus, Al Gore urges us: "Help drive action on the climate crisis, in your workplace, in your community, in your network of contacts and friends, and most importantly in the public policy of the nation, in which you live."
To be clear: this isn’t about putting the responsibility for climate change on the individual. Regulatory bodies around the world are stepping up to require increased action from industry too. In the U.S., California is driving industry-wide emissions reductions and disclosures. In the EU, the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) will require some 6,000 businesses across 28 member states to comply starting this year. And these are just two examples. Rather, it’s about empowerment: If you care, then you can do something about it, and find enjoyment in the process.
Even global frameworks like the Paris Climate Accord depend on individual choices. While the agreement is international, it’s meant to be strengthened from the bottom up—by people who lead by example and call for change. That means each of us plays a role—not in isolation, but as part of a growing, grassroots-driven movement.
We know that real change sticks when it’s tied to what we care about.
If you already know you care about sustainability, then the solution to living your best sustainable life lies in three steps:
Step 1. Identify the specific values that drive your daily decisions
Step 2. Discover the most impactful sustainability actions that align with those values
Step 3. Take those actions using methods that are proven to support sustained behavior change
When we anchor our choices in what already matters to us, we create a sense of purpose that makes change easier to start and more fulfilling to maintain. Our actions become expressions of our identity, not obligations on a to-do list.
Until now, there hasn’t been a single resource that helps you do all three. You can find tools to clarify your values, content that lists high-impact climate actions, or tips for living more sustainably. But do any of them connect the dots—linking your values to meaningful actions and supporting you in making those changes stick?
A new resource to guide you—now available through ISSP.
That’s where Cultivate: Personal Sustainability for Professional Growth comes in. This self-paced, 10-module course is designed to support you through all three steps of sustainable behavior change:
Step 1. The course begins by helping you reflect on what motivates you most—whether that’s saving money, improving your health, supporting your community, or caring for nature. These “sustainability value drivers” help you clarify which types of sustainability actions will feel most rewarding and personally meaningful.
Step 2. Each module focuses on a different area of personal impact—travel, food, energy, waste, water, and more—and highlights science-backed actions that drive real environmental benefits. You’ll learn which behaviors matter most, and how they intersect with your values and lifestyle.
Step 3. You won’t just learn what to do—you’ll do it. Cultivate guides you in building a personalized sustainability action plan, then supports you in putting that plan into motion mid-course. Pre- and post-course assessments help track your progress and keep you motivated. In one company-led cohort, participants reported an estimated 43% reduction in carbon emissions and a 69% drop in water use.
How to get started.
Cultivate: Personal Sustainability for Professional Growth is now live in the ISSP on-demand course directory. It’s flexible, accessible, and designed for a global audience. You can complete the full 10-module journey or start with a topic that resonates—like energy, food, or water. Each module includes multimedia lessons, expert insights, and self-reflection activities that make the learning process engaging and meaningful.
And while the focus is personal, the benefits of this course also extend to your professional life. This course builds systems thinking, global awareness, and practical climate literacy—skills that can deepen your impact at work and in your community.
So whether you’re new to sustainability or a gray-haired sustainability professional, this course offers a clear, inspiring path forward. Check out Cultivate on the ISSP website today!