Planting a Seed: Three Simple Steps to Sustainable Living

by Kate Gaertner

2022 Nautilus Award Silver, Green/Restorative/Sustainable Practices.

Discover your path toward a more sustainable life.

The science on climate change is in, and its impacts are being felt around the globe. It’s time for every one of us to start finding a new way of living, working, and moving around our planet. The good news is, it doesn’t have to be hard, and it doesn’t have to feel like a sacrifice. By understanding how you fit into the global picture, and investigating what changes work best for you, you can soften your impact on the planet in as many areas of your life that feel right and work for you. It just takes some planning, some action, and some practice.

In Planting a Seed , corporate sustainability expert Kate Gaertner shows you how to develop an action plan that will help you develop new habits and ways of living that fit into your daily life. You’ll gain greater insight into how you are personally connected to the larger ecosystems and environmental issues, and start discovering and embracing your values every day through your actions, commitments, and purchases.

You’ll learn about the six impact categories where your actions can be felt, and customize an adaptation plan that builds from where you are. Offering ideas for sustainability at a small, medium, and large level, Kate shows that living lightly can also mean living well. Accessible and lively, Planting a Seed charts a way toward a greener future by encouraging each of us to find the sustainability path that feels just right.

216 pages, Paperback

Published October 19, 2021

About the author

Kate Gaertner is a leading expert, sought-after speaker and consultant in corporate sustainability with 25 years of combined corporate and entrepreneurial experience. She holds a Masters of Science in Sustainable Management from the University of Wisconsin, an M.B.A. from the Wharton School, and an A.B. from Dartmouth College.

Kate serves on the board of the XXcelerate Fund, a business-accelerator and fund for women-led businesses and has held positions at XM Satellite Radio, Ziff Davis Media, and Time Inc., as well as worked as a consultant to Fortune 500 companies developing go-to-market business strategies. She also founded a sustainable women’s activewear lifestyle brand, OMALA.

Kate is married with two great kids, and lives in downtown Portland, Oregon.

Reviews

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think my favorite part of this book is the way that the author speaks about sustainability. She has an approachable, conversational style. This book is positive in that it's not about completely changing everything in my life in order to make a difference- it's about finding the areas where I can and am willing to make changes and how to be effective and committed to those changes. She uses stories of people she's met and their varying feelings and values on sustainable practices. I feel like this is a book that I could give to anyone and that it's targeted in a way that I know things I can do and approachable in helping me establish what I will do. It quite literally "plants a seed" of the idea of a sustainable lifestyle.

[Raquel · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book really fell short for me and I did not finish reading it. It did not offer any new sustainability information. The author, at times, came off sounding like a rich girl who was riding the wave of sustainability to be trendy. I didn't sense the passion. She just talked about how she consulted corporations on meeting sustainability goals. If she had focused more on sustainability in her own life - which she did as snippets in the book it would have made for better reading. I was more curious about the rise of sustainability in her own life and how she came to being a sustainability consultant - opposed to just talking about it as a means of proving she has the right to write and talk about sustainability due to her professional experience. There is a story there but this wasn't it.

[Hallie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, I think this is a good book to think to yourself “what do I want to do”. Gaertner puts into perspective of what small, medium or large thing do you want to do sustainably? Of course there are all different ways of being sustainable and she explores all of them. I think this was a good first step that I needed and if you are getting into sustainability then this would be a good read for you.

[Emma Griffeth · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5
i should not have read this book lol. i was overly ambitious. i did read the first half but then skimmed the rest. i like the idea of sustainability, and i liked the way she approached it, but it’s just not meant for rural/suburban living. or if you’re a poor teenager.

[Marissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well written with approaches that were obtainable by almost anyone from a small to a large scale. Definitely learned a lot and felt like despite our small efforts we could do more. Inspiring!

[Tracy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the format as well as the short, straightforward text. I came away with some very simple ideas of things I can implement and not feel bad about. I felt like the author glossed some of the contradictions in sustainability measures, but I still learned quite a bit.