Book review: Sustainability: All That Matters – Chris Goodall (2012)

Award-winning writer and campaigner Chris Goodall argues that today’s generation has borrowed from the future and as a result has left subsequent generations to foot the bill for unsustainable practices.

Sustainability: All That Matters starts with the basics and explains what sustainability is in comprehensible and accessible terms. The author then explores the challenges that being sustainable presents and offers some solutions that could allow these barriers to be overcome.

Goodall applies his theories to various industries, including food, steel, travel and clothing, to demonstrate his point and give the reader a thorough understanding of how sustainability needs to be adopted in all sectors in order to have an impact.

At around 150 pages, Sustainability is concise but is packed full of information. Goodall’s opinions are well argued and he makes the consequences of our actions clear. The book follows a logical progression allowing reader to fully understand the subjects and graphs and tables are used throughout to summarise the text and data.

The appendix also includes a ‘100 ideas’ section of references and areas of interest. This allows readers to check the validity of Goodall’s claims and figures as well as looking for more in-depth information.

Overall Sustainability: All That Matters is an excellent introduction to the issues around sustainability and why it is important whilst offering the reader a direction for further research.