If one of your goals for this year is to live a more eco-friendly life, you might want to start by reading some thought-provoking quotes all about sustainability.
They will motivate and inspire you on your journey to save the planet!
Setting new goals for yourself is an amazing way to plan for a new year!
But sometimes, it can get hard to find the motivation to do the things you need to do.
In this case, I find that reading inspirational quotes is super helpful to get inspired and achieve your goals!
Here are 43 sustainability quotes that will inspire you to save the planet!
43 sustainability quotes to inspire you to save the planet
“It cannot be right to manufacture billions of objects that are used for a matter of minutes, and are then with us for centuries.” – Roz Savage
“You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” – Jane Goodall
“Modern society will find no solution to the ecological problem unless it takes a serious look at its lifestyle.” – Pope John Paul II
“Sustainability is the key to our survival on this planet and will also determine success on all levels.” – Shari Arison
“Nature provides a free lunch, but only if we control our appetites.” – William Ruckelshaus
“We can sit back, do nothing and watch our planet be destroyed. Or we can take action, become advocates and start making lifestyle choices which are kinder to people and the planet.” – Kira Simpson
“If we want to move towards a low-polluting, sustainable society, we need to get consumers to think about their purchases.” – David Suzuki
“Only when the last tree has died and the last river been poisoned and the last fish been caught will we realize we cannot eat money.” – Cree Indian Proverb
“The most environmentally friendly product is the one you didn’t buy.” – Joshua Becker
“Be part of the solution, not part of the pollution.” – Unknown
“We can’t just consume our way to a more sustainable world.” – Jennifer Nini
“As consumers, we have so much power to change the world by just being careful in what we buy.” – Emma Watson
“We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.” – Aldo Leopold
“Many people still believe that ‘green’ solutions are too expensive, but they are actually much cheaper when all of the costs to public health, social services, and waste handling are factored into the same equation.” – Majora Carter
“We don’t need a handful of people doing zero waste perfectly. We need millions of people doing it imperfectly.” – Anne-Marie Bonneau
“Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need, but not every man’s greed.” – Mahatma Gandhi
“There is no such thing as ‘away’. When we throw anything away it must go somewhere.” – Annie Leonard
“If you really think the economy is more important than the environment, try holding your breath whilst you count your money.” – Dr. Guy McPherson
“Forests and meat animals compete for the same land. The prodigious appetite of the affluent nations for meat means that agribusiness can pay more than those who want to preserve or restore the forest. We are, quite literally, gambling with the future of our planet – for the sake of hamburgers.” – Peter Singer
“Look after the land and the land will look after you, destroy the land and it will destroy you.” – Aboriginal Proverb
“It is our collective and individual responsibility to preserve and tend to the environment in which we all live.” – Dalai Lama
“The Earth has music for those who listen.” – William Shakespeare
“Buy less, choose well, make it last.” – Vivienne Westwood
“It seems to me that the natural world is the greatest source of excitement; the greatest source of visual beauty; the greatest source of intellectual interest. It is the greatest source of so much in life that makes life worth living.” – David Attenborough
“We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.” – Native American Proverb
“The most sustainable way is to not make things. The second most sustainable way is to make something very useful, to solve a problem that hasn’t been solved.” – Thomas Sigsgaard
“Spend some time outdoors exploring where you live. When you love your home, you’ll fight harder to protect it.” – Kira Simpson
“The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it.” – Robert Swan
“We are living on this planet as if we had another one to go to.” – Terry Swearingen
“A nation that destroys its soils destroys itself. Forests are the lungs of our land, purifying the air and giving fresh strength to our people.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt
Don’t wait for change. Ask for it. – Bea Johnson
“What is the use of a house if you don’t have a decent planet to put it on?” – Henry David Thoreau
“The difference between animals and humans is that animals change themselves for the environment, but humans change the environment for themselves.” – Ayn Rand
“Being green is more than just buying ‘eco’. It is an unshakable commitment to a sustainable lifestyle.” – Jennifer Nini
“If it can’t be reduced, reused, repaired, rebuilt, refurbished, refinished, resold, recycled, or composted, then it should be restricted, designed or removed from production.” – Pete Seeger
“The more clearly we can focus our attention on the wonders and realities of the universe about us, the less taste we shall have for destruction.” – Rachel Carson
“The activist is not the man who says the river is dirty. The activist is the man who cleans up the river.” – Ross Perot
“As a culture or a civilization, we are a bit juvenile; it’s like ‘Oh, I have all this power, whoa, this is so cool, I can transform the earth and I can produce all this wealth. But we’re blinded by our success in a naive way. There’s more to life, actually, and I think the sustainability issue is also helpful in reminding us about that.” – Tino Sehgal
“What we are doing to the forests of the world is but a mirror reflection of what we are doing to ourselves and to one another.” – Mahatma Gandhi
“Sustainability is a political choice, not a technical one. It’s not a question of whether we can be sustainable, but whether we choose to be.” – Gary Lawrence
“We never know the worth of water till the well is dry.” – Thomas Fuller
“21st Century choice: Look after our planet, and it will look after us, or don’t and face the consequences.” – Phil Harding
“At its core, the issue of a clean environment is a matter of public health.” – Gina McCarthy
Final thoughts on these sustainability quotes
There you go! I hope you found this blog post helpful and that these sustainability quotes will inspire you to take action to save the planet!
I recommend that you take your journal and write down your favorite ones.
That way, when you are lacking the motivation to live in a more eco-friendly way, you’ll be able to look back at them.
Deciding to live more sustainably and embracing a zero-waste lifestyle can be hard at times.
So it’s important to have great reminders of why you are doing all of this.
If you liked this article, you will also enjoy these blog posts filled with inspiring quotes:
- 42 inspiring quotes about being intentional to live a life you love
- 50 simplicity quotes to get inspired to live a minimalist life
- 45 slow down quotes to enjoy life and relax
- 56 inspiring quotes about self-love and worth
What are your favorite sustainability quotes that are motivating you to save the planet?
I’d love it if you shared them in the comments!