 Sustainability 
This Merit Badge requires 2 sessions to complete.
The Pathways to Eagle preparation work items for the Sustainability merit badge are: 1, 2, 4, 5
- Items in RED - MUST be completed before the session starts to make it possible to complete the merit badge at Pathways to Eagle. Bring proof of completion (item, written work, note, photo, etc.)
- Items in GREEN - Can be completed before the session starts or done during merit badge session.
- Items in BLACK - MUST be ready to demonstrate your knowledge of these requirements during the merit badge session.
Scouts are strongly encouraged to use a Merit Badge worksheet to show that they have done the preparation work for the merit badge.
Download the workbook for the
Sustainability Merit Badge
in Adobe PDF format from the U.S. Scouting Service Project website.
Scouts MUST be able to discuss any items completed as preparation works or as written work.
Note: Some requirements contain items that fall into more that one category and are listed as the higher category.
1. |
Before starting work on any other requirements
for this merit badge, write in your own words
the meaning of sustainability. Explain how you
think conservation and stewardship of our
natural resources relate to sustainability.
Have a family meeting, and ask family members to
write down what they think sustainability means.
Be sure to take notes. You will need this
information again for requirement 5. |
| a. |
Water. Do 1 AND either 2 OR 3. |
| 1. |
Develop and implement a plan that attempts to
reduce your family's water usage. As a family,
discuss water usage. To aid in your discussion,
if past water bills are available, you may
choose to examine a few. As a family, choose
three ways to help reduce water consumption.
Implement those ideas for one month. Share what
you learn with your counselor, and tell how you
think your plan affected your family's water
usage. |
| 2. |
Using a diagram you have created, explain to
your counselor how your household gets its clean
water from a natural source and what happens
with water after you use it. Include water that
goes down the kitchen, bathroom, and laundry
drains, and any runoff from watering the yard or
washing the car. Tell two ways to preserve your
family's access to clean water in the future. |
| 3. |
Discuss with your counselor two areas in the
world that have been affected by drought over
the last three years. For each area, identify a
water conservation practice (successful or
unsuccessful) that has been used. Tell whether
the practice was effective and why. Discuss
what water conservation practice you would have
tried and why. |
| b. |
Food. Do 1 AND either 2 OR 3. |
| 1. |
Develop and implement a plan that attempts to
reduce your household food waste. Establish a
baseline and then track and record your results
for two weeks. Report your results to your family
and counselor. |
| 2. |
Discuss with your counselor the ways individuals,
families, and communities can create their own
food sources (potted plants, family garden,
rooftop garden, neighborhood or community garden).
Tell how this plan might contribute to a more
sustainable way of life if practiced globally. |
| 3. |
Discuss with your counselor factors that limit the
availability of food and food production in
different regions of the world. Tell three ways
these factors influence the sustainability of
worldwide food supplies. |
| c. |
Community. Do 1 AND either 2 OR 3. |
| 1. |
Draw a rough sketch depicting how you would design
a sustainable community. Share your sketch with
your counselor, explaining how the housing, work
locations, shops, schools, and transportation
systems affect energy, pollution, natural
resources, and the economy of the community. |
| 2. |
With your parent's permission and your counselor's
approval, interview a local architect, engineer,
contractor, or building materials supplier. Find
out the factors that are considered when using
sustainable materials in renovating or building a
home. Share what you learn with your counselor. |
| 3. |
Review a current housing needs assessment for your
town, city, county, or state. Discuss with your
counselor how birth and death rates affect
sufficient housing, and how a lack of housing - or
too much housing - can influence the
sustainability of a local or global area. |
| d. |
Energy. Do 1 AND either 2 OR 3. |
| 1. |
Learn about the sustainability of different
energy sources, including fossil fuels, solar,
wind, nuclear, hydropower, and geothermal. Find
out how the production and consumption of each
of these energy sources affects the environment
and what the term "carbon footprint" means.
Discuss what you learn with your counselor, and
explain how you think your family can reduce its
carbon footprint. |
| 2. |
Develop and implement a plan to reduce the
consumption of one of your family’s household
utilities that consume energy, such as gas
appliances, electricity, heating systems, or
cooling systems. Examine your family’s bills for
that utility reflecting usage for three months
(past or current). As a family, choose three
ways to help reduce consumption and be a better
steward of this resource. Implement those ideas
for one month. Share what you learn with your
counselor, and tell how your plan affected your
family’s usage. |
| 3. |
Evaluate your family's fuel and transportation
usage. Review your family's transportation-
related bills (gasoline, diesel, electric,
public transportation, etc.) reflecting usage
for three months (past or current). As a
family, choose three ways to help reduce
consumption and be a better steward of this
resource. Implement those ideas for one month.
Share what you learn with your counselor, and
tell how your plan affected your family's
transportation habits. |
| e. |
Stuff. Do 1 AND either 2 OR 3. |
| 1. |
Keep a log of the "stuff" your family purchases
(excluding food items) for two weeks. In your
log, categorize each purchase as an essential need
(such as soap) or a desirable want (such as a
DVD). Share what you learn with your counselor. |
| 2. |
Plan a project that involves the participation of
your family to identify the "stuff" your family no
longer needs. Complete your project by donating,
repurposing, or recycling these items. |
| 3. |
Discuss with your counselor how having too much
"stuff" affects you, your family and your
community. Include the following: the financial
impact, time spent, maintenance, health,
storage, and waste. Include in your discussion
the practices that can be used to avoid
accumulating too much "stuff". |
| a. |
Explain to your counselor how the planetary life-
support systems (soil, climate, freshwater,
atmospheric, nutrient, oceanic, ecosystems, and
species) support life on Earth and interact with
one another. |
| b. |
Tell how the harvesting or production of raw
materials (by extraction or recycling), along with
distribution of the resulting products,
consumption, and disposal/repurposing, influences
current and future sustainability thinking and
planning. |
4. |
Explore TWO of the following categories. Have a
discussion with your family about the two you
select. In your discussion, include your
observations, and best and worst practices. Share
what you learn with your counselor. |
| a. |
Plastic Waste. Discuss the impact plastic waste
has on the environment (land, water, air). Learn
about the number system for plastic recyclables,
and determine which plastics are more commonly
recycled. Find out what the trash vortex is and
how it was formed. |
| b. |
Electronic Waste. Choose three electronic devices
in your household. Find out the average lifespan
of each, what happens to these devices once they
pass their useful life, and whether they can be
recycled in whole or part. Discuss the impact of
electronic waste on the environment. |
| c. |
Food Waste. Learn about the value of composting
and how to start a compost pile. Start a compost
pile appropriate to your living situation. Tell
what can be done with the compost when it is ready
for use. |
| d. |
Species decline. Explain the term species (plant
or animal) decline. Discuss the human activities
that contribute to species decline, what can be
done to help reverse the decline, and its impact
on a sustainable environment. |
| e. |
World population. Learn how the world's
population affects the sustainability of Earth.
Discuss three human activities that may contribute
to putting Earth at risk, now and in the future. |
| f. |
Climate change. Find a world map that shows the
pattern of temperature change for a period of at
least 100 years. Share this map with your
counselor, and discuss three factors that
scientists believe affect the global weather and
temperature. Discuss with your counselor three
impacts of climate change and how these changes
could impact sustainability of food, water, or
other resources. |
| a. |
After completing requirements 1 through 4, have
a family meeting. Discuss what your family has
learned about what it means to be a sustainable
citizen. Talk about the behavioral changes and
life choices your family can make to live more
sustainably. Share what you learn with your
counselor. |
| b. |
Discuss with your counselor how living by the
Scout Oath and Scout Law in your daily life helps
promote sustainability and good stewardship. |
6. |
Learn about career opportunities in the
sustainability field. Pick one and find out the
education, training, and experience required.
Discuss what you have learned with your counselor
and explain why this career might interest you. |
|
The requirements listed on this web site are believed to be correct.
The official requirements can be found in the current edition of
"Boy Scout Requirements Book 2025"
Download the workbook for the
Sustainability Merit Badge
in Adobe PDF format from, The U.S. Scouting Service Project website.
|
