What Can Occupational Therapy Practitioners Do About Climate Change?

Occupational therapy has a unique role in addressing the climate crisis.

Occupational therapy practitioners and students (OTPS) can choose to intervene through individual lifestyle choices, their OT practice, education, or advocacy.  

Individual Lifestyle Choices:

• Limit airplane travel (bus, train as alternatives)

• Adopt a plant-based diet or limit meat consumption

• Reduce home energy use 

  • Consider low energy alternatives to heating and cooling such as using hot water bottle at night

  • Power home with renewable energy

  • Weatherize home 

  • Buy energy efficient appliances and HFC-free refrigerators

• Reduce driving distances (walk, ride bicycles, use public transportation)

• Vote for candidates with a pro-environmental platform

• Model environmentally responsible behaviors (limiting/eliminating meat consumption, reducing use of plastics, eliminating waste, reducing consumption, purchasing local products when possible, engaging in occupations which benefit personal physical/mental and planetary health, composting, etc.) 

• Learn more about climate issues in order to be better advocates

• Repair domestic appliances instead of replacing them in order to reduce consumption 

• Reduce water waste (e.g. shorter showers, use rain barrels, turning off water while doing dishes, brushing teeth, etc.)

• Don’t leave electronic devices plugged after they are charged

• Turn off lights

• Use LED lighting

Considerations in OT Practice:

• Consider the sustainability of occupations when doing an activity analysis 

• Encourage environmentally friendly choices in everyday occupations including professional practices when possible 

• Work with clients to consider habits, routines, and patterns of occupation that mitigate the effects of climate change

• Consider the co-benefits of occupational choice and sustainability in health promotion. For example, walking and cycling as alternative transportation to reduce carbon emissions and improve air quality. Occupations such as biking have the added benefit of simultaneously addressing some physical and psycho-social benefits such as a reduced risk of CVD, depression, obesity, dementia, and improved fitness

• Address environmentally harmful practices in healthcare at the local level (e.g. ask hospital to use biodegradable packaging instead of plastic in the cafeteria) 

• Promote exploration of how individuals, groups and populations’ daily occupational choices encourage use of resources in an environmentally ethical manner (WFOT, 2018).

• Partner with community groups to develop gardening projects for growing local food, carbon sequestering, improved dietary habits, spending time outdoors and community cohesion

• Consider guiding clients into occupations that don’t involve consumption (e.g. walking with a friend instead of shopping) 

• Use equipment made by yourself or companies that consider carbon footprint in their work

• Promote health and well-being through meaningful and culturally relevant occupations while considering the environment enabling participation (e.g. using the Kawa Model in mental health practice) 

Education:

• Speak with other occupational therapy practitioners and students about the link between our profession and climate change

• Speak with academic institutions that educate occupational therapy practitioners and students about including climate change issues in curricula

• Develop educational materials for OTPS and the general public about the role that human occupation can play in exacerbating or mitigating the effects of climate change

• Include information about climate change when discussing habits/routines or occupational justice/injustice

• Educate clients about greener activities of daily living

Advocacy:

• Join a group involved in climate work

• Advocate for policies on a local, state and national level that address climate change

• Write to your state OT associations to encourage them to make a statement on climate change if they have not already

• Petition AOTA to make climate change an official Community of Practice group

• Host TED Circles meetings (TED Circles is a media club style discussion, where participants will watch a TEDx talk picked by the host(s) and then discussions will follow.) 

• Advocate for environmental changes in your workplace

• Advocate for changes in accreditation standards (to include reference to sustainability/climate change specifically)

• Submit conference abstracts about sustainability and climate change to state, national, and international OT conferences

• Organize TEDxCountdown events in your local or university community. (You may use videos provided to you from TED and/or invite speakers to present on such issues.) If you have questions about how these events operate, ask Bill Wong, OTD, OTR/L

Have more ideas to add to this list? Tell us about them!