Bare Learning - Sustainability School of the Future

There is a huge need for education around sustainability across the globe. This is especially true in India where, though Environmental Education is mandated by the Supreme Court, it is rarely implemented in a meaningful way. With the global rise of awareness around climate change, many are now actively seeking knowledge that can help them understand sustainability better. However, information about sustainability is often overwhelming and individuals struggle to find the right starting point to start making changes in their own lives.  

A 2021 study conducted by Consult for Humanity specifically to better understand Bare Learning, revealed that of the 392 responses gathered,on average over 78% of the respondents were extremely to moderately concerned about various issues related to sustainability, with 35% being extremely concerned. Of the 392 responses, over 40% of the responses indicated respondents lack enough or proper knowledge to live more sustainably, but they are eager to learn.

In 2020, UNESCO conducted a global survey (Learn for Our Planet: A Global Review of How Environmental Issues Are Integrated in Education. UNESCO, 2021) asking people to share their views on our world’s most pressing challenges and their possible solutions. Despite being in the midst of the first global pandemic in a century, 67 per cent of those surveyed named climate change and biodiversity loss as the number one challenge we face, and education as key to addressing them. This report was prepared by UNESCO to understand how environmental issues are being integrated into education policies and curricula. A study of national documents from 46 Member States, covering all regions, was complemented with interviews with key education stakeholders and a global survey of educators. The results were stark: We are not doing enough to ensure that what we learn helps us to address the environmental challenges that we face.

Although 92 per cent of the analyzed policy and curriculum documents included at least one reference to environmental themes, the depth of inclusion was very low on average (with 38% being analyzed as ‘low’ and 37% ‘as very low’)

The study also showed that there is a continued focus on learning about climate and other environmental issues, as opposed to also developing the socio-emotional and action competences central for environmental and climate action. Interviewees suggested  an imbalance in learning dimensions -- a stronger emphasis on cognitive learning and a weaker emphasis on social-emotional and action-oriented learning -- which aligns with prior studies (e.g., UNESCO, 2019b, Glackin & King, 2020). Despite this, most interviewees emphasized the crucial importance of action-focused activities in environmental learning, including through participating in action projects and other types of interactive and holistic pedagogies. 

In being part of the solution, we strongly believe education is one of the key components in becoming aware of all that happens around us. Bare Learning is the UNESCO recognized initiative of Bare Necessities that strives to research, create and share educational content, which is accessible to wide audiences, who are looking for ways to transition to a more sustainable lifestyle. This happens in three verticals through our educational talks & workshops, sustainability consulting and online courses. The goal of the initiative is to provide reliable,practical and accessible information around sustainability, while ensuring that the content is fun and engaging for learners.

Talks and Workshops:

We conduct various live, interactive and thematic workshops on zero waste and sustainability for our diverse audience; ranging from corporate employees and teams, to students at schools and colleges, partnering with NGOs, and lastly, just communities and individuals seeking a sustainable lifestyle. 

We believe learning happens when it’s material that we all relate to, hence ensuring we incorporate research, encouraging participants to be an active part of the solution through a wide variety of ways, and also including DIYs (Do-it-Yourself) aspects which allows participants to make a tangible change at that very moment! 

Sustainability Consulting:

We partner with organizations to analyze their waste footprint using our framework. We are then able to consult on various solutions to track and reduce this footprint, while also integrating a low-waste approach into the organization’s culture by proving sensitization workshops. 

Online Courses The online courses are hosted on Bare Learning’s own edtech platform https://www.barenecessitieslea....  We envision our edTech Bare Learning platform to become the Sustainability & Climate School of the Future where everyone can learn about all things sustainability and become ‘Learners for Life’.  The content in our online courses are developed keeping in mind that information on sustainability can be overwhelming for many. Our courses have 200+ sustainability resources, 60+ videos, DIY videos and expert insights. We also have an interactive forum on the learning platform where we consistently respond to our student queries and comments, making it a very vibrant and engaged community.

Most online courses do not offer the learner flexibility in terms of time and absorption. We suggest our learners complete the course within 30 - 90 days but also keep our courses self-paced as our learners range from students, working professionals to homemakers. We understand that sustainability is a growing concept, once again, and we all have our schedules - hence we believe that learning should never be a burden to ensure it’s as genuine as possible. 

The platform currently hosts 3 online courses:

-Our flagship course “Zero Waste Living 101” was launched in January 2020. This course gives learners practical insights into how they can minimize their individual waste footprint in different areas of their lives - personal care, the kitchen, travel etc. 

-”Building Blocks of Sustainability” was launched on January 1 , 2021. This course looks at some of the broader aspects of sustainability and addresses topics like renewable energy, greenwashing and gender inequality.

-Our most recent course, launched in November 2021 is titled “Introduction to CIrcular Economy”. Using well-researched and inspiring examples from the past, present and future that are embedding circularity this course discusses what the future should look like as we move towards a sustainable and just future. Following a Circular Economy rather than the Linear Economy!   

Describe the target population whose lives you are working to directly and meaningfully improve. Who are they, and in what ways are they currently underserved? How will the solution address their needs?

Bare Learning is aimed at a range of people including corporate employees and teams, students at schools and colleges, NGOs, communities and individuals seeking a sustainable lifestyle. Analysis of pre assessment surveys from our online courses reveal that almost 50% of students enrolled are between the age of 25 to 35 and over 80% of participants are female.

We conduct  pre and post assessment surveys on our online courses to ensure that they are having the desired outcomes for learners. Participants are asked questions such as “How well do you know the concepts of zero waste, the circular economy and sustainability?” (Rate on scale of 1 to 5), “What percentage of your learnings have you been able to implement so far to reduce your waste?” and “Where would you say you are on your zero waste journey?”. These surveys reveal that students are able to grasp and implement the knowledge that they have acquired during the course. 

Our talks and workshops have directly engaged 265,389 people and counting. Talks and workshops organized for communities and organizations have driven behavioral changes beyond the individual level. Many organizations have looked to us to empower their employees with the knowledge and skills they need to incorporate sustainable practices on a large scale, within the organization. Examples include Flipkart, Adidas, Hilton,Microsoft and Decathlon. Our online courses, launched just over 2 years ago, have already had over 30,000 graduates, including enrollments from mass enrollments of corporate employees. 

Through Bare Learning, we are not only able to dispense sustainability education, but we are also able to bring together a community of like minded individuals and provide practical solutions to the very real problem of ‘eco-anxiety’ that many face today.

Our team is composed of individuals from different backgrounds, each with a unique skill set and perspective that helps us keep Bare Learning inclusive. Core Team members include:

Founder & CEO Sahar Mansoor is a University of Cambridge Alumni and Penguin Author of the book titled “Bare Necessities - How to live a Zero Waste Life’’. She studied Environmental Planning and worked on various humanitarian projects and at the World Health Organization before returning to India in 2015. She then worked at the SELCO Foundation and spent time shadowing a community of waste pickers from West Bengal. This experience opened her eyes to the social justice angle of our waste problem and prompted her to  start her own zero-waste journey.  In 2016, Sahar started Bare Necessities to raise awareness around the issue of waste and help make conscious consumption easy and accessible, so that others would not have to face the same obstacles that she did.

Mehul Manjeshwar has an MBA from Simon Fraser University, and was a part of the founding team at ‘Bananatag’, Canadian startup which recently merged to become the world’s leading internal communications software company. He now heads the marketing and communications team at Bare Necessities.

Apoorva Goyal graduated from BITS Pilani with a degree in computer science engineering. She previously worked at Amazon and at Infosys. Apoorva is the Chief Financial and Technical officer. Among other things, she helps code and maintain our website, integrate our online courses into other Learning Management Systems. 

Additionally, we have passionate associates and managers with degress from India’s finest educational univeristies in botony, zooology, communication studies, photography and more.   

Bare Learning is also sustained through inputs from diverse experts that are well versed in the various aspects of sustainability, and a strong network of partners from the fields of corporate sustainability, highlighting circular economy solutions in FMCG, packaging and clothing and food industry,  sustainable entrepreneurship, renewable energy. This ever-growing network helps us gain perspective and keeps our information credible.

Solve provides an impeccable platform for like minded individuals to come together and solve pressing, global challenges. We really admire the design thinking approach and the Bare Learning initiative would benefit greatly from this collaborative network. Funding received would be used to push Bare Learning in the right direction, and to deepen our impact as we scale. Being selected as a Solver Team would also help Bare Learning acquire greater credibility and exposure.

We approximate that BareLearning’s talks and workshops will directly impact an additional 30,000 individuals by the end of 2023 and enrollments in our online courses will cross 50,000. 

Bare Learning’s online platform will expand to host 10 online courses covering topics such as  Sustainable Development Goals, Wildlife Conservation, Conservation Education, Climate Action and Environmental Entrepreneurship. By 2027, We aim to engage an additional 1,20,000 individuals and work with LMS (Learning Management System) teams to establish 30 corporate partnerships. This will allow us to scale rapidly and establish Bare Learning as the ‘Sustainability School of the Future’ 

We also conduct pre and post assessment surveys on our online courses to track if they are having the desired outcomes for learners.

To track the number of direct beneficiaries of our talks and workshops, the data is constantly updated in an excel spreadsheet. Number of enrollments in online courses is tracked by our EdTech platform.

For talks and workshops, we always include a Q&A section and encourage participants to write to us with feedback. Aside from testimonials from individuals, we also reach out to partner organizations to ask for their feedback and the impact that the session had. Additionally, we are on track to getting B-Corp Certified.

Online courses include pre and post assessment surveys that track certain indicators such as: How well do you know the concepts of zero waste, the circular economy and sustainability? (rate form 1 to 5)

With the information you have learnt, how well do you now manage your waste in your life?(rate form 1 to 5) What areas of your life have you reduced the most waste?(Personal Care, Closet, Kitchen,Homecare,Gifting ,Occupation, City, Travel) What percentage of your learnings have you been able to implement so far to reduce your waste? Do you know how you can find solutions to minimise environmental impact? Additionally we include essay type questions like “What did you learn about the global climate crisis?” to get responses that cannot be measured quantitatively.

Activities: The team researches and keeps themselves updated on the various issues surrounding sustainability and experts from various relevant fields are roped in. This allows us to compile comprehensive and reliable information. This information is then broken down into formats that are easily digestible i.e: talks and workshops and self-paced online courses. Additionally, we conduct sustainability consulting in the form of waste audits at an organizational level.

Outcomes: The disseminated information equips individuals and organizations like schools, NGOs and corporations with the knowledge and tools required to take practical steps towards living a low-waste and more sustainable lifestyle.Bare Learning is able to be a part of the solution which allows individuals to think of the circular economy as a lens to find solutions. The growth allows Bare Learning to innovate on  products, services and economic models.

Short term outcomes: Individuals have an influence on their household and communities - organically spreading the knowledge and skills they have acquired. Organizations are able to make changes at a systemic level, knowing that individuals have been sensitized.  

Long term outcomes: There is an increase in the general public awareness regarding the issues surrounding sustainability and the urgent need to act on these issues. This will result in a significant demand for sustainable products and services - making the concept of Zero Waste and circularity more of a norm and less of an exception.

Bare Necessities is founded and spearheaded by woman entrepreneur Sahar Mansoor. 100% of the manufacturing team and over >85% of the entire BN team comprises women, allowing them to be involved in all levels of the organization, from strategy to implementation. Almost half the team also come from minority communities. 

Equality and inclusivity are central to Bare Necessities’ values. Our HR Policy Manual’s ‘Equal Employment Opportunity’ policy states that “Bare Necessities will affirm full support of its policy on equal opportunity employment and will ensure that employment opportunities comply with the principles of this policy. A similar policy has been adopted for our partners and suppliers as well.

Bare Necessities will hire, transfer, promote, compensate, terminate, and make all other employment decisions concerning applicants and employees regardless of their race, colour, creed, caste, religion, national origin, age, sex, gender, marital status, lawful alien status, non job related disability, veteran status, or other basis provided by law. “

Our current team is a representation of people from diverse academic, economic and religious backgrounds, with three different religions being represented and more than 35% of the team coming from economically challenged backgrounds.

.

The public workshops that we conduct to raise awareness around sustainability are also designed to be extremely inclusive. We offer special discounted rates for workshops conducted for NGOs. These workshops have also been conducted in local languages by members of the Bare Necessities manufacturing team who come from underserved backgrounds, to ensure accessibility. Further, we ensure that the team themselves have access to our workshops. Whenever possible, we allow them to involve members of their families as well. For example, we conducted a workshop especially designed for a younger audience, and we ensured that all our team members’ children were able to participate.

Bare Learning disseminates information both directly to consumers (B2C) and by partnering with organizations (B2B). For example, our flagship course ‘Zero Waste Living 101’ was integrated into Cognizant’s Learning Management System and available to all 330,600 worldwide and has resulted in 30,000 associates graduating from the course.

Bare Necessities Zero Waste Solutions is the for-profit social enterprise that runs Bare Learning, we are working towards financial stability through the sales of zero-waste products and services. We charge a fee for our talks, workshops, consulting services and online courses. Additionally, we also raise capital from impact investors and grants in order to scale. 

In 2019, we received a small seed fund of 175,000 USD from Social Alpha. Over the past three years, Bare Necessities has doubled its revenue.