Sustainability Merit Badge
Resource use, climate, and sustainable practices — an alternative path to the Environmental Science requirement.
Good fit if you like
Tips for Earning This Badge
- 1Many scouts find this easier to earn at a merit badge college where the group discussions happen naturally.
- 2The personal sustainability project is open-ended — pick something you can actually change in your daily routine and document it.
- 3The energy audit of your home is a requirement that involves your family, so loop them in early.
- 4Counselors look for follow-through on the personal project, not just a plan — be ready to describe what you actually changed and what happened.
- 5A common pitfall: picking a sustainability project too big to realistically finish (redesigning the whole house) instead of something specific and doable.
Available at Merit Badge Colleges
This badge is commonly offered at merit badge college events hosted by councils and universities. A great way to knock it out in a weekend with an experienced counselor. Learn how to find one near you.
Official Requirements
We keep this page focused on tips and what to expect, not a copy of the requirement text — requirements get revised periodically, and scouts are generally held to whichever version was current when they started the badge (the same reason Scoutbook lets you filter by pamphlet version). For the exact, current wording, check your Scoutbook record for this badge or the official page below.
Sustainability on scouting.org ↗Finding a Counselor
Ask your Scoutmaster for the council's merit badge counselor list. For popular badges, a parent in your troop may already be registered as a counselor. If your troop doesn't have one, your council's advancement chair can help connect you.
Tip: for this badge, look for counselors who work professionally in the field — a local vet, engineer, or IT professional makes an ideal counselor and often brings real-world context the pamphlet alone can't provide.
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