Walking the walk: conceptual foundations of the Sustainable Personality

•We define the terms Sustainable Personality and Individual Sustainability and detail the relevance to sustainability efforts.•We provide historical research, from the Greeks to the present, related to a holistic conception of personality.•Educational methodologies supporting Sustainable Personality are described.•Recommendations for developing a Sustainable Personality are described, especially related to aligning individual values with one's behaviors.

Systems Theory in sustainability studies has normally not been extended beyond environmental, economic, and social contexts. The role of the individual is critical to the success of sustainability efforts across other contexts. Sustainable Personality explores the fundamental conceptual foundations for sustainable behavior and the role of the individual in environmental, social, and economic sustainability. This paper provides a broad historical foundation, starting with Greek philosophy, for the concept of Sustainable Personality. The authors' purpose is to demonstrate that our global sustainability problems stem largely from individual limitations, and that meaningful human change begins with individual change. In particular, the challenge of increasing sustainable action by empowering individuals to align their behaviors with their admirable values is explored.