Sustainability and Climate Change Documents and Module Resources for OTPs

Written By Alison Bode

By Tee Stock, OT, OTD, MS, MBA, OTR

As occupational therapy practitioners (OTPs) we spend a great deal of time reading and learning about helpful resources for us and our clients. Climate change is affecting all of us as well as the populations we serve;  we need to be knowledgeable about resources in this growing and evolving area.  The United Nations, the World Federation of Occupational Therapists (WFOT) and the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) offer guiding documents to get us started with growing our knowledge. 

The WFOT has 2 applicable position statements. The first is a Position Statement on Environmental Sustainability, Sustainable Practice within Occupational Therapy (WFOT, 2018). The second is the WFOT Position Statement on Occupational Therapy and Human Rights (WFOT, 2019a). WFOT also offers Sustainability Matters: Guiding Principles for Sustainability in Occupational Therapy Practice, Education and Scholarship (WFOT, 2019b). Additionally as of right now, on the WFOT homepage OTPs can access several climate related modules and documents including: 

  • Occupational Therapy: Resettling Climate Migrants Module

  • Occupational Therapy: Working with Displaced Persons Module

  • WFOT Disaster Management for Occupational Therapists Module

  • Occupational Therapy and Humanitarian Response Resources

The AOTA has several documents and resources for OTPs to access including: 

The United Nations offers the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (United Nations, 2015). These are 17 Sustainable Development Goals, which are an urgent call for action by all countries. The SDGs provide a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet.

Together these guiding documents and modules offer a range of ways to get started or to continue learning about occupational therapy and how it relates to climate change and sustainability. 

References: 

American Occupational Therapy Association (2024). [Website]. https://www.aota.org/

AOTA.org (2022). Occupational therapy’s commitment to sustainability and climate change https://www.aota.org/-/media/corporate/files/secure/governance/ra/2022-spring-meeting/ots-commitment-to-sustainability-and-climate-change-policyfinal-022022.pdf

AOTA.org (2022). Occupational therapy’s commitment to sustainability and climate change policy.  https://www.aota.org/-/media/corporate/files/aboutaota/officialdocs/policies/policy-e16-20220908.pdf

American Occupation Therapy Association. (2020a). AOTA 2020 occupational therapy code of ethics. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 74(Suppl. 3), 7413410005. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2020.74S3006

AOTA.org (2020b).The Occupational Therapy Practice Framework, Fourth Edition (OTPF-4; American Occupational Therapy Association [AOTA], 2020). https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2020.74S2001

Occupational Therapists for Environmental Action. (2021). Climate, occupational therapy, and justice. Occupational Therapists for Environmental Action. https://www.otenvironmentalaction.com/

Pollard, N., Galvan, R., Hudson, M., Kahlin, I., Ikiugu, I., Roschnick, S., … Whittaker, B. (2020). Sustainability in occupational therapy practice, education and scholarship. World Federation of Occupational Therapists Bulletin, 76(1), 2–3. https://doi.org/10.1080/14473828.2020.1733756 

World Federation of Occupational Therapists. [Website]. (2024). https://wfot.org/

World Federation of Occupational Therapists. (2018). Position Statement: Sustainability Matters: Guiding Principles for Sustainability in Occupational Therapy Practice, Education and Scholarship. Retrieved from: https://www.wfot.org/resources/wfot-sustainability-guiding-principles

World Federation of Occupational Therapists. (2012). Position statement: Environmental sustainability. Sustainable practice within occupational therapy. WFOT Bulletin, 66, 18. Retrieved from http://www.wfot.org/ResourceCentre/tabid/132/cid/31/Default. 

World Federation of Occupational Therapists. (2019a). Resource manual: Occupational therapy for displaced persons.  [Website]. https://learning.wfot.org/

World Federation of Occupational Therapists. (2019b). Position Statement: Occupational Therapy and Human Rights. Retrieved from: https://wfot.org/resources/occupational-therapy-and-human-rights

United Nations. (1992). United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. New York: United Nations, General Assembly.

United Nations. (2015). The 17 Goals. [Website]. https://sdgs.un.org/goals






Alison Bode
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