In the present world, humans are fast realising that life can sustain on earth only when we learn to coexist with nature. Everyday activities, from the food we eat to the clothes we wear, the products we use, and the means of commuting, have a bearing on this planet. However, it does not mean that you should not use your car or eat only vegetables; it means using our natural resources mindfully.

Netflix has some fantastic documentaries on sustainability. These eye-opening documentaries are like a window to a beautiful, intriguing, and fascinating world of nature with commentaries from world-renowned scientists. These documentaries are a reality check and provide an up-close view of issues of climatic change, food systems around the world, consumerism. They help us know and perceive the seriousness of the situation.

Our Planet

It is awe-inspiring, visual treat footage of the earth shot with state of the art filming technology using drones. It is produced by the BBC natural history unit, the same people who made "Planet Earth". It is filmed to show different ecosystems, not usually accessible to human beings. This documentary also talks about human beings' remedies to safeguard themselves from any further damage. This documentary has also captured behind-the-scenes moments, which show the amount of work that goes into making such a documentary.

Brave Blue Water

Brave Blue Water is a documentary about the world's water crisis and attempts to bust the common assumptions about the water systems. It attempts to change how people think about water. World-renowned scientists Jaden Smith and Matt Damon, co-founders of the water-related nonprofit organizations, are featured in this documentary. It also includes leaders and pioneers working on problems of sanitation and water scarcity. This documentary dispels the hopelessness surrounding water problems and attempts to give a promising alternative for existing water crises.

Inside Bill's Brain: Decoding Bill Gates

Bill Gates, best known as CEO of Microsoft, is also an environmentalist and has contributed, to tackling some of the world's burning issues, such as climatic change, vaccination, and sanitation. This documentary throws the spotlight on the work done by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. It is a three-part documentary series that looks into the prospects of using nuclear energy as a sustainable source of energy and helps be a part of climatic solutions for a sustainable future.

Rotten

Rotten is a six-part documentary on sustainability that talks about the fraud involved in the global food supply chain. It seems like a combination of crime series and an activist documentary. It depicts the intricacies in the world market where greedy multinational corporations try to manipulate the market to their benefit, highlighting the fraud, hype, corruption, and controversy involved in the process. It shows real-life stories of producers, consumers, and industry experts and gives a detailed picture of how food is processed, helping one make intelligent choices.

David Attenborough: Life On Our Planet

In this documentary with breath-taking visuals, David Attenborough, a 93-year-old naturalist who has visited every continent of this planet, talks about defining moments and the undesirable changes he has seen in his lifetime. The award-winning Silverback Films and WWF produced it. It gives a first-hand account of looming danger due to human activities and talks about the devastating changes if suitable measures are not taken. In the end, Attenborough leaves a message hoping for future generations to support the diversity of life on earth.

My Octopus Teacher

My Octopus Teacher is a documentary on emotional bondage between an intelligent creature, an octopus, and Craig Foster, a filmmaker and photographer. After a burnout from work, Craig goes on a free dive and gets to know of an octopus living in the Kelp forest outside his home in Cape Town. Over the years, he gets comfortable and gains the confidence of the octopus. It gives him a chance to know more about its life, thus developing a great connection with it. This documentary is more of an emotional journey between the two.

Chasing Coral

Coral reefs are susceptible to climatic change and the world over. They are dying due to various reasons, for instance, a rise in the sea temperature. They thrive for thousands of years if the climatic conditions are good. Coral bleaching is observed when coral is stressed due to climatic change. Makers of chasing coral have documented the mass coral bleaching calamity between 2014-2017 due to El Nino. This award-winning documentary also looks at how climatic change is bringing about the mass extinction of these coral reefs at an uncontrollable rate. A group of photographers, scientists, and divers have beautifully crafted this documentary. It is an eye-opener about the devastating effects of climatic change and its impact on other earth organisms.

When Two Worlds Collide

Amazon forests are home and source of life to indigenous people, but it is more of a money-making venture for some people. This documentary is about indigenous activism in Peru. It is based on the lethal clashes in 2009 between protestors and police. It talks about the conflict between the people in power and the indigenous people. It shows the injustice by the government with a vested interest in opening up protected tribal lands for mining, clear-cutting, and drilling by multinationals. It won the World Cinema Documentary Competition.