Most of us want to do the right thing when it comes to the environment. But things aren’t as simple as opting for the paper bag, says sustainability strategist Leyla Acaroglu. A bold call for us to let go of tightly-held green myths and think bigger in order to create systems and products that ease strain on the planet.

The core principals of the economic system practiced in the world have not changed in several years. Our economy is designed to extract raw materials from nature, process them into goods and discard them. This linear system of exploration and exploitation, which rigs our society to buy into the future, is far from sustainable and results in nega...