The Hand-Print concept emerged as a proposition for learner-led action learning in the Centre for Environment Education, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. Hand-Print CARE as an ethics-led action learning proposition was developed at a Local Culture for Understanding Mathematics and Science (LOCUMS) research group meeting with some educators in Alta, Norway. Here ‘CARE’ emerged as an acronym reflecting an ethic of inclusive respect through Concern for others, being Attentive to needs, showing Respect for each other and being Engaged in learning actions for the common good. Hand-Print CARE was thus activated as a co-engaged mediation process towards ‘Learning to look after others to best care for ourselves and the surroundings we all share’. Conceptual tools towards a Hand-Print CARE rationale were clarified in subsequent ESD workshops in Malaysia and Mexico and the challenge of developing a schema for ESD in school subject disciplines emerged at an ESD training workshop with National Council for Education Research and Training (NCERT) in Delhi, India. This article explores the emergence of Hand-Print CARE and the framing of an open-ended schema for mediating better-situated and ethics-led action learning in school subject disciplines. A formative perspective towards more locally situated and co-engaged processes for mediating learning was refined through an ESD Expert-Net collaboration to clarify ESD learning progressions in school subject disciplines. Some start-up materials were developed with partnering NGOs in the small town of Howick in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, and in an expanding collaboration involving partners in India, Mexico, Germany and South Africa. Each of us worked to refine Hand-Print CARE learning progressions for ESD processes of action learning in diverse subject discipline and school-in-community settings.