“To be an effective climate optimist and person who cares about sustainability, you need equal parts of two different ingredients. The first is inspiration, because if you don't believe you can make a difference, and if you don't believe that what you do matters, then you're not going to try. You also need the other ingredient of empowerment. If you are really, really encouraged to try to make a difference, but you're not given the tools or the knowledge, then all that energy dissipates and becomes wasted.” —Charlie Sellars

What if sustainability wasn’t a burden, but an invitation? For too long, we’ve been told to shrink our impact and feel guilty for not doing enough. But what if the real power lies in small, positive choices that actually feel good and make a difference?

Charlie Sellars, the Director of Sustainability at Microsoft and author of What We Can Do: A Climate Optimist's Guide to Sustainable Living, has spent his career turning eco-anxiety into practical, empowering action. His journey proves that you don’t need to be perfect—or even an expert—to make sustainability work for your life, your business, and your happiness.

Tune in as Justine and Charlie break down how to reframe sustainability from a source of stress into a source of strength, sharing real-life stories, actionable tips, and a new way to think about your impact—one that’s positive, empowering, and actually doable.

Meet Charlie:

Charlie Sellars is a Director of Sustainability at Microsoft, which pledged to become Carbon Negative, Water Positive, Zero Waste, and Protect Ecosystems by 2030. As one of the youngest directors at the company, he has overseen sustainability for both the Windows & Devices and Cloud Operations portions of Microsoft, helping launch several sustainability-forward products ranging from new Windows PCs with repairable and recycled components to the Ocean Plastic Mouse.

Recognized by IM100 as one of 2024’s top 100 most impactful individuals in the digital infrastructure industry, Charlie also serves as a governing body member of the iMasons Climate Accord, an industry coalition united to decarbonize the digital infrastructure that underpins the next generation of cloud and AI services.

Charlie has previously served as a board member and CTO of an impact-focused non-profit, The $100 Solution, which believes that “solutions to big problems start with small steps.” He initially joined this non-profit while studying for his Bachelor of Arts degree in Physics from Williams College, a small liberal arts school nestled in the Berkshire mountains which helped to grow his love for nature.

Raised outside Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Charlie is currently based in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

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Episode Highlights:

01:24 Ingredients for Climate Optimism

03:27 Challenges and Opportunities in Sustainability

09:45 Data-Driven Sustainability

12:12 Reducing Personal Impact and Sustainability in Business

17:08 Empowering Individuals for Sustainability

20:35 Dietary Impact on Sustainability

25:20 What We CAN Do

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What We Can Do: A Climate Optimist's Guide to Sustainable Living by Charlie Sellars

“An interdisciplinary approach to medicine is probably the way the future is going to go. There will be dieticians and a whole host of different people involved in helping someone to heal.” —Jonathan Carp

For too long, we’ve been told that health comes in a medicine bottle or a doctor’s office, but what if the real power lies in the food we choose every day? If you’ve ever felt frustrated by quick fixes that don’t last or wondered how to make healthy changes that actually stick, you’re not alone—and this episode is for you.

Dr. Jonathan Carp is a board-certified dermatologist and the founder of Miracle Noodle, a company born from his passion for using nutrition and lifestyle to transform health. With years of experience helping patients and building a wellness brand, he’s on a mission to make healthy eating accessible, enjoyable, and truly life-changing.

Tune in as Justine and Dr. Carp break down the myths about comfort food, reveal how small changes can lead to big results, and share real stories of healing, grit, and the surprising joy of eating well.

Meet Jonathan:

A Dermatologist since 2000, Dr. Jonathan Carp started Miracle Noodle in 2006. In 2004, he had a patient who healed herself from lupus through nutritional and lifestyle modification.

Since then, he has treated hundreds of patients through lifestyle modification, especially nutritional changes, with a special interest in auto-immune diseases. This has turned into a nutritional obsession that led to his learning about the health benefits of the konjac plant.

While he still practices medicine, a significant amount of time is now also devoted to Miracle Noodle and exploring and testing healthy, healing food options based on traditional cultural diets. Dr. Carp firmly believes that all that ails us in the world today could be solved by going back a few generations and making sure that the nutritional wisdom of our ancestors is remembered and combined with the latest science.

While Miracle Noodle keeps him busy, it has allowed him the resources to investigate and learn about the nutritional wisdom of the world and how to get products and knowledge out to the world through his patients and his companies.

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Episode Highlights:

02:15 Miracle Noodle: From Japan to Your Plate

06:02 Food as Medicine: Why What We Eat Matters

11:29 The Fast Track to Retail: How Press and TV Changed the Game

16:26 Real Stories, Real Impact

21:17 On the Job MBA: Learning Business the Hard (and Fun) Way

26:44 From Miracle Noodle to Miracle Living

30:16 The Importance of Community and Consumer Engagement