Climate Optimism and Pragmatic Action with Author and Microsoft Sustainability Leader Charlie Sellars
On the Environmental Transformation Podcast, host Sean Grady talks with Charlie Sellars, author of “What We Can Do, a Climate Optimist Guide to Sustainable Living” and a director of sustainability at Microsoft.
Topics include:
• Why “crisis language” can burn people out, and how Sellars frames “pragmatic” climate optimism. (“crisis language kind of burns people out”; “The optimism language is a pragmatic language.”)
• Carbon accounting basics and early carbon footprint labels in food. (“we’re kind of at day one of carbon accounting”; “Sweet Green will actually put the, uh, carbon footprint of your meal”)
• Life cycle assessment and the “make it, move it, use it, lose it” framework. (“It’s called lifecycle assessment”; “make it, move it, use it, lose it framework.”)
• Right to repair, product longevity, and the power of buying signals and reviews. (“right to repair movement”; “voting with their, uh, their wallets”; “leaving a positive review”)
• Clean energy debates on nuclear, solar barriers, and how AI is driving data center energy demand. (“discouraging nuclear power generation”; “preventing people and companies from installing solar panels”; “what they’re used for is now ai”; “AI obviously takes a lot of energy.”)
Charlie Sellars
Author
Charlie Sellars is the award-winning author of "What We Can Do: A Climate Optimist's Guide to Sustainable Living".
Taking a holistic, data-driven view across our Personal, Professional, and Political lives, What We Can Do aims to instill readers with pragmatic optimism in the fight against climate change.
In addition to being an author, Charlie is a director of sustainability at Microsoft, having led programs for both the Windows & Devices and Cloud Operations teams.
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 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 a B.A. 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 to be closer to snow.
