Looking for more info about the make-overs from the pilot episode
of Mission: Sustainable? You’ve come to the right place!

Each episode of Mission: Sustainable provides an opportunity to educate viewers about living sustainably and making smarter choices. We don’t have time to get too in-depth with our findings during the show, so it’s important to have a place to go where you can dig a little deeper. We strongly encourage you to click on the links throughout these pages to help you learn more about the subject at hand, but by no means is this information the be-all, end-all when it comes to research. We’re just scratching the surface. Just start Googling the things that interest you most, and you’ll become a sustainability guru in no time!

So what exactly is a “carbon footprint”?

The definition at www.carbonfootprint.com is simple and to the point:

A carbon footprint is a measure of the impact our activities have on the environment, and in particular climate change. It relates to the amount of greenhouse gases produced in our day-to-day lives through burning fossil fuels for electricity, heating and transportation, etc. 

One thing we at Mission: Sustainable want all viewers to understand is that your carbon footprint extends well beyond the fossil fuel consumption used when driving a car. Every item – and we mean EVERY item – you purchase requires fossil fuel consumption in some manner to get into your hands, whether it’s during manufacturing or transportation. Which is why we’re big supporters of buying local – no matter what the product! If it’s manufactured locally, fossil fuel consumption is reduced dramatically.

In the pilot episode of Mission: Sustainable, cooking consultant Becky Selengut talks to the Jones family about reading labels to better understand where food purchases originate. Take the frozen farmed shrimp, for example. It came from Indonesia, which means it had to travel more than 8,000 miles as the crow flies to make it to the Joneses table in Seattle. Gulf Shrimp? Only 2,800 miles. Alaskan shrimp? Only 1,500 miles.  There’s a significant reduction – five times less – in carbon emissions when you buy shrimp from Alaska vs. Indonesia. Makes sense, doesn’t it?

From now on, think about anything and everything you buy, and read labels to find out where products are manufactured. If alternatives are produced closer to home, consider making the sustainable choice to reduce your carbon footprint.

Keeping up with the Joneses

In each episode of Mission: Sustainable, we highlight three areas of sustainability that can have the biggest impact on a family or business’ carbon footprint.

Meet the Jones Family: Ben, Shannon, Jasper, and Chloe

After meeting with the family and digging through their home during the “comb the home” sequence, we determined that if everyone lived the way this family lives, it would take THREE(!) Earths to sustain the human population.

We chose three areas to concentrate on to reduce this impact:

1. Food

2. Personal Care

3. Home Interior and Energy

Every human has the right to the resources they need to survive and thrive. It’s our mission to lower our impact on the planet for the good of the environment, for the equity to our fellow humans alive today, and for our children and grandchildren.

The Mission: Sustainable team was thrilled to work with Ben and Shannon and their children. We hope you’ll learn for their experience because, together, small changes make a huge impact. Click on the makeover links below to learn how we helped the Jones family reduce their carbon footprint by 17%!

Read more about the food make-over
Read more about the personal care make-over
Read more about the home interior and efficiency make-over

Transportation expert Eric Kocaja and Landscaping expert Ladd Smith offered a few quick tips during the pilot episode. To get more details go here:

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