We deserve clean soil.
“What does Healthy Soil mean to you?”
“What will make you be a good ancestor?”
Author: em
Sustainable Thoughts by Jac Sussman
Practicing true sustainability requires a whole-systems approach to strengthening social, ecological, and economic vitality for current and future generations. Founded in 2016 by Autumn Martin and Kari Brunson, Frankie & Jo’s is a women-owned ice cream company that fully embodies this vision, setting ambitious goals to lower their carbon footprint, enhance the financial stability of their employees, and uplift those in the community who have been most impacted by environmental and social inequities.
Certified B Corporations are businesses that meet rigorous third-party standards for social and environmental contribution, public transparency, and legal accountability to align their profits with positive societal impact. Even before they became a B Corp company, Frankie & Jo’s was already demonstrating how small businesses can operate in ways that provide a net benefit to their community and the environment.
Conscious of the vast, rapidly growing economic disparities in Seattle, Frankie & Jo’s is making material changes to increase the financial stability of their team, through such policies as reimbursing employee bus passes and bicycle parts with their sustainable commuter benefits program, and providing a $20 per month allowance to spend on anything related to self-care. Team members are recognized and rewarded for their efforts, commonly being promoted from within to more advanced positions throughout the company. Kelsie Coker first joined Frankie & Jo’s as a part-time baker and was promoted to Administrative, Logistics, and Sustainability Lead, helping the company meet its many environmental and social goals. Natalie Vanhoever started scooping up the flavorful plant-based goodness for customers and is now Frankie & Jo’s Marketing Manager.
Frankie & Jo’s regularly promotes and partners with other women and BIPOC-led businesses, organizations, and artists across Seattle and the Puget Sound region. Those in leadership roles go through DEI training and are actively propelling a more inclusive and equity-focused workplace through both company culture and policies. “I think we just gravitate towards [partnering with women and BIPOC-led businesses], but it’s also part of the ethos of our company. It’s naturally a part of our culture,” says Natalie.
Holding an unwavering dedication to reducing their carbon emissions as swiftly as possible, Frankie & Jo’s has committed to reaching net zero by 2050, in accordance with the Paris Agreement. This goal requires them to find creative solutions to cut both upstream and downstream emissions as a business in the food industry, where food waste, global transportation, and excessive food packaging are pervasive setbacks to operating sustainably.
With a key priority on eliminating food waste altogether, the company is working with local no-cost meal services and food banks to donate all of the surplus cookies, brownies, and pints that would otherwise be directed into the compost bin. They also work closely with suppliers and hold them accountable in meeting Frankie & Jo’s high environmental and social standards, sometimes making the tough decision of switching to vendors who are more aligned with their goals and ethos. The company purchases carbon offsets for areas where carbon emissions are currently unavoidable as part of running any successful business, such as with shipping for their pint club subscription service (for which they’ve offset nearly 100% of emissions).
Try as they might to reduce their carbon footprint, conventional ice cream companies face an uphill battle when their products are dairy-based. According to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), cattle raised for milk are responsible for approximately 20% of the global livestock sector’s GHG emissions. As a species, cows represent roughly 65% of the entire livestock sector’s emissions and are the largest source of agricultural GHG emissions worldwide.
Those who sample the delectable alchemy that is Frankie & Jo’s ice cream are often in disbelief that the treats are entirely dairy-free. Frankie & Jo’s recently switched all of their ice cream from a homemade cashew and coconut milk base to their homemade oat milk base, after realizing that they could reduce GHG emissions and cut down on water usage in their kitchen, while also improving ice cream flavor and texture consistency. Their method for making oat milk has substantially reduced water usage that was previously required to make their cashew milk base. For comparison, every pint of dairy milk requires approximately 120 liters of water to make, while cashew milk requires 68 liters of water per pint, and oat milk only 10 liters of water. On average, a pint of oat milk generates less than a third of the greenhouse gas emissions released to make a pint of dairy milk. Frankie & Jo’s continually pursues sourcing the most sustainable ingredients available, and understands that enduring sustainability requires an ongoing journey towards complete decarbonization.
Exemplifying the principles of a circular economy, Frankie & Jo’s seeks to decouple profits and financial growth from an extractivist business model⏤instead working towards becoming zero waste and contributing to building a more equitable and resilient community. Frankie & Jo’s donates a percentage of sales annually to social justice organizations around the city, and partners with numerous food banks and meal services, including Black Mamas Matter, El Centro de la Raza, Mary’s Place, The Seattle BIPOC Organic Food Bank, and YouthCare.
Achieving B-Corp certification in 2020, Frankie & Jo’s was ready to be held accountable to the highest of standards for all of their sustainability targets.
“We continuously work to be better,” says Frankie & Jo’s sustainability lead, Kelsie Coker. With their B-Corp recertification less than two years away, the team is striving to meet their goals ahead of time. “We want to show that we’re doing the work.”
Sustainable Thoughts by Demarus Tevuk
In Sight by Julia Martinez
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While I agree with Dr Mindell’s ideals, I would also like to take the opportunity to point out that I feel that his definition presents a sense of forgetfulness or erasure of the monumental contributions that the
provided to our current American democratic system. If the historical connection to indigenous governance is missing then the chances of appropriation are also high, and as an indigenous person I see Dr Mindell’s definition as actually a call to return to the original intention of our democratic system.
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Demarus Tevuk is a researcher, writer, and educator with a strong background in traditional ecological knowledge, native pollinators, native plants, science, and engineering. Demarus is an Inupiaq from Nome, Alaska and her childhood with indigenous communities across North America greatly influenced her research on the definition of sustainability from the indigenous perspective. Demarus earned her degree in Environmental Studies from the University of Washington and she has a certificate in Permaculture Design. She produced case studies on climate change projects led by tribes that were funded by EPA Region 10 grants. Demarus loves to pick berries and gather traditional food and she is an avid fiber artist and loves to sew, spin yarn, weave, knit, and design knitwear.
Deep Democracy
This piece focuses on the true meaning of deep democracy- pouring your whole self and emotions into your beliefs and actions. This allows us to create powerful change in the world around us.
Deep Democracy is available as poster and postcard prints in the Community Market. Proceeds benefit S2 community programs.
Julia Martinez has a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from the University of Texas at San Antonio. She is originally from Texas and recently moved to Washington in 2018. She is an Americorps VISTA alumni, and is very passionate about social justice, especially the issue of poverty in America. Her VISTA experience taught her the extreme importance of the role organizational structure plays in program sustainability. She considers it her passion project to assist organizations during transitional periods, to maximize impact and longevity within communities. In her spare time, Julia enjoys working creatively- using mediums such as clay, beads, and acrylics in her work.
Sustainable Thoughts by Demarus Tevuk
In Sight by Pah-tu Pitt G, with collaboration from Sean Gallagher (Native Kut)
Board of Directors . These new voices to S2 are part of Em Piro’s vision as S2 Executive Director to center our mission of supporting and aligning with frontline and BIPOC (Black Indigenous and People of Color) communities. Both frontline and BIPOC communities are at greatest risk of harm to health disparities due to climate change and environmental injustice. These communities are experts in authentic and true solutions to the historical and continuing inequities that are present in our systemically oppressive infrastructures.
Demarus Tevuk is a researcher, writer, and educator with a strong background in traditional ecological knowledge, native pollinators, native plants, science, and engineering. Demarus is an Inupiaq from Nome, Alaska and her childhood with indigenous communities across North America greatly influenced her research on the definition of sustainability from the indigenous perspective. Demarus earned her degree in Environmental Studies from the University of Washington and she has a certificate in Permaculture Design. She produced case studies on climate change projects led by tribes that were funded by EPA Region 10 grants. Demarus loves to pick berries and gather traditional food and she is an avid fiber artist and loves to sew, spin yarn, weave, knit, and design knitwear.
The Tahoma series are about the mountain’s (known as Rainer by many) experience as a witness to increasing temperatures and catastrophic fires. The mountains breathe through the forests, glaciers, and streams. Through these experiences Tahoma continues to support life, hold clouds, and promote a shift to sustainability. Moisture and fire are important elements centered by many Native management practices with implications for the dynamism and values needed for sustainable futures.
All of the Tahoma series are available as poster and postcard prints in the Community Market. Proceeds benefit the artist, Pah-tu Pitt G, and S2 community programs.
she/her/they/them, currently works on advocacy for indigenous climate change resiliency, sustainable economic development, and grassroots organizing at regional and local levels in the Pacific Northwest and Seattle with an interest in solidarity with other BIPOC(Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) and LGBTQ+ communities. She became the first female in her tribe to obtain a professional degree in the environmental sector and holds a degree in Environmental Science from Portland State University and a Master of Environmental Studies from Evergreen State. As a Native Kut business owner, she practices art, consulting, and runs a vacation/business rental that is Native art themed. Her work draws on the desire to re-center feminine leadership and to bring visibility to the experiences of historically impacted communities. Her preferred mediums include carving, printing, watercolor, mixed media and film. Creating is a way she connects to her ancestors and feels the strong connection between art and science.
Sustainable Thoughts and In Sight by Photy
Data is a powerful tool to broaden our understanding of systemic issues. Storytelling, on the other hand, restores the humanity back into the numbers.
For this “In Sight” reflection of our second quarter of 2020, “Data / Access / Community”, I wanted to bring those two ideas together. I took the three most pressing issues on everyone’s mind: the human rights movement, the pandemic, and climate change. By illuminating imagery on all three issues, I want viewers to see each piece simultaneously. I challenge viewers to explore the narrative behind the numbers and in turn, consider how these issues are intricately tied to one another. If one set of data is startling to you, the other two should be as well. –
The community/access/data triptych are available as poster and postcard prints in the Community Market. Proceeds benefit S2 community programs.
My interdisciplinary work in the arts, education and environmental studies has heightened my capacities as an effective environmental communicator. My goal is to utilize my specializations to build a more sustainable society by bridging the gaps in environmental discourse through creativity and research.
Sustainable Thoughts and In Sight by Photy
To conclude last quarters theme, Culture & Environment, “Master of the Storm”, showcases distinct illustrations referencing the ‘dragon gates’ that cross between worlds as metaphor in breaking through the barriers of xenophobia, dissonance, and isolationwe have been experiencing recently.
Master of the Storm
Master of the Storm and Crane Gate are available as poster and postcard prints in the Community Market. Proceeds benefit S2 community programs.
My interdisciplinary work in the arts, education and environmental studies has heightened my capacities as an effective environmental communicator. My goal is to utilize my specializations to build a more sustainable society by bridging the gaps in environmental discourse through creativity and research.
Sustainable Thoughts by Demarus Tevuk
In Sight by MaryJane Ides
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Demarus Tevuk is a researcher, writer, and educator with a strong background in traditional ecological knowledge, native pollinators, native plants, science, and engineering. Demarus is an Inupiaq from Nome, Alaska and her childhood with indigenous communities across North America greatly influenced her research on the definition of sustainability from the indigenous perspective. Demarus earned her degree in Environmental Studies from the University of Washington and she has a certificate in Permaculture Design. She produced case studies on climate change projects led by tribes that were funded by EPA Region 10 grants. Demarus loves to pick berries and gather traditional food and she is an avid fiber artist and loves to sew, spin yarn, weave, knit, and design knitwear.