New Normal: Remove Sustainability Friction With Defaults

About this episode

Emma Burlow discusses the importance of removing friction in systems to facilitate sustainability changes.

In this grounding and practical solo episode of Straight Talking Sustainability , host Emma Burlow tackles the frustrating value-action gap (why 80% of people care yet nothing changes), revealing that sustainability fails not because colleagues don't care but because systems don't support change, friction remains everywhere, and everything stays optional rather than default. Inspired by Outrage and Optimism podcast episode "Catastrophe Apathy" featuring Professor Lorraine Whitmarsh (University of Bath), Emma demonstrates how Swiss energy companies switching 250,000 customers to renewable tariffs by default (90% stayed versus 3% who opted in) proves behaviour change requires removing friction and creating new normals, not more awareness campaigns that just stress people out when they already care. Emma opens, acknowledging spring's arrival has improved her mood a thousandfold, apologising for moany winter Emma, before diving into the chasm between caring and doing. At work this shows up as "that's not our process," "we don't have time," "that's not a priority," "we've always done it like this," "it didn't work last time." These aren't real blockers; they're human psychology…

People in this episode

Host: Emma Burlow

Topics covered

• sustainability
• behavior change
• system design
• friction
• renewable energy
• psychology
• value-action gap

Keywords

• sustainability
• friction
• behavior change
• renewable tariffs
• value-action gap
• system support
• psychology

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Outrage and Optimism, University of Bath

More episodes of Straight Talking Sustainability

• Making Sustainability Less Miserable with Lucy Hawthorne, Climate Play · June 7, 2026 · 43 min
• Why You Must See the People's Emergency Briefing! · May 31, 2026 · 22 min
• Why Sustainability isn’t the Sustainability Director’s Problem with Joss Tantram, Terrafiniti · May 24, 2026 · 45 min
• Everything, Everywhere, All at Once · May 17, 2026 · 21 min
• Shifting Mindsets with Charly Cox · May 10, 2026 · 50 min
• How to scale sustainability and the Prisoner’s Dilemma · May 3, 2026 · 21 min