Straight Talking Sustainability

In this powerful year-end compilation episode of Straight Talking Sustainability, host Emma Burlow revisits the three solo episodes that resonated most strongly with listeners in 2025, addressing the thorniest challenges facing sustainability professionals today.From navigating conversations with climate sceptics to avoiding the "evangelical trap" that alienates colleagues, to breaking free from the paralysis caused by knowing business-as-usual will not save us, these episodes tackle the psychological and practical barriers that prevent meaningful climate action.After training over 800 people in carbon literacy and working in the sustainability sector for nearly 30 years, Emma knows that technical knowledge alone does not drive change. The episodes featured in this compilation reflect the real struggles sustainability professionals face daily: how to respond when confronted with climate denial, how to engage colleagues without appearing to recruit them for a cult, and how to take action when the magnitude of system change feels overwhelming and impossible.Episode 22: How to Survive a Conversation with a Climate Denier emerged from Emma's own LinkedIn encounter with someone claiming Italy and Argentina were pulling out of the Paris Agreement (information found nowhere except "word on the street"). This episode provides five common denier arguments and five practical survival tips, emphasising that climate denial, whilst noisy, remains exceptionally rare.Out of 800+ people Emma has trained, only one openly identified as a climate denier. The key insight: save your energy for the moveable middle rather than battling immovable objects, but know how to navigate these conversations when professionally trapped.Episode 34: I'm Not Recruiting For A Cult tackles the uncomfortable moment when Emma was told by a senior management team member: "If you're going to convince us to change our habits, you're going to have to come up with some better evidence."This episode dismantles the decades-old sustainability sector habit of trying to prove our point, recruit converts, and convince sceptics through ever-more-impressive graphs and data. Emma argues that leadership is not about convincing people to jump from A to Z, but about meeting them where they are, listening in the corners, and helping them identify what matters to them rather than drowning them in evidence about what should matter.Episode 40: From Stuck to Starting: How to Move Forward with Your Sustainability Goals addresses the paralysis created by knowing that business-as-usual and incremental tweaks will not solve the climate crisis. Inspired by consultant Liz Gad's experience of consciously buying a refurbished phone only to have the company force-send an unwanted screen protector anyway, this episode explores the anxiety caused by working within systems we cannot individually change.Emma provides practical frameworks for moving from "I can't" to "what can I do?", starting with micro-actions that build confidence without expecting anyone to achieve system transformation overnight.Throughout this compilation, Emma's core philosophy emerges: sustainability professionals must stop positioning themselves as evangelical messengers recruiting converts, and instead become curious facilitators who help people connect their existing values to meaningful action.The shift from convincing to listening, from recruiting to exploring, and from paralysis to micro-progress represents the practical psychology of change that technical sustainability training often overlooks.These three episodes collectively address what Emma calls the "unwinnable issues" that drain energy and create burnout: the rare but anxiety-inducing prospect of climate denial confrontation, the counterproductive dynamic of appearing to recruit colleagues for an...

In this practical and inspiring episode of Straight Talking Sustainability, host Emma Burlow sits down with Sanita Garley, Net Zero Transition Plan Lead at B&Q, to explore the often-discussed but rarely-demonstrated journey from setting net zero targets to actually implementing change across a major retail organisation.With over 20 years in buying and product development before transitioning into sustainability three years ago, Sanita brings a refreshingly commercial perspective to the sustainability challenge, proving that expertise in carbon science matters far less than understanding how to get things done within business realities.Sanita's transition into sustainability began when she identified a critical gap: the sustainability team worked incredibly hard to engage commercial colleagues, but those colleagues (herself included at the time) simply were not engaging. The pressures of margin targets, sales goals, and daily commercial realities created a barrier that well-intentioned sustainability professionals could not penetrate.Recognising an opportunity to become the conduit between these two worlds, Sanita approached her manager Sam Dyer (Head of Responsible Business) and requested a chance to try a maternity cover role. Three years later, she now leads B&Q's entire Net Zero Transition Plan, focusing particularly on the notoriously complex Scope 3 emissions from products and vendors.The conversation tackles imposter syndrome head-on, with Sanita admitting she felt massively out of her depth initially, knowing very little about carbon. However, her commercial mindset proved invaluable: "Give me a target, I'll go after it and I'll hit it."By reframing carbon reduction as another business objective rather than an insurmountable technical challenge, Sanita demonstrates how non-sustainability professionals can bring fresh, practical approaches to what often feels like an impenetrable field. Her wide remit across B&Q's entire product range (rather than a focused category) presents unique challenges but also opportunities for systemic impact.Throughout the episode, Sanita emphasises the critical importance of speaking stakeholders' language and respecting their pressures. Coming from the commercial world, she understands when not to have conversations ("it's a really bad time of year, guys") and how to frame sustainability requests in ways that resonate with buyers facing their own intense targets.This commercial fluency, combined with genuine respect for colleagues' expertise, creates what Sanita describes as a "true exchange" where she relies on product experts' knowledge whilst they benefit from her sustainability guidance.The discussion explores B&Q's impressive sustainability heritage, including founding membership of the FSC 30 years ago, pioneering peat-free compost, and achieving over 99% certification for wood and paper products. However, Sanita acknowledges that communicating these achievements to customers remains challenging when sustainability often does not resonate as strongly as retailers hope.Her pragmatic response: "Let us do the heavy lifting for now" rather than waiting for consumer demand to drive every change. This philosophy of responsible business means making sustainability improvements behind the scenes because "you know what's right," even when customers are not yet asking for it.Emma and Sanita discuss practical examples including the plant pot recycling initiative (collection points in 120 stores creating a closed-loop system), CBAM (Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism) implementation where B&Q leads supplier engagement despite being the only retailer asking for certain data, and carbon literacy training that has now reached over 100 colleagues with ambitious plans for 2026.The plant pot scheme, whilst not a major carbon reducer, demonstrates how visible,...

In this action-packed solo episode of Straight Talking Sustainability, host Emma Burlow delivers exactly what sustainability-conscious listeners have been asking for: five straightforward switches that make the biggest dent in your personal carbon footprint, complete with referral codes, money-off promotions, and practical bonus links worth £332 to remove every excuse for inaction.Top 5 Carbon‑Cutting Hacks1. Switch Bank 💰🌍One of the biggest instant switches you can make - though it’s rarely included in carbon footprint tools!£10k saved in a high‑street bank (e.g. HSBC, Barclays) = over 2 tonnes CO₂The same amount with Nationwide or the Co‑operative Bank = less than 0.5 tonnes CO₂Bonuses:Nationwide: £175 switch bonusCo‑op Bank: £100 switch bonusResources:MotherTree’s Carbon Emissions Bank League Table (June 2023)Bank.Green – find ethical & sustainable banks near you2. Switch to Renewable Electricity ⚡🌱One of the first and most impactful steps:Cuts dependence on imported fossil fuelsReduces carbon emissionsSupports the transition to a greener grid📊 In the UK, renewables in the national grid have grown from 14% to 41% in just one year.Resources:UN & Carbon Brief: Five reasons why switching to renewables is smart economicsOctopus referral link: £50 credit3. Switch OFF or DOWN 🔌❄️Small changes at home = big savings.Smart meters: save £50+ per year and give real‑time control over energy usePrinciple: If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage itInsulation: pays for itself quickly once you start tracking usageThermostat: set to 18°C (WHO guidance for healthy adults; slightly higher for very young/old)

In this career-focused episode of Straight Talking Sustainability, host Emma Burlow sits down with Nick Valenzia, co-founder of Leafr (the world's largest marketplace for sustainability skills), to unpack the brutal realities facing sustainability professionals today: unclear career pathways, exhausting job searches, and the dangerous myth that passion alone will get you ahead.Nick reveals how Leafr was born from his own frustrating experience trying to freelance in sustainability after his master's degree, unable to find a single platform connecting independent consultants with companies needing short-term expertise.Despite launching with an "embarrassing website" (his words), the platform snowballed because it solved a real friction between supply and demand, now connecting over 2,000 vetted experts with hundreds of companies across three continents at approximately one third the cost of traditional consultancies.The conversation tackles the uncomfortable truth that "sustainability professional" isn't actually a meaningful job title. As Nick puts it: "What is a sustainability professional? I've yet to see a good definition.We all know what doctors do, but sustainability covers everything from carbon accounting to biodiversity to materials innovation to solar panels in space. There's not that much linking them apart from this higher mission to help the environment."Emma and Nick explore why this creates impossible confusion for people trying to build careers in the space, with no clear door to walk through and no obvious progression from five years' experience to ten years' experience (unlike law, medicine, or accounting where pathways are well established).The sector's rapid evolution means traditional markers like "ten years' experience" become meaningless when regulations like biodiversity net gain only launched last year.Drawing on Cal Newport's book "Be So Good They Can't Ignore You", Emma challenges the sustainability sector's obsession with passion over mastery.She argues that telling someone "it's great you're so passionate about this" is actually dangerous advice, both financially and professionally, because passion doesn't convince others of your expertise and won't help you get funded by CFOs who care about compliance risk and customer acquisition, not moral arguments about emissions.Nick provides the episode's most practical advice for career progression: "Get good at selling it and framing it in terms the rest of the company will understand. If you want to convince the CEO and CFO why your programme should be funded, just saying 'we need to cut our emissions' unfortunately isn't going to cut it.What cuts it is saying 'we risk being fined if we don't comply with this regulation' or 'we'll win X percent more customers because we know they want this.'"The episode systematically explores the skills gap from both sides of Leafr's marketplace: companies that don't know what they need (let alone how to scope projects, set budgets, or determine which regulations affect them) and professionals who can't find work despite thousands applying for the same roles.Nick explains how Leafr's AI tools help companies at that critical first stage, mapping out what potentially affects them and what they need to do, freeing up budget to shift from compliance investment to innovation and reduction investment.Emma and Nick dig into quality assurance in a sector flooded with new entrants, where AI might give someone a few years' head start in appearing competent without actual depth of experience.Nick reveals Leafr's four-step vetting process (written application, skill-level self-assessment with expert-level interviewing, referrals and case studies, behavioural and competency assessment, plus ongoing performance monitoring) that's led to zero unhappy clients to date despite hundreds of projects.The conversation addresses why...

In this game-changing solo episode of Straight Talking Sustainability, host Emma Burlow reveals the counterintuitive strategy that's transforming how organisations achieve climate action: forget trying to convince everyone and focus on activating just 25% of your workforce to create unstoppable momentum.Emma unpacks the frustrating paradox facing sustainability professionals everywhere: if 80% of UK adults care about climate change (DESNZ 2025) and 73% of businesses say they're prioritising net zero (Net Zero Business Census 2025), why does driving action feel so impossibly difficult? The answer lies in understanding tipping points, social norming, and the critical mass needed to shift organisational culture from apathy to action.Drawing on behavioural psychology research from the University of Pennsylvania, Emma explains how social change movements (from Me Too to Black Lives Matter) achieve transformation when approximately 25% of a community actively engages. This isn't about awareness or concern (that's your 80%), this is about people willing to bring sustainability into their work conversations, decisions, and daily actions without being asked.The episode challenges the exhausting approach most sustainability professionals are taking: picking off individuals one by one, hunting for ambassadors, playing the long game of incremental change. Instead, Emma advocates for strategic activation of your critical 25% (one in four people in any meeting room) who then naturally lead the remaining 75% through social norming and peer influence.Emma shares a powerful case study from the housing sector where training just 50 to 60 people (around 25% of a 200-person organisation) over five to six months created a complete cultural transformation. The shift wasn't about hitting carbon targets immediately but about transitioning people from "somebody else's target, I'll get on with my job" to "I'm behind this target, this is what I do to contribute, and I've got loads of ideas." The organisation moved from having virtually no one able to articulate their net zero strategy to ensuring every meeting with four or more people included at least one carbon-literate advocate who would naturally raise sustainability considerations.The episode systematically dismantles three persistent myths: that you need 100% buy-in to succeed, that targets automatically equal action (spoiler: there's a massive target-action gap), and that individual champions alone can create the momentum needed for transformation. Emma argues that whilst your 1% to 2% early adopters might be important sparks, they never achieve critical mass without a deliberate strategy to activate the broader 25%.Emma introduces the concept of the "messy middle" (the 60% to 80% of your organisation between the 10% to 20% who are already committed and the 10% to 20% you'll likely never convince). This messy middle is where your 25% lives, and Emma provides practical frameworks for identifying them through three strategic lenses: roles where climate action has the most impact (facilities, supply chain, commercial, finance), teams that interact with key stakeholders (marketing, sales, customer-facing roles), and individuals already showing quiet interest regardless of their position.The episode explores why the value-action gap persists despite high levels of concern, examining how busy professionals who genuinely care about climate change remain silent because they assume others don't care and fear looking like "the social pariah" who disrupts business as usual. Emma explains how this creates a vicious cycle where everyone waits for permission and social norming that never comes, resulting in organisations with strong ambition, brilliant strategies, and even budgets that still feel like they're dragging their people through sustainability rather than being driven by them.Drawing...