Straight Talking Sustainability

About Straight Talking Sustainability

Welcome to Straight Talking Sustainability! I'm your host, Emma Burlow. If you're feeling lost in all the sustainability talk or struggling to see real results in your business, this podcast is for you. We’ll clear up the confusion and focus on practical, straightforward actions that actually work. Join me as I talk with experts, share real-world stories, and tackle the common roadblocks that stop businesses from making progress. This is all about making sustainability easier and sharing what truly makes a difference. Let’s keep it simple, effective, and make sustainability stick!

Publisher

Emma Burlow

Category

business · education · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

14 Nov 2024

Latest episode

9 Nov 2026

Latest episodes

108 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   9 Nov 2026

   How to Win the Financial Case for Climate with Nigel Topping, Chair UK Climate Change Committee

   The climate transition is moving faster than the news suggests. In this episode, industry guru Nigel Topping makes the commercial case for paying attention to exponential growth, falling technology costs, and the financial incentives that can turn climate action into sound business strategy. In this episode Why positive climate progress rarely makes the news, despite battery costs falling by 18% per year and EV adoption growing rapidly 03:10 Moving beyond abstract emissions targets towards practical sector goals, such as green steel production, zero-carbon shipping, and mangrove restoration 03:49 Why capital won’t flow until financiers’ problem-solving expertise is properly engaged 06:48 How sustainability is becoming embedded in product strategy, procurement, engineering, and finance 08:46 Why investors should work with high-emitting companies that have credible decarbonisation plans, rather than simply selling those holdings 11:05 The role of policy, market design, and financial incentives in scaling heat pumps, EVs, green steel, and clean shipping 13:14 How peer experience, better infrastructure, falling costs, and policy alignment are accelerating EV adoption 27:57 Why businesses need an “exponential radar” to spot technologies that may look small today but are doubling rapidly 41:04 How the UK could be financially better off by transitioning, with fossil-fuel price volatility alone potentially adding £400 billion to UK borrowing by 2050 33:24 Why sustainability professionals need to work closely with the people who control investment decisions 43:00 Key takeaways Stop leading with emissions Nigel Topping argues that emissions reduction shouldn’t always be the main business driver. The stronger case may be lower operating costs, new markets, resilience, technology leadership, or protection against future regulation. Track the curve, not just the snapshot A technology moving from 1% to 2% adoption may not look significant. After successive doublings, it reaches 4%, 16%, and 64%. Nigel Topping warns that businesses can be left behind if they wait for a trend to become obvious. Learn by doing A company doesn’t need to lead across its entire value chain. It can start with a proportion of its fleet, join a purchasing coalition, invest in innovation, acquire technology, or build internal capability. The important point is to get into the market early enough to learn 31:11. Engage finance as a thinking partner Capital markets are sophisticated, and money doesn’t move simply because businesses are told that more funding is needed. Nigel Topping says businesses must understand why capital is not flowing and work with financiers to solve those barriers 07:42. Make the commercial story dynamic A useful board conversation should show where technology is heading, who is investing, how costs are changing, and where the company can lead, collaborate, buy, or develop. As Nigel Topping puts it, “Don’t show a snapshot, show a movie” 40:45. Questions for listeners Which technologies are changing fastest in your sector? Where could your organisation learn by doing rather than waiting for certainty? Is your sustainability case framed in language that commercial and finance teams use? Where should your organisation lead, collaborate, buy capability, or support others? Have you spoken directly with the people who control investment decisions? Book a Power Hour with Emma https://calendly.com/emma-lighthouse/power-hour (https://calendly.com/emma-lighthouse/power-hour) Connect with Emma Website (https://www.lighthouse-sustainability.co.uk) Email (mailto:emma@lighthouse-sustainability.co.uk) Emma Burlow | LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/emmaburlow/) Not Sustainable (https://www.notsustainable.co.uk/)

2. 

   2 Nov 2026

   The BS Asymmetry Principle: Brandolini’s Law and How to Save Your Sanity

   Emma Burlow explores why sustainability professionals shouldn’t spend all their energy trying to refute every piece of misinformation or resistance they encounter. Brandolini’s Law states that: “The amount of energy needed to refute bullshit is an order of magnitude bigger than to produce it.” That imbalance makes endless fact-checking exhausting, and it can hand control of the conversation to the person making the claim. In this episode Why misinformation takes far less effort to produce than to refute, introduced at 02:36 The common forms of pushback captured by FLICC: Fake experts Logical fallacies Impossible expectations Cherry-picking Conspiracy theories How to recognize and name the type of resistance you’re hearing at 06:14 The “not me, not like this, not now, and too late” pattern of delay arguments at 09:21 Not me (shifting responsibility) Not like this (half-measures) Not now (the downsides) Too late (giving up) Why confident pushback can feel like a threat, even when it’s only one person’s unsupported claim at 10:10 Why debating every point can leave the rest of the room remembering the myth, not the correction How pre-bunking helps people expect misinformation and respond with curiosity instead of confrontation at 12:53 Why repeating a myth, even to correct it, can make it more memorable at 13:48 How naming patterns can take the heat out of difficult conversations at 18:35 Key takeaway You don’t have to spend all of your energy debunking unsupported claims. Name the pattern, ask what evidence supports it, and give everyone else in the room the skills to stay curious without being dragged down the rabbit hole. Links: Brandolini, A. (2013). Original post on X (then Twitter), 11 January 2013. Lewandowsky, S., Cook, J., Ecker, U. K. H. et al. (2020). The Debunking Handbook 2020. https://sks.to/db2020 Cook, J. (2020). A history of FLICC: the 5 techniques of science denial. Skeptical Science. https://skepticalscience.com/history-FLICC-5-techniques-science-denial.html Lamb, W. F. et al. (2020). Discourses of climate delay. Global Sustainability, 3, e17. https://doi.org/10.1017/sus.2020.13 Schmid, P. & Betsch, C. (2019). Effective strategies for rebutting science denialism in public discussions. Nature Human Behaviour, 3, 931–939. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-019-0632-4 Book a Power Hour with Emma https://calendly.com/emma-lighthouse/power-hour (https://calendly.com/emma-lighthouse/power-hour) Connect with Emma Website (https://www.lighthouse-sustainability.co.uk) Email (mailto:emma@lighthouse-sustainability.co.uk) Emma Burlow | LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/emmaburlow/) Not Sustainable (https://www.notsustainable.co.uk/)

3. 

   26 Oct 2026

   Mighty Hearts in Sustainability with Rhian Sherrington, Women in Sustainability Network (WINS)

   In this episode of Straight Talking Sustainability, Emma Burlow talks with Rhian Sherrington, founder of the Women in Sustainability Network, about building meaningful professional communities, navigating gender bias, and developing the inner capacity to lead through conflict and uncertainty. Rhian Sherrington, FRSA, MSc Rhian Sherrington, Founder and Head Coach, Women in Sustainability Network and Flourish & Lead Community Rhian is an executive coach and leadership development practitioner who supports women leading sustainability, climate and systems change. She runs group programmes and one-to-one coaching for women in mid-career to senior roles who carry a lot of responsibility, often without the formal authority that should come with it. She founded the Women in Sustainability Network in 2014, and its community now has a new home in Flourish & Lead, an external development programme for women who want to lead with impact, whether or not sustainability is in their job title. Her approach draws on regenerative leadership, systems thinking and learning in and from nature. She is a Mighty Heart® trainer and a certified C-Me Profile® facilitator, and brings embodied practice and neuroscience into her work. Why Rhian Sherrington created the Women in Sustainability Network after finding traditional business networking “pretty” salesy and affected by misogyny 02:12. How the network grew from a Bristol gathering attended by more than 80 people into an international community with online membership 02:55. What makes networking feel safe, purposeful and less overwhelming, including the importance of facilitation, group dynamics and psychological safety 05:51. The different layers of connection across the Women in Sustainability Network, including its LinkedIn group of more than 17,000 women and mailing list of around 3,500 people 07:26. Why women in sustainability can be present in the room yet still struggle to be heard or influence decisions 09:50. The career impact of unequal access to stretch assignments, senior roles and professional opportunities 11:36. The launch of Flourish and Lead Community, with pathways focused on confidence and voice, influence in complex systems, and regenerative leadership 15:18. How nature imagery, seasonal cycles and the lunar cycle will shape the Flourish and Lead community experience 18:14. What the Mighty Heart programme brings to sustainability professionals, including deep listening, conflict resolution, presence and working with the inner critic 23:17. Why engaging with grief, anxiety and difficult emotions takes courage, but can change how people show up in the world 26:43. A practical exercise for identifying and renegotiating the relationship with the inner critic 30:21. The value of slowing down, listening more intentionally and creating an environment where people feel safe to speak 35:49. Emma Burlow’s takeaway about making deliberate time for reflection and creating “a clearing” rather than expecting inner work to happen by itself 38:21. Resources Women in Sustainability Network: wimsustainability.net (https://wimsustainability.net/) Flourish and Lead Community: flourishandlead.academy (https://flourishandlead.academy/) Networking with Purpose guide, available through the Women in Sustainability Network website 06:53 Connect with Rhian on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/rhiansherrington/) Join me in the Flourish and Lead Community (https://flourishandlead.academy/) Book a Power Hour with Emma https://calendly.com/emma-lighthouse/power-hour (https://calendly.com/emma-lighthouse/power-hour) Connect with Emma Website (https://www.lighthouse-sustainability.co.uk) Email (mailto:emma@lighthouse-sustainability.co.uk) Emma Burlow | LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/emmaburlow/) Not Sustainable (https://www.notsustainable.co.uk/)

Who has been a guest on Straight Talking Sustainability

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Crista Buznea
• Sian Cuffey-Young
• Sanita Garley
• Nick Valenzia
• Ben Luger

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Spotify

4.8 / 5

18 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 35 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

50

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

51

Contact Straight Talking Sustainability

Guest appearances

Does not typically book guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

Shows with a similar audience

• 

  Sustainable(ish)

• 

  Talking Rubbish

• 

  Outrage + Optimism: The Climate Podcast

• 

  The Rest Is Politics

• 

  The Fully Charged Podcast

• 

  The News Agents

Questions about Straight Talking Sustainability