Log in or create a free Rosenverse account to watch this video.
Log in Create free account100s of community videos are available to free members. Conference talks are generally available to Gold members.
Summary
The fourth in a series of discussions centered around Climate UX. The adverse effects of climate disproportionately affect the most vulnerable, but what does this mean in the context of UX? How does accessibility affect climate? What lessons can we draw from the accessibility movement to enhance our efforts in scaling climate action? Join our conversation to hear perspectives from those who have worked at this intersection. Panelists: Ned Gartside, Tzviya Siegman, Zoe Lopez-Latorre; Moderated by: Mike Gifford
Key Insights
-
•
Accessibility principles like simplification and user choice inform sustainable web design successfully.
-
•
Sustainability in digital design is multi-dimensional and cannot be judged by page size alone.
-
•
Video, while data-heavy, can be an energy-efficient and inclusive form of user communication.
-
•
User empowerment can include toggles offering choices between higher and lower carbon footprint options.
-
•
Government digital services exemplify leadership in integrating accessibility and sustainability standards.
-
•
Sustainability adoption succeeds when linked to business outcomes like conversion or user experience.
-
•
There is a shortage of sustainability-trained professionals, but the field is rapidly evolving with new educational resources.
-
•
Digital sustainability responsibilities need to be clearly assigned using maturity models and cross-organizational collaboration.
-
•
Digital impact compounds across millions of users, making even small efficiency gains significant at scale.
-
•
The climate crisis urgency requires applying lessons from accessibility work: combined grassroots efforts and organizational leadership.
Notable Quotes
"Accessibility is a better sell than sustainability when engaging clients."
"We need to have a planet before we can have dignity, and sustainability and accessibility are tied basic human rights."
"There is no direct correlation between data size and energy consumed; many factors interplay."
"User choice can include opting for a higher carbon or lower carbon version of the same content."
"73% of users are willing to choose a more sustainable browsing option even if image quality decreases."
"Sometimes the best solution for users isn't digital - for example, farmers often prefer face-to-face interactions."
"Sustainability can accelerate adoption when it aligns with business impact, like improving conversions."
"You need the whole organization involved, from engineering to marketing to legal, to make sustainability work."
"There are risks that sustainability tools become gatekeepers or quasi-standards themselves, which we must avoid."
"The digital sector’s compounded impact on carbon footprint exceeds industries like airlines when aggregated across millions."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"Some engineers build a council of agents that debate and generate responses, which can help with bias and accuracy."
Daniel KorczynskiWhy AI Is Bad at Research (and how to make it actually useful)
March 10, 2026
"Trust the user and trust the model are the two lessons I’m getting over time."
Peter Van DijckHands on AI #3: Claude Code for UX people
October 22, 2025
"When you put in that effort, you’re going to get the advocacy not only from your team but within the organization."
Frank DuranPartnership Playbook: Lessons Learned in Effective Partnership
January 8, 2024
"Doing nothing is not a neutral act. Ignorance may be bliss, but it doesn’t absolve you from responsibility."
Craig VillamorDesign Systems for Ethical Design
January 26, 2023
"Minimum lovable product is a better focus than minimum viable product in design ops to deliver meaningful impact early."
Dave Malouf Adrienne Allnutt Jon Fukuda Dominique WardThe Future of DesignOps
January 8, 2024
"Once you find a behavioral experiment that works, it’s like playing Minesweeper—you place bets based on current knowledge to uncover more."
Michael WeirMixed Methods and Behavioural Science
May 26, 2023
"Instagram is so important for me to see what my team is doing outside of work; it builds stronger bonds."
Kim LenoxLeading Distributed Global Teams
May 20, 2019
"Insight practices are just getting more established and are asking questions of higher strategic value, bringing disciplines closer together."
Jemma AhmedConvergent Research Techniques in Customer Journey Mapping
March 31, 2020
"People from different cultures have different ways of experiencing and showing trauma; body language is not universal."
Uday Gajendar Rachael Dietkus, LCSW Dr. Dawn Emerick Dawn E. Shedrick, LCSWLeading through the long tail of trauma
July 7, 2022
