The Intention-Action Gap: Why New Year Sustainability Goals Don’t Stick
Every January, individuals and organisations set ambitious goals. We promise to work more sustainably, change habits, reduce impact, and lead differently. The intention is there and often it’s genuine.
Yet, as the weeks pass, many of those goals quietly fade.
This isn’t a failure of willpower. It’s a well-documented behavioural phenomenon known as the Intention-Action Gap, the space between what we want to do and what we actually do.
What is the Intention–Action Gap?
The Intention-Action Gap describes the disconnect between strong intentions and consistent action. People care, they plan, and they commit, but behaviour doesn’t always follow.
This gap shows up everywhere:
New Year’s resolutions
Sustainability commitments
Organisational change initiatives
ESG strategies that stall after launch
Understanding this gap is critical if we want change to last.
Why motivation isn’t enough
A common response to stalled goals is to increase motivation: more communication, stronger messaging, bigger incentives.
But behavioural science tells us that motivation alone rarely sustains change.
People may:
Want to act sustainably but lack time or tools
Be motivated but work in systems that reward old behaviours
Understand the goal but struggle to build new habits
When organisations focus only on intention, they overlook the conditions needed for action.
Designing for behaviour, not aspiration
Closing the Intention-Action Gap requires shifting the question from: “How do we get people to care more?” to “How do we make the right behaviour easier?”
This is where behavioural design becomes essential.
By understanding:
Capability: whether people have the skills and knowledge
Opportunity: whether the environment supports the behaviour
Motivation: whether habits and incentives align
we can design systems, processes, and environments that support follow-through.
What this means for sustainability
Sustainability goals often fail not because they’re unrealistic, but because they aren’t designed with human behaviour in mind.
For example:
Asking people to reduce waste without changing infrastructure
Encouraging sustainable travel without viable alternatives
Expecting new processes without updating workloads or incentives
When sustainability initiatives align with how people actually work, behaviour change becomes more achievable and more inclusive.
Starting the year differently
The start of a new year is a powerful moment for reflection and reset. But instead of relying on motivation alone, it’s an opportunity to design change more thoughtfully.
Ask:
What behaviours need to change?
What makes those behaviours hard right now?
What could we change in the environment to support action?
These questions move us from aspiration to action.
Learning how to close the gap
The Intention-Action Gap is a core theme explored in Behaviour Change for Sustainability, our new Udemy course focused on the human side of sustainability transformation.
The course provides practical tools to:
Identify behaviour gaps
Understand barriers and enablers
Design interventions that make change stick
Support teams through transition
🎁 Use code BCSLAUNCHJAN2026 to access the course for €129.99 (normally €179.99). The code is valid until 28 February 2026, and once enrolled, you can complete the course at your own pace.
👉 Enrol here: https://www.udemy.com/course/behaviour-change-for-sustainability-with-colectivo/?couponCode=BCSLAUNCHJAN2026
Strengthening your foundations
For those looking to pair behaviour change with strong ESG foundations, our Sustainability in Practice (SIP) course complements BCS by focusing on organisational context, AS-IS/TO-BE mapping, and goal-setting.
👉 Explore SIP:
https://www.udemy.com/course/sustainability-in-practice-with-colectivo/?referralCode=000F67EBB2A56E7EDEDE
📩 For SIP + BCS bundles or team access, contact hello@colectivo.ie.
A final thought
The Intention-Action Gap doesn’t mean people don’t care. It means change hasn’t been designed to fit real life.
This year, instead of asking for more motivation, let’s design environments where sustainable behaviour becomes the easy choice.
