diff --git a/config/default.json b/config/default.json
index 9b0a73341..64539c7ee 100644
--- a/config/default.json
+++ b/config/default.json
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@
   "featureFlagUpdatePages": "false",
   "featureFlagSearchUI": "false",
   "gatsbyUseChatbot": "false",
+  "gatsbyHideUnifiedFooterLocale": "true",
   "parallel": {
     "enabled": true,
     "stg": {
diff --git a/src/job/jobHandler.ts b/src/job/jobHandler.ts
index 7e4b9a27c..7f93a9269 100644
--- a/src/job/jobHandler.ts
+++ b/src/job/jobHandler.ts
@@ -374,7 +374,7 @@ export abstract class JobHandler {
       PREVIEW_BUILD_ENABLED: this._config.get<string>('previewBuildEnabled'),
       GATSBY_TEST_SEARCH_UI: this._config.get<string>('featureFlagSearchUI'),
       GATSBY_SHOW_CHATBOT: this._config.get<string>('gatsbyUseChatbot'),
-      GATSBY_HIDE_UNIFIED_FOOTER_LOCALE: process.env.GATSBY_HIDE_UNIFIED_FOOTER_LOCALE || 'true',
+      GATSBY_HIDE_UNIFIED_FOOTER_LOCALE: this._config.get<string>('gatsbyHideUnifiedFooterLocale'),
     };
 
     for (const [envName, envValue] of Object.entries(snootyFrontEndVars)) {