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The transition towards low-energy buildings in the United Kingdom is challenging. Several policy changes have affected the actions and agency of actors. Drawing on the sustainability transitions literature, we analyse the development of the low-energy homes niche, focusing on the dynamics between intermediary organisations and policy development for low-energy homes. Based on rich interview and secondary data, we note how the existence and activities of transition intermediaries are enabled or curtailed by policy changes. We identify niche development phases along with the position and activities of intermediary organisations. In the predevelopment phase, non-state transition intermediaries have formed when government policy has been weak or market-based. During take-off, targeted policy initiatives have created protective spaces and stimulated the emergence of new intermediaries aiming to consolidate the niche. State-affiliated intermediaries have been established as part of active energy efficiency policy, but later ceased to exist or became privatised. Existing organisations have adopted intermediary functions to advance low-energy homes in response to policy. Furthermore, intermediaries have on occasion influenced policy development, often through cooperation among an ecology of intermediaries. In conclusion, we raise questions regarding intermediaries in the changing governance context.

As buildings throughout their lifecycle account for circa 40% of total energy use in Europe, reducing energy use of the building stock is a key task. This task is, however, complicated by a range of factors, including slow renewal and renovation rates of buildings, multiple non- coordinated actors, conservative building practices, and limited competence to innovate. Drawing from academic literature published during 2005-2015, this article carries out a systematic review of case studies on low energy innovations in the European residential building sector, analysing their drivers. Specific attention is paid to intermediary actors in facilitating innovation processes and creating new opportunities. The study finds that qualitative case study literature on low energy building innovation has been limited, particularly regarding the existing building stock. Environmental concerns, EU, national and local policies have been the key drivers; financial, knowledge and social sustainability and equity drivers have been of modest importance; while design, health and comfort, and market drivers have played a minor role. Intermediary organisations and individuals have been important through five processes: (1) facilitating individual building projects, (2) creating niche markets, (3) implementing new practices in social housing stock, (4) supporting new business model creation, and (5) facilitating building use post construction. The intermediaries have included both public and private actors, while local authority agents have acted as intermediaries in several cases.

The rapid decarbonisation of heat remains a challenging energy and climate policy priority. In this study, after screening 461 global case studies, we examine four national household transitions in heat, and examine their implications for governance. These transitions were both rapid, involving transformations in heat provision in a short timeframe of 18 to 35 years; and deep, involving diffusion that collectively reached more than 100 million households and more than 310 million people. From 1995 to 2015, China stimulated industrial research with strong municipal and national targets and policies to the point where they saw adoption rates for solar thermal systems surpass 95% market penetration in many urban areas. From 1976 to 2011, Denmark blended small-scale decentralized community control with national standards and policies to promote district heating so it reached 80% of household needs. From 2000 to 2018, Finland harnessed user and peer-to-peer learning, and innovation, alongside national and European policies and incentives so that heat pumps reached almost a third of all homes. From 1960 to 1977, The United Kingdom coordinated a nationalized Gas Council and Area Boards with industry groups, appliance manufacturers, installers and marketing campaigns so that gas central heating reached almost half of all homes. These four rapid case studies share commonalities in polycentric governance, rooted in (1) equity, (2) inclusivity, (3) information and innovation, (4) ownership and accountability, (5) organizational multiplicity, and (6) experimentation and flexibility. The study affirms that designing the right sort of political and governance architecture can be just as salient as technical innovation and development.

The rapid decarbonisation of heat remains a challenging energy and climate policy priority. In this study, after screening 461 global case studies, we examine four national household transitions in heat, and examine their implications for governance. These transitions were both rapid, involving transformations in heat provision in a short timeframe of 18–35 years; and deep, involving diffusion that collectively reached more than 100 million households and more than 310 million people. From 1995 to 2015, China stimulated industrial research with strong municipal and national targets and policies to the point where they saw adoption rates for solar thermal systems surpass 95% market penetration in many urban areas. From 1976 to 2011, Denmark blended small-scale decentralized community control with national standards and policies to promote district heating so it reached 80% of household needs. From 2000 to 2018, Finland harnessed user and peer-to-peer learning, and innovation, alongside national and European policies and incentives so that heat pumps reached almost a third of all homes. From 1960 to 1977, The United Kingdom coordinated a nationalized Gas Council and Area Boards with industry groups, appliance manufacturers, installers and marketing campaigns so that gas central heating reached almost half of all homes. These four rapid case studies share commonalities in polycentric governance, rooted in (1) equity, (2) inclusivity, (3) information and innovation, (4) ownership and accountability, (5) organizational multiplicity, and (6) experimentation and flexibility. The study affirms that designing the right sort of political and governance architecture can be just as salient as technical innovation and development in stimulating transitions.

Introduction : power, politics and unsustainable consumption / Lucie Middlemiss, Cindy Isenhour, Mari Martiskainen -- A consuming globalism : on power and the post-Paris Agreement politics of climate and consumption / Cindy Isenhour -- Practice does not make perfect : sustainable consumption, practice theory and the question of power / Dennis Soron -- Sources of power for sustainable consumption : where to look / Doris Fuchs, Sylvia Lorek, Antonietta Di Giulio, Rico Defila -- Pro-environmental behaviour change and governmentality : counter-conduct and the making up of environmental individuals / Tom Hargreaves -- Freedom, autonomy and sustainable behaviours : the politics of designing consumer choice / Tobias Gumbert -- The "double dividend" discourse in sustainable consumption : a critical commentary / Lucie Middlemiss, David Wingate and Anna Wesselink -- Housing as a function of consumption and production in the United Kingdom / Mari Martiskainen -- Power and politics in the (work-life) balance : a mixed methods evaluation of the risks and rewards of downshifting / Jacob Hammond & Emily Huddart Kennedy -- Who participates in community-based sustainable consumption projects and why does it matter? : a constructively critical approach / Manisha Anantharaman, Emily Huddart Kennedy, Lucie Middlemiss and Sarah Bradbury.

Community action has an increasingly prominent role in the debates surrounding transitions to sustainability. Initiatives such as community energy projects, community gardens, local food networks and car sharing clubs provide new spaces for sustainable consumption, and combinations of technological and social innovations. These initiatives, which are often driven by social good rather than by pure monetary motives, have been conceptualised as grassroots innovations. Previous research in grassroots innovations has largely focused on conceptualising such initiatives and analysing their potential for replication and diffusion; there has been less research in the politics involved in these initiatives. We examine grassroots innovations as forms of political engagement that is different from the 1970s' alternative technology movements. Through an analysis of community-run Energy Cafes in the United Kingdom, we argue that while present-day grassroots innovations appear less explicitly political than their predecessors, they can still represent a form of political participation. Through the analytical lens of material politics, we investigate how Energy Cafes engage in diverse - explicit and implicit, more or less conscious forms of political engagement. In particular, their work to "demystify" clients' energy bills can unravel into various forms of advocacy and engagement with energy technologies and practices in the home. Some Energy Cafe practices also make space for a needs-driven approach that acknowledges the embeddedness of energy in the household and wider society. ; Peer reviewed

Community action has an increasingly prominent role in the debates surrounding transitions to sustainability. Initiatives such as community energy projects, community gardens, local food networks and car sharing clubs provide new spaces for sustainable consumption, and combinations of technological and social innovations. These initiatives, which are often driven by social good rather than by pure monetary motives, have been conceptualised as grassroots innovations. Previous research in grassroots innovations has largely focused on conceptualising such initiatives and analysing their potential for replication and diffusion, there has been less research in the politics involved in these initiatives. We examine grassroots innovations as forms of political engagement that is different from the 1970s' alternative technology movements. Through an analysis of community-run Energy Cafés in the United Kingdom, we argue that while present-day grassroots innovations appear less explicitly political than their predecessors, they can still represent a form of political participation. Through the analytical lens of material politics, we investigate how Energy Cafés engage in diverse – explicit and implicit, more or less conscious – forms of political engagement. In particular, their work to 'demystify' clients' energy bills can unravel into various forms of advocacy and engagement with energy technologies and practices in the home. Some Energy Café practices also make space for a needs-driven approach that acknowledges the embeddedness of energy in the household and wider society.