Abstract
The potential for community-led local sustainability initiatives to play a key role in a transition towards a low-carbon economy has been acknowledged by both policymakers and researchers. To date, such initiatives have predominantly been established through the efforts of volunteers, resulting in a scattered uptake across towns, cities and other communities in the UK and further afield. In a context where local and national Government are increasingly seeking to deliver local action on climate change in partnership with community organisations, is it possible or desirable for Government and other publicly funded bodies to successfully set up these grassroots initiatives “from the outside” where none exist already? This paper describes a project which explored this question through the provision of a 2-year programme of support for local action on climate change in a sub-region of the UK. Community development strategies were employed with a view to establishing new grassroots climate change initiatives in a range of different communities. The results indicate some potential for the strategy to meet with success, with several new groups and small-scale projects being established as a result. However, the short lifespan of many of the organisations set up and the relatively low impact on carbon emission reduction of their activities raises questions about the effectiveness of grassroots initiatives and how support of their activities can be delivered most effectively to maximise impact and improve cost effectiveness.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alexander, R., Hope, M., & Degg, M. (2007). Mainstreaming sustainable development—a case study: Ashton Hayes is going carbon neutral. Local Economy, 22(1), 62–74.
Araki, H. (2007). Grassroots organizations addressing climate change: frames issues to mobilize constituents [online]. Available at http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/49368/Hiromitsu%20Araki.%20Grassroots%20organizations%20addressing%20climat∼1.pdf. Accessed 28 February 2013
Argyriou, I., Fleming, P., & Wright, A. (2012). Local climate policy: lessons from a case study of transfer of expertise between UK local authorities. Sustainable Cities and Society, 5, 87–95.
Bailey, I., Hopkins, R., & Wilson, G. (2010). Some things old, some things new: the spatial representations and politics of change of the peak oil relocalisation movement. Geoforum, 41(4), 595–605.
Barkan, S. E. (2004). Explaining public support for the environmental movement: a civic voluntarism model. Social Science Quarterly, 85(4), 913–937.
Bate, S. P., Bevan, H., & Robert, G. (2004). Towards a million change agents. A review of the social movements literature: implications for large scale change in the NHS. Leicester: NHS Modernisation Agency.
Benford, R. D., & Snow, D. A. (2000). Framing processes and social movements: an overview and assessment. Annual Review of Sociology, 26, 611–39.
Berwick Community Trust (2013). Berwick Community Trust website [online]. Available at http://www.berwicktrust.org.uk. Accessed 28 February 2013
Bridge, G., Bouzarovski, S., Bradshaw, M., & Eyre, N. (2013). Geographies of energy transition: space, place and the low-carbon economy. Energy Policy, 53, 331–340.
Bristol Pound (2013). Bristol Pound website [online]. Available at http://bristolpound.org. Accessed 28 February 2013
CAG (2012a). Community action groups Website [online]. Available at http://www.cagoxfordshire.org.uk. Accessed 11 October 2012
CAG (2012b). Community Action Groups Quickstart Guide [online]. Available at: http://www.cagoxfordshire.org.uk/downloads/category/2-information-sheets. Accessed 11 October 2012
Christiansen, J. (2009). Four Stages of Social Movements [online]. Available at http://www.ebscohost.com/uploads/imported/thisTopic-dbTopic-1248.pdf. Accessed 28 February 2013
Church, C. (2005). Local action, global impact? A report on the engagement of the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) in work on Climate Change [online]. Available at http://www.suscom.org/Documents/LocalActGlobImp.pdf. Accessed 11 October 2012
Clary, E. G., & Snyder, M. (1999). The motivations to volunteer: theoretical and practical considerations. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 8(5), 156–159.
CLS (2013). Communities living sustainably Website [online]. Available at http://www.communitieslivingsustainably.org.uk. Accessed 28 February 2013
Coghlan, D., & Brannick, T. (2005). Doing action research in your own organisation. London: Sage.
CSE. (2009). Best practice review of community action on climate change. Bristol: Centre for Sustainable Energy.
DECC. (2009). Low carbon transition plan. London: Department of Energy and Climate Change.
DECC. (2012). Low carbon communities challenge evaluation report. London: Department of Energy and Climate Change.
Defra (2011). The Sustainable lifestyles framework. London: Department for Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs
Doherty, B. (2002). Ideas and actions in the green movement. London: Routledge.
Du Cann, C. (2012). When the experiment fails [online]. Available at http://www.transitionnetwork.org/stories/charlotte-du-cann/2012-05/when-experiment-fails. Accessed 11 October 2012
Fleming, P. D., & Webber, P. H. (2004). Local and regional greenhouse gas management. Energy Policy, 32(6), 761–771.
Gardner, H. (1983). Frames of mind: the theory of multiple intelligences. New York: Basic Books.
Global Action Plan (2012). EcoTeams website [online]. Available at: http://www.ecoteams.org.uk. Accessed 11 October 2012
Green, G. (2011). The self-help approach to community development. In J. Robinson & G. Green (Eds.), Introduction to community development: theory, practice, and service-learning (pp. 261–277). Los Angeles: Sage.
Green Alliance. (2010). New times, new connections: civil society action on climate change. London: Green Alliance.
Harehope Quarry (2013). Working for future Frosterley [online]. Available at http://harehopequarry.org.uk/uploads/working-for-future-frosterley-full.pdf. Accessed 28 February 2013
Heiskanen, E., Johnson, M., Robinson, S., Vadovics, E., & Saastamoinen, M. (2009). Low-carbon communities as a context for individual behavioural change. Energy Policy, 38(12), 7586–7595.
Hopkins, R. J. (2008). The transition handbook. Totnes: Green Books.
Hopkins, R. J. (2011). The transition companion. Totnes: Green Books.
IPPR. (2007a). Positive energy. London: Institute for Public Policy Research.
IPPR. (2007b). Warm words II: how the climate story is evolving. London: Institute for Public Policy Research.
Irvine, K. N., & Kaplan, S. (2001). Coping with change: the small experiment as a strategic approach to environmental sustainability. Environmental Management, 28(6), 713–725.
Jackson, T. (2004). Motivating sustainable consumption: a review of evidence on consumer behaviour and behavioural change. London: Policy Studies Institute.
Kemp, R., Schot, J., & Hoogma, R. (1998). Regime shifts to sustainability through processes of niche formation: the approach of strategic niche management. Technology Analysis and Strategic Management, 10(2), 175–195.
Klandermans, B. (1993). A theoretical framework for comparisons of social movement participation. Sociological Forum, 8(3), 383–402.
Klandermans, B. (2007). The Demand and supply of participation: social-psychological correlates of participation in social movements. In D. A. Snow, S. A. Soule and H. Kriesi (Eds.). The Blackwell companion to social movements (pp 360–379). Oxford: Blackwell
LCCN (2010). Global Challenges, local action: the low carbon communities network 2010 survey. London: Low Carbon Communities Network [online]. Available at http://lowcarboncommunities.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/survey-report.pdf. Accessed 11 October 2012
Lim, C. (2008). Social networks and political participation: how do networks matter? Social Forces, 87(2), 961–982.
Longhurst, N. (2012). The Totnes pound: a grassroots technological niche. In: Davies, A., (ed.), Enterprising Communities: grassroots sustainability innovations (advances in ecopolitics, volume 9) (pp 163–188). Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Marshall, G. (2007). Carbon detox. London: Gaia Books Ltd.
Middlemiss, L. K., & Parrish, B. (2010). Building capacity for low-carbon communities: the role of grassroots initiatives. Energy Policy, 38(12), 7559–7566.
Neeley, G., & Nownes, A. J. (1998). Activists, contributors and volunteers: the participation puzzle. Southeastern Political Review, 26(2), 279–292.
North, P. (2010). Eco-localisation as a progressive response to peak oil and climate change—a sympathetic critique. Geoforum, 41(4), 585–594.
North, P. (2011). The politics of climate activism in the UK: a social movement analysis. Environment and Planning A, 43(7), 1581–1598.
O’Hara, E. (2009). Establishing a support framework for community action on climate change. MSc thesis, De Montfort University
O’Rourke, R. (2008). Transition towns: ecotopia emerging? The role of Civil Society in escaping Carbon Lock-In [online]. Available at http://transitionculture.org/wp-content/uploads/richard-orourke-dissertation.pdf. Accessed 11 October 2012
Passy, F. (2003). Social Networks Matter. But How? In M. Diani & D. McAdam (Eds.), Social movements and networks: relational approaches to collective action (pp. 21–48). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Peters, M. (2010). Community engagement and social organisation: introducing concepts, policy and practical applications. In M. Peters, S. Fudge, & T. Jackson (Eds.), Low carbon communities: imaginative approaches to combating climate change locally (pp. 13–32). Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
Peters, M., Fudge, S., & Sinclair, P. (2010). Mobilising community action towards a low-carbon future: opportunities and challenges for local government in the UK. Energy Policy, 38(12), 7596–7603.
Reeves et al. (2013). Providing a context for change: local support for community-led action on climate change in the UK. Manuscript submitted for publication.
RCC (2011). Communities Cutting Carbon survey report [online]. Leicester: Rural Community Council (Leicestershire and Rutland). Available at http://www.ruralcc.org.uk/documents.html. Accessed 11 October 2012
Seyfang, G., & Haxeltine, A. (2012). Growing Grassroots Innovations: exploring the role of community-based social movements in sustainable energy transitions. Environment and Planning C, 30(3), 381–400.
Seyfang, G., & Smith, A. (2007). Grassroots innovations for sustainable development: towards a new research and policy agenda. Environmental Politics, 17(4), 584–603.
Seyfang, G., Haxeltine, A., Hargreaves, T., & Longhurst, N. (2010). Energy and communities in transition—towards a new research agenda on agency and civil society in sustainability transitions. Norwich: The Centre for Social and Economic Research on the Global Environment.
Stern, P. C., Dietz, T., Abel, T., Guagnano, G. A., & Kalof, L. (1999). A value-belief-norm theory of support for social movements: the case of environmentalism. Human Ecology Review, 6(3), 81–97.
Steward, F., Liff, S., Dunkelman, M. (2009). Mapping the big green challenge: an analysis of 355 community proposals for low carbon innovation [online]. Available at http://www.swslim.org.uk/documents/themes/lt18-resource48.pdf. Accessed 11 October 2012
Sustainable Hockerton (2010). Sustainable Hockerton: the story so far [online]. Available at http://www.sustainablehockerton.org/SHOCK%20The%20story%20so%20far.pdf. Accessed 11 October 2012
TESG (2009). Transition in the East: co-operation collaboration support and influence. Transition East Support Group [online]. Available at http://transitionculture.org/wp-content/uploads/Transition-East-Roundup-Edit.pdf. Accessed 11 October 2012
Transition Culture (2009). Reflections on when a Transition Initiative Stalls [online]. Available at: http://transitionculture.org/2009/09/22/reflections-on-when-a-transition-initiative-stalls. Accessed 11 October 2012
Transition Network (2012a). Transition Network website [online]. Available at http://www.transitionnetwork.org. Accessed 11 October 2012
Transition Network (2012b). Measuring Transition: an important survey [online]. Available from: http://www.transitionnetwork.org/news/2012-07-19/measuring-transition-important-survey. Accessed 11 October 2012
Walker, G. (2011). The role for “community” in carbon governance. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, 2(5), 777–782.
Westmill Solar Park (2013). Westmill Solar Park website [online]. Available at http://www.westmillsolar.coop. Accessed 28 February 2013
Wilbanks, T. J., & Kates, R. W. (1999). Global change in local places: how scale matters. Climatic Change, 43(3), 601–628.
Yin, R. K. (2003). Case study research: design and methods. London: Sage Publications.
Acknowledgements
CCC was a collaborative venture between the RCC (Leicestershire & Rutland), De Montfort University and the following local authorities: Leicestershire County Council, Rutland County Council, Leicester City Council, and the district and borough councils of Charnwood, Harborough, Hinckley and Bosworth, Oadby and Wigston, Melton, Blaby and North West Leicestershire. The project was made possible thanks to financial support from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), Defra and the East Midlands Regional Improvement and Efficiency Partnership (RIEP). The project was delivered through the Knowledge Transfer Partnerships programme (KTP). KTP aims to help businesses to improve their competitiveness and productivity through the better use of knowledge, technology and skills that reside within the UK Knowledge Base. KTP is funded by the Technology Strategy Board along with other government funding organisations. We are grateful for the helpful constructive feedback provided by the reviewers of this paper.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Reeves, A., Lemon, M. & Cook, D. Jump-starting transition? Catalysing grassroots action on climate change. Energy Efficiency 7, 115–132 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12053-013-9212-z
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12053-013-9212-z