An on-going Kingston University research project which investigates whether
members of a community can be facilitated to deliberately debate, develop and
adopt new low energy norms, practices and lifestyles is marking its first
anniversary.
The project has received the backing of Secretary of State for Energy and
Climate Change Ed Davey, who said community action in generating clean, local
energy and using it efficiently is critical to Britain’s ambition to create a
low carbon economy. “This drive to change can’t just come from Government or
the big energy companies because, let’s be honest, people sometimes find it
difficult to trust them,” he said. “People are influenced by their friends,
their neighbours, the church and local community groups – so unless we do things
differently at a community level, I don’t think we’ll be able to make the
changes we must make if we’re to tackle fuel poverty and lower our energy usage
in Britain.”
Mr Davey was speaking at an event to mark the first anniversary of the Smart
Communities project – a programme launched by Kingston University to help
borough residents develop ‘green’ habits and reduce their energy consumption.
Project leader Professor Ruth Rettie, from the Behaviour and Practice
Research Group at Kingston Business School, said the partners and participants,
which included a local school and more than 350 households in the Kingston area,
had wholeheartedly embraced the ideals behind Smart Communities. “We have been
overwhelmed by what the community has been able to achieve just by working
together,” she said. “Everyone who has signed up has received a free energy
monitor, people have been eager to adopt greener practices, many have come to
the energy workshops we set up, or had energy audits carried out on their homes
– and some have even hosted a thermal imaging party.”
Local resident Peter Wood was one of the first people to get involved in the
project, eager to make his household more energy efficient. “We joined Smart
Communities because our bills were way too high and we thought we ought to know
what electricity we were using,” he said.
Fiona Pullen, another local resident, said the project made her feel she was
doing her bit for the environment. “As individuals, people often feel they
can’t make much of a difference, but as part of Smart Communities you really
feel that you’re all doing something,” she added.
Mr Davey stressed that what was ‘smart’ about the project was that the whole
community had realised that the cheapest energy was energy that wasn’t used.
“Unless people feel it’s normal to worry about energy efficiency, we can’t make
the giant step change that’s needed,” he added. “Projects like Smart
Communities, which are actively finding ways to change perceptions and
behaviour, are exactly what we want to see right across the country – and
Kingston is definitely leading the way.”