ABSTRACT
In efforts to achieve a carbon-neutral society, it is essential to understand how to accelerate the shift towards renewable energy, as well as energy efficiency and sufficiency, in the housing sector. While a lot of research exists on novel technologies, the roles of professionals in energy improvements and everyday user practices, not much attention has been devoted to the practices within housing cooperatives that affect the implementation of more ambitious climate policies. This chapter presents the findings of a study, in which we interviewed 50 key actors in housing cooperatives – housing managers, board members as well as residents – in eight housing cooperatives that have engaged in sustainable energy experimentation in Finland. The research illustrates perceived roles and responsibilities in promoting sustainable energy, as well as the expectations towards other actors. The findings also show that the critical practices from the energy policy perspective are not necessarily related to energy as such, but to mundane ways of decision-making, finding and utilising information, planning and communication. Policy interventions should focus on embedding sustainability into these practices to support energy transition in buildings.
