Emergent practices of an environmental standard

Abstract

Recent climate change statistics attribute over a quarter of carbon emissions to residential energy use in the UK. To address this, a building standard (Code for Sustainable Homes) was introduced to aim to reduce levels of carbon dioxide emissions and energy consumption. This paper analyses how such an environmental standard reconfigures the socio-technological relations and practices of housing professionals that design, construct, and manage social housing. We focus on how actors engage with the standard’s recommendation for incorporating low and zero carbon technologies into new buildings. We identify diverse practices that emerge from these engagements, which, we contend, have significant consequences for the working relationships of professional actors, and for renewable energy provision. By being entwined in, and generative of actors’ practices, we argue that the Code becomes part of the socio-technological relationships and infrastructures that shape energy provision.