Cadent’s latest insight report Net Zero: exploring behaviour change and change resistance aims to shine a light on the differences between UK and European consumers in terms of their attitudes to sustainability and the energy transition.
We’ve been working with Verve to understand how people are feeling about sustainability and the energy transition. The next few years are set to be transformational, as the UK aims to reach net zero by 2050 and being on the front line of the energy transition, it’s vital we’re listening and responding to our customers needs throughout the journey.
As part of our study, we worked with eight academics, undertook consumer polling and social listening. The research revealed some strong insights, with the behavioural scientists sharing four key areas that will shape the conditions for delivering a successful net zero transition:
Mark Belmega, Director of Social Purpose and Sustainability at Cadent, said: “The report’s findings are clear – financial support is vital and we have long been advocating for better support for our customers, particularly those on low incomes, to bring them on the journey towards net zero with us.
“The majority of people said they don’t see a clear vision for how the UK will achieve net zero, which confirms that strong leadership, collaboration and a powerful strategy are all desperately needed, with government and businesses having a critical role to play – but we must also look at the whole system.
“Collectively, we should be questioning why the term ‘net zero’ is proving unhelpful when it comes to creating sustainable change. Simply promoting the phrase isn’t enough. We need to be going much further with educating and informing the British people about, the crucial role they have to play to help decarbonise industries such as ours, and also highlight the positive impacts that they can have.
“At Cadent, we’re already working with over 300 partners to invest in a vision for the energy system. Whilst biomethane, hydrogen and hybrid solutions will provide customers with more choice, gas and electricity will still need to co-exist for some time and it’s imperative we work together to reduce consumption.
“Ultimately, it remains crunch time for the UK if we are to meet the ambitious targets that have been set and therefore, collectively, businesses and the government have a lot of work to do in the coming years to ensure a successful energy transition.”
