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In 2007, the UK Government announced an ambitious zero-carbon target for all new housing in England. This paper shows how the definition and its associated policies emerged from discourses of environmental policy innovation; how the problem subsequently became framed as one of mainstreaming, consequent upon the apparent success of experimental schemes and defined in more detail through the interaction between pressure group politics and the technical analyses that accompanied the government's consultation exercises. Finally, it shows how regional and local variations in housing and property markets are likely to influence the ease of zero carbon development. The analysis uses concepts drawn from both the science and technology literature and the literature on policy implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social housing in the UK is currently required to meet higher levels of sustainability than new private housing, but since social tenants have little choice about their housing, this poses important issues about the possible coerced consumption of sustainable housing. The article examines residents' responses to two social housing developments in Kent in which the housing association concerned took advantage of government subsidies to incorporate sustainability features. The similarities and differences between residents' responses in the two estates are outlined, and are attributed to the types of tenants involved and to the particular technical and administrative features of the innovative features. It is concluded that, given the potential coercive character of the consumption of sustainability features, housing associations need to adopt a sensitive and realistic approach to such innovations and their possible benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The paper investigates the energy use behaviour of a specific demographic and ethnic group, that of British Indian households. • A housing survey is deployed to gather self-reported information about British Indian households' energy use behaviour across a range of indicators. • In the Indian context, the house is used as a means of projecting wealth, whereas they give more importance to cultural values in the UK. • There is a consistency in attitudes towards energy conservation between indigenous and diaspora communities in the UK but with significant exceptions. • This research provides a strong base for additional research to understand user's energy behaviour and consequent energy conservation. The notional benefits of more efficient use and effective retrofit to existing housing is both sensible and attractive. Unlike new build, performance improvements cannot be pursued purely by legislation and regulation. Instead, householders need to be persuaded of the material benefits of better energy practices. In improving energy efficiency in the home, providing relevant and useful guidance is critical. Current guidance rarely takes account of specific cultural and ethnic circumstances. The research examines the relationship between cultural values and the energy use behaviour of diaspora households in the UK. The paper presents the results of two surveys that seek to measure energy use practices in the British Indian community. The first, conducted by the authors in England, seeks to understand attitudes and habits in relation to energy consumption in the home for British Indians. This is compared to a wider survey of British attitudes using an identical question set as undertaken by the EnerGAware project. The second survey researches cultural perspectives on the home in a British Indian community. This is compared to an identical survey conducted by the authors with comparative Indian households. The results of the research highlight where behavioural characteristics between the two contexts diverge. The paper suggests there are key areas for future research using ethnographic as well as quantitative techniques to produce tailored strategies for energy conservation in British Indian communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]