1 Overview of Social Drivers Work Programme
1.1 Introduction
This is the second of two reports delivered by the Taylor Baines consortium under their social drivers contract with the Ministry for the Environment, as part of the Warm Homes project. This report should be read in conjunction with the Phase 1 report, which outlines the policy context of the project, in particular the National Environmental Standard (NES) for Air Quality and the National Energy Efficiency and Conservation Strategy (NEECS). This description of the policy context refers explicitly to environmental and energy efficiency policy domains, which have traditionally been the responsibility of national agencies (the Ministry for the Environment and Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority) and regional councils.
It was also noted that the Warm Homes project is influenced by the Sustainable Development Programme of Action (2003), which includes not only some important key principles [Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, Sustainable Development for New Zealand: Programme of Action, Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, Wellington, 2003, p.10.] such as "seeking innovative solutions that are mutually reinforcing" and "using the best information available to support decision making", but also a major work stream on Energy, [Ibid, pp 16–18.] the overarching goal of which is "to ensure the delivery of energy services to all classes of consumer in an efficient, fair, reliable and sustainable manner".
1.2 The evolving context
It is evident that the policy context is evolving and broadening into related policy domains, most notably public health, and regional and local economic development. Public health outcomes associated with air quality and cold homes are a logical policy connection, and in this respect the policy context is evolving only in the sense that the public health sector is becoming more active in its warm homes policy responsibilities. The health outcomes of warm homes have been articulated in some quarters for several years, [More correctly, the detrimental health effects from cold and damp homes have been highlighted.] and research on the health benefits of warmer homes and the health consequences of poor winter-time air quality have informed public discussions for some time.
The problem of poor outdoor air quality is one that has been recognised by few communities, although the introduction of the NES has meant that now more communities are being engaged on this issue. Only very recently have regional councils begun to articulate the policy implications for regional and local economic development. It is not yet widely appreciated that failure by communities who live in polluted areas to comply with the 2013 target condition of "no more than one exceedance", and the "downward trajectory" of exceedances, will mean that regional councils may refuse discharge consents for significant discharges in the airshed.
This policy implication forges the most direct link to the domain of economic development policy at the regional and local level. As just pointed out, it is apparent that the significance of this is only just beginning to be acknowledged. Even now, awareness of this issue is not great in the communities visited for the Phase 2 workshops, which suggests that awareness of this issue is low in many parts of the country.
1.3 Social drivers objectives
As noted in section 1.2 of the Phase 1 report, the objectives of this project, as set out in the Request for Proposals, are to:
- understand the drivers behind the choice of home heating type
- understand the drivers behind the uptake of energy efficiency measures
- investigate the incentives (financial or otherwise) required to achieve behaviour change
- make recommendations on the most appropriate way to achieve behaviour change.
These objectives were to be achieved via a two-phase investigation.
Phase 1 work
Phase 1 of the investigations involved:
- developing a conceptual framework (as described in section 1.5 of the Phase 1 report)
- an international literature review (with findings included in the analysis presented in sections 2 to 5 of the Phase 1 report)
- analysing New Zealand's experiences, based on reviewing New Zealand documentation and conducting 30 key informant interviews (with findings included in the analysis presented in sections 2 to 5 of the Phase 1 report).
The Phase 1 report presented the team's findings on the mix of social drivers influencing household behaviours and choices in relation to home heating. The social drivers discussed were distinguished according to whether they encourage or inhibit particular choices or behaviours. They were analysed separately in relation to home heating, residential energy efficiency (eg, insulation and draught stopping) and participation in public programmes of change, such as a Warm Homes programme.
Phase 2 work
Phase 2 of the contract required the team to build on the findings of Phase 1 and produce a set of recommendations for the Ministry for the Environment on how to "develop appropriate incentives to enable behaviour change in relation to home heating and energy efficiency". It was expected that the focus of this work would be on "testing various incentive options, as well as investigating other elements of innovative market design that will influence the likelihood of success, and receiving feedback from key informants on the incentive options proposed".
Specific activities carried out during Phase 2 included:
- analysing issues and options for programme design (see below, and Appendix A)
- holding four community workshops in areas where there are currently air quality problems (see section 2 and Appendices B and C)
- interpreting the outputs of these activities into a pragmatic concept of "a national programme" (see section 3)
- producing a set of recommendations on how to develop appropriate incentives to enable behaviour change in relation to home heating and energy efficiency (see section 4).
The source materials and findings on social drivers were analysed by the team in terms of issues for programme design, and possible options for addressing these issues. Some of the issues identified at this stage have been considered important enough to include in the key messages presented in the Executive Summary of this report.
The issues and options were analysed under the following themes:
- policy and programme outcomes
- household participation and community buy-in
- education, information and market intelligence
- financial incentives and rules
- the rental market
- programme funding
- the overall need for policy refinement and programme improvement.
Tabulated details of the issues and options analysis are presented in Appendix A.
The issues and options were subsequently fine-tuned to inform the 'Key messages' and 'Recommendations for a national programme' sections of this report.
