Assessing and addressing energy vulnerability at the community scale: an interpretive case study

The paper adopts a whole systems framework to identify and track efforts by local government and community organisations to address issues of energy vulnerability among residents in an urban borough. When viewed through the lens of energy justice these activities appear to disappoint or not to reach all types of people they are intended to benefit. Problems arise in part because the system is fractured, lacking coordination and complementarity, and also because of a failure to account for the multiple and dynamic features of energy vulnerable clients. A whole systems approach combined with a social justice perspective offers a diagnostic tool for identifying ineffective practices and points towards the creation of better integrated and thorough methods for delivering sustainable interventions.