Assessing governance of low energy green building innovation in the building sector

Abstract

This paper explores the governance of sectoral innovation and niche formation of green buildings and other low energy buildings (like NZEBs). Two analytical frameworks are used and synthesized: the Sectoral Systems Innovation Assessment framework (SSIAf) and the Governance Assessment Tool (GAT). The key components of the former are: shaping of expectations, actor network formation, institutions, learning process, and stimulating market demand. The SSIAf components are then assessed against the four quality criterions of the GAT framework, i.e. extent, coherence, flexibility, and intensity. The research design presented in this paper applies the analytical framework developed to case studies of two cities: Singapore and Delhi. Data collection involved participant observation and expert interviews. The results of the study reveal that the overall governance conditions in Singapore are fairly strong and highly supported by the government, unlike Delhi where governance quality was found to lack coherence and intensity, and can be considered only moderately supportive to green building innovations. The results also reveal the role of government actors in steering the energy transformation process in building sector. The analytical framework developed in this paper can be further elaborated, also as a potential policy tool to support cities in managing energy system innovations like energy infrastructures, smart grids or community energy storage in diverse and complex urban settings.