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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Table of Contents ... i
Acknowledgments ... v
List of Acronyms ... vi
Introduction ... 1
1. Elements of context: the landscape of CC systems for sustainability ... 4
2. The emerging trend of CC as policy instruments for environmental sustainability ... 8
3. Institutional and ecological economics perspectives ... 11
4. Research questions ... 13
5. Dissertation structure and findings ... 16
5.1. Dissertation structure ... 16
5.2. Dissertation findings ... 17
6. Bibliography ... 18
Chapter 1:
Emerging trend of complementary currencies systems as
policy instruments for environmental purposes: changes
ahead? ... 23
Abstract ... 23
Keywords ... 24
Acknowledgements ... 24
1. Introduction ... 24
2. Using Complementary Currencies as policy instruments for behavioural changes towards
sustainability ... 25
2.1. NU-Spaarpas... 25
2.2. E-portemonnee ... 26
2.3. Torekes... 27
2.4. Another view on the question: tickets and quotas ... 28
3. Developing a taxonomy: methodology and resulting hierarchical classification ... 29
3.1. Methodology ... 29
3.2. Taxonomy of constitutive parameters for CC systems ... 30
3.3. Rules ... 31
3.4. The other two pillars: User Access Point and Management ... 36
4. Discussion and conclusion ... 38
4.1. Bones, flesh and soul ... 38
4.2. Individual choices or social practices? The differences it makes in the design of the CC-SM instrument ... 39
4.3. The emerging framework of social practice theories ... 40
4.4. Conclusion ... 41
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Chapter 2:
Smarter than metering? Coupling smart meters and
complementary currencies to reinforce the motivation of
households for energy savings. ... 45
Abstract ... 45
Keywords ... 45
Acknowledgments ... 45
1. Introduction... 46
2. A theoretical framework and an effective tool to tackle motivation ... 48
2.1. Self-Determination Theory ... 48
2.2. Complementary currencies for sustainability policies ... 49
3. System designs ... 51
3.1. Main rules ... 53
3.2. Operational aspects ... 53
3.3. Currency ... 54
3.4. A more flexible regulatory architecture: the hybrid solution S3 ... 54
4. Discussion ... 55
4.1. Contributing positively to people’s need for autonomy, competence and relatedness ... 55
4.2. Limitations and further studies... 59
5. Conclusions ... 60
6. Acknowledgment ... 61
7. Bibliography... 61
Chapter 3:
Rewarding or regulatory measures for energy saving
policies? The discrepancy between perceived and
modelled effectiveness of an innovative instrument for
the household sector. ... 65
Abstract ... 65
Keywords ... 65
Acknowledgments ... 65
1. Introduction... 66
2. Rewarding or regulatory? A critical choice ... 67
3. Innovative policy options for energy savings ... 68
3.1. Personal carbon trading schemes ... 68
3.2. Complementary currencies ... 69
3.3. Innovative Instruments for Energy Saving Policies ... 70
4. Methodology and data set ... 71
4.1. Overview of the methodology ... 71
4.2. Online survey... 72 4.3. Model... 73 4.4. Data set ... 73
5. Results ... 74
5.1. System preference ... 74 5.2. Perceived effectiveness ... 755.3. Relationship between preference and perceived effectiveness ... 76
5.4. Expected effectiveness ... 77
6. Discussion and conclusion ... 79
6.1. Fairness and complexity ... 80
6.2. Investments and behavioural change ... 81
6.3. Cost-benefit aspects ... 82
6.4. Sensitivity analysis ... 84
6.5. Limitations and further research ... 86
7. Acknowledgment ... 87
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Appendix: Modelling of the rewarding and regulatory systems ... 91
Appendix 1: Main fixed parameters of the model ... 91
Appendix 2: Parameters computed from the online survey ... 91
Appendix 3: Rewarding model ... 93
Appendix 4: Regulatory model ... 97
Appendix 5: Sensitivity analysis ... 100
Chapter 4:
Cohousing: an opportunity for energy-efficiency but a
challenge for resident self-organisation. Can community
currencies grease the wheels? ... 103
Abstract ...103
Keywords ...103
1. Introduction ...104
2. Context of the research ...106
2.1. Cohousing communities ... 106
2.2. Community currencies ... 107
2.3. Institutional arrangements for collective action ... 109
3. Methodology ...111
3.1. Data sources... 111
3.2. Data analysis ... 113
4. Findings ...114
4.1. Creating conditions for collective action amongst residents ... 115
4.2. Defining internal boundaries ... 117
4.3. Community currencies as an organising instrument ... 121
5. Discussion ...126
5.1. New insights for collective action in cohousing communities... 127
5.2. Community currencies as an organising instrument for collective action ... 129
6. Conclusions and further research...131
7. Acknowledgments ...132
8. Bibliography ...132
Conclusions ... 135
1. Theoretical contributions ...136
1.1. Parameters for designing CC systems for environmental sustainability ... 136
1.2. CC as rewards systems ... 139
1.3. CC as secondary monetary circuits ... 140
1.4. CC as setting rules for collective action ... 142
2. Contribution to energy policy research ...145
2.1. Self-Determination Theory and motivation for energy savings ... 145
2.2. Perceived effectiveness and acceptability ... 146
2.3. Energy saving effectiveness and cost-effectiveness ... 146
