Opportunities to support UK households transition to net zero
Foreword
The starting premise for Home Advantage was that decisions made by households have a huge part to play in tackling climate change and most households want to act—but they need more support. Some of that support will be behavioural, which has been the staple of our work at Hubbub over the past ten years. However, we know that many of the barriers faced by households are deep-rooted and will require structural change. Home Advantage sought to understand what will help households overcome both the behavioural and structural challenges they face.
32% of emissions reductions up to 2035 relies on decisions by individuals and households, while 63% relies on the involvement of the public in some form.
This means the whole country needs to be engaged in this immense challenge—every government department, every layer of devolved and local government, every business, every charity, civil society group and faith community, and every household. Leadership and coordination from the Government are vital.”
House of Lords Environment Committee (2022)1
We worked closely with 175 homeowners over three months on a longitudinal research and engagement project. Using moderated online communities, supported by interviews, polls, surveys, and a focus group, we gathered in-depth first-hand data and insight on a range of topics including home energy and heating, food and diet and the everyday stuff we buy and throw away.
First-hand testimonies from Home Advantage offer a rich sense of what UK households really think of sustainable living, what stands in their way and what would help them to do more. It was fascinating and illuminating to observe how the issues sit alongside each other in a household’s everyday life and how interconnected they are.
So, what did we learn? The good news is that our starting hypothesis proved to be correct: overwhelmingly the households we worked with believe that household action to address climate change is necessary and they want to play their part. This was validated by our polling, with 75% saying they are open to making changes to how they live to help do their bit for climate change and help balance emissions, with the right help and support from business and government. Households want to know where to start, what will make the biggest difference, how much it will cost, what the wider benefits will be and how others will also play their part.
However, there are considerable headwinds: misinformation is rife, trust in politicians, institutions and the private sector is low, and household budgets are squeezed. Home Advantage shows us that if people don’t feel involved, if they feel choice is being restricted or if they sense measures are being imposed upon them then we risk a green backlash.
This is the moment to seize the opportunity. We’ve identified a range of recommendations for government and business to support households in this transition. We believe this challenge requires a radical rethink of how these issues are presented to the public to stimulate a step change in demand for sustainable choices. A key conclusion is Hubbub’s call for unprecedented public engagement campaigns to match the scale of the government’s admirable ambition, telling powerful human stories of change underpinned by easily accessible structural support, to drive change. The path forward should be framed with a careful balance of aspiration and realism: to build trust and confidence, to offer greater clarity as well as incentives and reassurance to satisfy concerns about cost. Less talk of treading on people’s lives; we need to convey a positive and inclusive vision of the future.
Finally, words must be chosen carefully. Too often the participants in Home Advantage told us how they were bamboozled by technical jargon, including the term ‘net zero’ itself. We use the
term in this report because of the nature of the audience likely to read it, but we recommend using it sparingly or not at all when communicating to the public –it’s little understood outside of industry circles and is becoming an increasingly loaded term.
Huge thanks go to our supporting businesses: Barratt Redrow PLC, B&Q, Starbucks UK, TSB, Unilever UK and Virgin Media O2, who provided funding and shared subject matter expertise, advice and insights from their sector. For the record, we have not asked partners to endorse any of the recommendations in this report. We hope this report will highlight the barriers and offer practical solutions to help public, private and third sector organisations design better campaigns and policies, grounded in the realities faced by UK households. We’re hopeful that 2025 can be a pivotal year of environmental progress in the UK, and that this report can play a positive role in that change.
Gavin Ellis, Director and Co-Founder, Hubbub
If you’d like to discuss any of the findings in this report, or work with us on the solutions, contact Hubbub at:
Giving households the Home Advantage
Home Advantage was a three-month online research and engagement project working with 175 UK homeowners, followed by separate polling of 501 UK homeowners2.
The starting point was:
• Households are a key part of the puzzle: 32% of the required emissions reductions needed between now and 2035 to meet our net zero goal are down to the choices made by individuals and households3.
• Most people are concerned about climate change and are keen to play a part: We know from government data that over 80% are concerned about climate change4, while previous Hubbub polling showed that 68% think individuals have a role to play in tackling climate change5.
• Many people are confused about where to start: People don’t know which actions have the most impact or often, where to get started.
Hubbub engaged a range of partners to help us shape and deliver the Home Advantage project, each offering knowledge and expertise from their specific sector, to help understand how we can best support UK households to create the net zero homes of the future.
Together we sought to find out:
• What are households most (and least) willing and able to do on key net zero topic areas?
• With this knowledge, what are the greatest opportunities for business and government to help households contribute towards net zero?
175 UK homeowners, aged over 25, with a household income of >£50,000 and ‘middling’ environmental attitudes6 took part. These criteria were chosen to represent those who may be able to make changes within their homes but were broadly not eligible for existing government support.
As primarily a qualitative research study, households engaged in discussions via private WhatsApp and Facebook groups, validated by online polls and surveys and supplemented with interviews at the start and end of the research phase. The project took place from August to October 2024, and covered home energy and heating, food waste and sustainable diets, and clothing, homeware and electronics.
1 House of Lords Environment Committee, calculated with the Climate Change Committee ‘In Our Hands’ (2022)
2 From UK polling of 501 homeowners aged 25 or over in the UK, with a household income of £50,000 or more, that somewhat agree or neither agree nor disagree that they consider themselves as someone who cares about the environment, conducted by Censuswide on behalf of Hubbub, in January 2025.
3 House of Lords Environment Committee, calculated with the Climate Change Committee ‘In Our Hands’ (2022)
4 ‘Public attitude tracker’, DESNZ (summer 2024)
5 Environmental behaviours and attitudes’, Hubbub (April 2024)
6 Identify as ‘middling’ environmental attitude = those who responded ‘agree’ or ‘neither agree nor disagree’ with the statement ‘I consider myself as someone who cares about the environment’, so excluding those who responded ‘strongly agree’, ‘disagree’, or ‘strongly disagree’.
Figure 1: How better communications and behaviour change alone could help households contribute to net zero
of the required emissions reduction by 2035 relies on decisions by households 32% on the public in some way!1 ...and 63%
Taking part in Home Advantage made households MORE willing to do their bit.*
“You know, if everybody in the country did this same project, then I imagine there would be a huge difference overnight.”
Male, 45-54
*Of 167 polled with the question: ‘Following your involvement in Home Advantage, how has your level of willingness changed in relation to the following targets to help the UK reach net zero?’
The Climate Change Committee7 set targets for 2030 for households to:
Cut energy use by 15%
Reduce meat and dairy intake by 20%
See Appendix 1, 2 and 3 for a breakdown of areas where households became more willing to take action as a result of taking part in Home Advantage.
Themes
We have identified five overarching themes from the research.
1
Shared responsibility to act
Households believe everyone has a role to play, including themselves. There was a clear sense that government needs to reduce systemic barriers that prevent change, especially in relation to home energy and heating. They want to see businesses improve the choices available and there is demand for information and inspiration from businesses, throughout their customer journey, where it feels genuine and authentic.
75% of UK homeowners2 say they are open to making changes to how they live to help do
their bit for climate change and help balance emissions, with the right help and support from business and government.
2
Cost and affordability
Perceptions of cost and affordability are major barriers and motivators for households taking sustainable actions, including the ‘squeezed middle’. Households need funding support, evidence of value for money and return on investments to help them act.
“I strongly believe there should be some kind of support for everyone irrespective of their financial status if they want to make significant change in their household to be part of green energy and net zero.”
Male, 35-44
“The vast majority of people in the current financial climate are simply just trying to get by. In my life, as bad as it sounds, I’d choose environmental unfriendly options if it meant having more money for me and my family.”
Male, 25-34
3
Trust and influence
Trust in politicians, institutions and the private sector is generally low; it’s hard to win and easy to lose. The right messenger is key and depends upon the topic and audience. There’s a role for government, business, trusted experts and everyday role models in communicating information to support, reassure and engage households.
4
Narrative, choice and framing
It’s critical to create and support positive narratives around net zero and sustainable living, to avoid any counter narratives that will stall progress. This positive narrative must avoid piousness; it needs to instantly resonate with the public and should consider choice, messengers and offer strong co-benefits.
“I think generally trust is a huge issue—I’ve become cynical over the past few years. People say what they want you to hear to get money from you.”
Anonymous via a survey
“Unfortunately, we have to put up with evangelical-style converts everyday— whether it’s meatfree or electric vehicles. Their snobbery and ignorance often go beyond personal preference.”
Male, 65-74
Support needed to help households be willing and able
Households identified a need for key structural support to make more sustainable choices. This is related to cost, or perceived cost, plus product and service availability and improved design so products are made to last. Households frequently talked about opaque, confusing and inaccessible systems as a barrier, especially in relation to home energy and heating. However, whilst financial incentives are needed to persuade households to invest larger sums, there is huge potential for communications and behaviour change alone to inspire households to act where there are no (or minimal) costs.
“I think people need to be directed to (a) website, as my experience is that the topic of sustainability is not a subject people go actively searching for. e.g. stick it on bus stops. Then once people know the website exists and visit, use the financial incentive/benefits proposition to drive people into reading more.”
Female, 35-44
Use these three communication principles to get people on board with the transition to net zero:
(For anyone communicating with households, from government to business to NGOs)
Tell a positive story
• Show how sustainability can improve quality of life. From saving money, to keeping your home cosy and eating healthier food—many people are motivated by these co-benefits more than the environmental benefits. So, lead on the alternative benefit and show where there’s a double win e.g. buying refurbished electronics saves money and may enable people to access higher-end devices they couldn’t otherwise afford.
• Showcase first-hand experience. People trust others like them and often don’t want to be the first to act; leverage social norming to showcase positive
“How can we make changes towards net zero future if we don’t know what’s in the pipeline! We need more publicity, and more awareness of these plans and how it will help individual households and the future generations too.”
Female, 45-54
stories and mitigate negative misconceptions.
• Emphasise choice, not sacrifice. Especially for emotive topics linked to people’s identity. For diet and purchasing habits in particular, offer choice and inspiration. For energy, showcase new heating technology rather than focussing on the need to remove current boilers.
• Frame or be framed. Create a positive narrative around the change needed and how it will happen. It’s essential to frame action positively. Otherwise, others will frame it instead, most likely not in the way you’d have liked.
“I’d like to see stories of how normal people get on with solar, heat pumps, electric vehicles etc.”
Male, 25-34
Show the bigger picture
• Show what’s needed, why and how it’s possible to overcome challenges like transitioning away from gas and oil. Explain the changes needed in simple language and make it clear which actions make the most difference e.g. on diet, energy and finance. Help households understand the wider social and economic benefits, such as energy security and future prosperity.
• create a social contract. Households are willing to act but need to see action from business and government. Be clear that there’s a joint responsibility to act and all parties are doing their bit—and show how it all adds up.
Make it simple
• Step-by-step. Break it down into manageable, actionable chunks; focus on incremental change and show what support is available.
• consider the messenger. Trust is easily lost and hard to regain, so align your campaign with who your audience trusts - whether that be family, community or a public figure. The messenger can vary per topic, audience and channel, but people most trust those they already know
“I do feel more responsible after the project... It’s going to have a huge snowball effect, so every little counts. And I feel better for it.”
Male, 35-44
“It’s been really interesting hearing everyone’s comments and viewpoints so maybe it would be good to have a forum where people can share ideas/ tips so we can learn from each other”
Female, 65-74
like friends, family or a trusted tradesperson.
• consider your words carefully. Avoid technical jargon (e.g. retrofit, net zero) and terminology which might have negative associations for some people (e.g. vegan). Use clear and relatable language which people are more likely to respond positively to. For example, participants preferred refurbished electronics if they were framed as “like new”.
Key findings and recommendations
While Home Advantage was primarily a research project, households became more confident and took action when armed with new knowledge and behavioural nudges.
In general, households were already doing, or willing and open to adopting some or all the following behaviours: reducing food waste, buying fewer clothes, shopping second-hand, buying refurbished electronics, changing boiler settings, taking other small energy saving actions and slightly reducing consumption of meat and dairy.
Recommendations
Households were less willing to completely cut or significantly reduce consumption of meat and dairy and less able to make major investments in energy upgrades, mainly due to lack of financial support and information. However, likelihood to act on some topics increased as a result of taking part in this study (see Appendix 4-8).
The insights from Home Advantage have helped create 12 recommendations for business and/or government. You can find the specific details of these recommendations and how they have been shaped by insights from the participants on the following pages. recommendations for stimulate demand and public confidence:
Communication and behaviour change recommendations for government and industry
Participants shared the need for a clear and strategic plan of what net zero looks like in practice, including:
• The everyday and structural changes that households, businesses and government need to make.
• A clear understanding of the changes in the short term alongside changes in the next 5-10 years to help them make long-term decisions.
• How these changes will occur, including who is responsible, and how they will be financed. Some participants shared that they would be open to increased taxes if there’s a clear and understandable reason for it.
Our research has found that information or financial incentives alone doesn’t necessarily lead to households taking action. We recommend:
1
2
Government to develop an impartial public facing source of independent credible sustainability advice
Participants called for a website from a trusted, independent source with digestible information that laid out the clear choices that they can take to make a difference, both for the environment and personalised for their household. The website would become the go-to place for household advice, guidance and support around net zero, to provide engaging, trusted, factual support to help them reduce their carbon emissions and benefit from co-benefits such as saving money, learning new skills and living a healthier lifestyle (incorporating Hubbub’s communication principles).
3 Government to focus on building public confidence and demand
Launch unprecedented public communications and behaviour change campaigns that are proportionate to the scale of the ambition, underpinned by easily accessible structural support, to drive change, in order to inspire and enable households to create the homes and ways of living of the future. This should be designed for each audience’s starting point, considering choice, trust, framing and key messengers (incorporating Hubbub’s communication principles).
Businesses
to support customers by raising awareness and inspiring action
Businesses to build on the structural support they provide by using their influence and reach to inspire action among their customer bases.
Home energy and heating policy recommendations
Throughout the project, households shared that they faced multiple barriers on their home energy improvement journey. There was an overall willingness to move away from gas and oil, but households expressed a need for improvements alongside financial support, including help to understand what choices give the best value for money, positive reviews from people they trust, and simplified guidance on where to go to make changes.
We ask for the government and industry to take an overarching, strategic approach to supporting households in the energy transition, to provide a coherence that matches the scale of the ambitions. A cross-industry approach needs to be taken to support households bringing together a broad range of sectors including energy companies, home energy improvement retailers, tradespeople, financial services, homebuilders, estate agents, solicitors and conveyancers, trading standards and unions.
Build household confidence in home energy improvements and new heating technology
• Simply offering financial incentives won’t be enough to significantly shift uptake of home energy improvements and technology such as heat pumps; emphasis must also be placed on building trust and stimulating demand.
• Positive and aspirational storytelling is needed, to coordinate and build on existing case studies and stories from people across the UK who have successfully made and are delighted with, changes to their home.
• Any public engagement should look at timely moments in the home energy upgrade journey to influence and support households with a consistent, engaging, positive message.
improve
the end-to-end experience for home energy improvements
• Conduct an urgent review aiming to simplify the end-to-end experience for homeowners seeking to make home energy improvements; map timely touchpoints and barriers; and identify the most effective opportunities to intervene to encourage households to make energy improvements so that they receive a clear, consistent and positive message. This should consider household knowledge and confidence, funding and supplier options and consumer protections throughout, as well as involving more businesses.
For example:
• Energy Performance certificates (EPcs) need to be more practical, understandable and focused on cost to instil greater confidence in them as a useful metric of how warm and efficient a home is. We acknowledge the recent government EPC consultation and recognise this may lead to EPC reforms. Home Advantage shows EPCs would be useful if they provided clear quick wins, accurate payback times, gave
a breakdown of EPC A-E ratings against different parts of the home to help households prioritise upgrades, and crucially detailed how well the home keeps the heat in and clean heat options.
• Support incremental steps in the right direction. Government should help to build confidence by considering how households can be better supported to get ‘heat pump or heat network ready’—doing preparatory work that will reduce energy consumption immediately, even if a heat pump or heat network is not possible yet.
• Simplify financial incentives for upgrades. Build trust, transparency and reduce friction for households through clearer eligibility criteria, jargon-free communication and simplification of funding support. A quick win for government would be to target grants at the millions of homes that are uninsulated, to install insulation and make 2024 the last winter they are losing heat17.
Tackle the skills gaps and trust issues in the supply chain
• Government and industry need to ensure a sustainable skilled workforce can provide a quality service. Having enough skilled tradespeople is critical for building household confidence so that they can consistently get the trusted advice they are looking for. Currently, tradespeople are disincentivised to retrain in new technologies due to the lack of demand, their age demographics and existing workload.
recommendations:
• Make all accreditation schemes as user friendly as possible to ensure households can understand what to look for in a tradesperson. Furthermore, government must ensure robust consumer protection is in place—with funding for trading standards to take action to discourage mis-selling.
• Focus on the number of apprenticeship placements in professions that have current and projected shortfalls. Ensure that Skills England monitoring of this does not focus solely on large businesses.
• Support SMEs (who make up over 80% of the maintenance workforce) to take on apprentices. Government should experiment with flexible apprenticeships to allow different SMEs to share apprentices based on the firm’s demand for work, plus increase targeted grants to support SMEs in wages and the costs of apprenticeships18.
For government For business
17 Insulation and energy efficiency of housing in England and Wales: 2022 - ONS
18 For example, the boosted apprenticeship incentive of £3,000 in place during the pandemic led to a 21% increase in apprentice starts (Federation of Small Business, 2023)
Food waste policy recommendations
Households are already on board with taking action to reduce food waste, and expressed a need for support from government and industry to help break down systemic barriers that lead to excess waste, and that more flexibility in portion size when buying fresh produce would help them the most. 20
7 Enable households to buy more loose fruit and veg
• Government to introduce policies to remove plastic packaging to enable households to buy more loose produce — support WRAP’s recommendation for the government to implement a phased approach to remove packaging from uncut fresh produce starting with banning primary packaging on 21 products20.
• Business retailers to increase availability of loose fruit and vegetables, highlighting the opportunities for customers to buy smaller portions for less.
Sustainable diet policy recommendations
Households shared that they are willing to cut meat and dairy by 20%, when presented with choices that were framed in a positive and practical manner. These choices were linked to their weekly shop, where they eat out, and how ‘plant-based’ food is communicated and framed, including everyday discussions with their friends and family.
Home Advantage suggests the need for two key focus areas to support households to reduce their meat and dairy consumption and help households normalise sustainable diets:
“Clearer labelling re: carbon impact of fresh products gets my vote. We should take the decision to eat meat or become a vegan or even vegetarian based on the information and data provided to us. No-one should impose anything on us.”
Male, 35-44
recommendations for government and industry (supermarkets, retailers, manufacturers, catering and hospitality)
8 9
reframe meat reduction more positively—Focus on incremental steps to reduce meat consumption to increase ‘plant-based’ options, e.g. ‘switch, add, try’. Avoid communications that imply sacrifice, instead focus on flavour, substituting or switching, adding more veg, and trying something new. Use community leaders, organisations and spaces to amplify the health benefits and normalise vegetarian options.
Give people more options to enable them to reduce their meat and dairy consumption—Offer ingredients and ready-made dishes with 50/50 blend of meat and vegetables to cut down on meat consumption. For example, increasing the proportion of plantrich dishes on menus (e.g. in work, school or university canteens), with a focus on lunches and food on-the-go when people are more open to change. Where possible, ensure that the option with less meat is cheaper.
Clothing policy recommendations
Households shared that when looking to change their behaviours around clothing, they were faced with systemic barriers including how clothing was advertised, the materials and methods of clothing production, and the durability of clothing items. Participants saw a clear role for policy changes to help create necessary systems change beyond their own actions.
introduce legislation to help create a circular fashion economy
• Supporting the industry call to introduce an intelligent Extended Producer responsibility scheme for fashion and textiles to incentivise, penalise and use the fees generated to develop a more circular economy in the sector.
• create an industry-wide standard to test and measure durability that all fashion brands and retailers can follow. This will help customers understand durability and support themto make informed choices when buying clothes.
Electronics policy recommendations
Participants expressed a need for trust in the electronic items they buy, knowing that they will last a long time, and that there’s an opportunity to repair them if the need arises. Participants saw a clear role for policy to hold businesses accountable for the items they produce and what happens to them at end of life.
11
introduce legislation to tackle e-waste by enabling more repair and reuse
• reforming Extended Producer responsibility (EPr) to include electronics waste and introducing a real ‘right to repair’ for electronics.
• Introduce legislation to standardise data security protocols for donated and refurbished devices.
Homeware policy recommendations
Households expressed support for replicable models that can give them more options of how they can share and repair homeware items, not only to help them save money and storage space but build community resilience.
12
Support the local sharing economy
Provide designated funding for communities to set up and maintain schemes to enable a local sharing and repairing economy, including repair cafes, Library of Things, and local community sharing hubs.
Thank you
Thank you to the businesses who supported Home Advantage project with funding and shared subject matter expertise, advice and insights from their sector, enabling the project to happen: Barratt Redrow PLC, B&Q, TSB, Starbucks UK, Unilever UK and Virgin Media O2.
Thank you to the following organisations for inputting support and guidance on specific topic areas: Energy Saving Trust, NESTA and WRAP. And to Jenny Kedros (Kedros Consulting Ltd) for advising on the measurement and evaluation of the project.
Thank you to the 175 households who committed to share their views and engage in the project.
