Speeding Up Energy Transitions: Gaming Towards Sustainability in The Dutch Built Environment

摘要

The built environment accounts for the largest proportion (approximately 40%) of energy consumption in most countries and consumption levels are still rising. This significant proportion makes it an essential sector to address in the sustainable transitions agenda. In the Netherlands, it is generally accepted that the energy transition of the built environment with the current policies is much slower than required given the urgency of the foreseeable problems and the substantive system delays. Hence, there seems to be a need for experimentation with innovative policy instruments, governance mechanisms, and systemic conditions to fill in the gaps in understanding. In this context, this paper explores the possible use of games for understanding why there is so much inertia in the transition process. We use a three-step process to arrive at some conclusions; first, we begin by developing a conceptual model to illustrate the possible causes of the aforementioned slow transition as derived from the literature, and then, we proceed to discuss the potential roles of games for managing the transition in the built environment. Finally, we combine the prior two steps and illustrate with a System Dynamics Model-Based experimental game, developed predominantly for hypothesis-testing purposes. Based on the results of the game we conclude by exploring the possibilities for future research.