Abstract

Sustainability transformations in the energy industry, a key sector in the race to a zero-carbon economy in the Anthropocene, are still being largely understood from a technological standpoint. We propose that the question of how energy transitions can perform for societies and local communities should move to the centre of the debate, in order to unlock untapped social opportunities of transitioning to renewable energy and to speed up climate action. This article draws on four inter-related research perspectives which have made a considerable contribution to conceptualising social performance: sustainability, climate action, business, and development. Understanding and connecting these four perspectives in a transdisciplinary manner is important in our understanding of what Social Performance means in the real world. It also helps to make the concept applicable and transformational. Against this background we propose a community-centred and participatory social performance approach to energy transitions.