JOURNAL: Social licence in principle and practice: industrial decarbonisation in regional clusters

Summary

Authors:

Diarmaid Clery
Sarah Mander
Clair Gough

University of Manchester

Social licence in principle and practice: industrial decarbonisation in regional clusters

Energy Research & Social Science

September 2025

This study examines what is needed to secure a social licence to operate (SLO) for new technologies aimed at decarbonising energy-intensive industries in line with the Paris Agreement. It explores how SLO applies not just to individual technologies, but to combinations used across sectors, and investigates how trust, credibility and legitimacy are developing in two UK industrial regions; the Northwest and the Humber. Through engagement with stakeholders and local communities, the study proposes a practical framework to help strengthen SLO. Its findings offer insights relevant to similar efforts in other countries looking to implement national climate strategies through industrial decarbonisation.

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Heriot-Watt University
Edinburgh EH14 4AS
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Funded by

EPSRC

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