Emotional work as a necessity: a psychosocial analysis of low-carbon energy collaboration stories

The urgent challenges of climate change and encouraging (more) sustainable consumption call for effective collaborations between stakeholders. However political and professional contexts often prioritise delivery of outcomes (the ‘what’) over process (the ‘how’). Indeed, even when external engagement or internal communication processes are carefully planned the actually ‘doing’ of them may still be hard, and at times emotionally intensive, work. This is where psychosocial theories offer significant insight; however, to date, they have been primarily brought to bear on caring and health professions rather than sustainability. Through a psychosocial analysis of collaboration stories gathered within a major project on low-carbon energy challenges across Europe, this chapter explores this emotional work. Results will be of practical interest to those looking to understand, encourage and undertake collaborative working for sustainability.