How strategic intervention changed decisions, framing, or outcomes
Reframing energy poverty at EU level
Client: European Commission Directorate-General for Energy
Decision at stake
EU energy poverty policy was built almost exclusively around winter heating, despite rising heat stress, climate impacts, and housing vulnerability.
What was at risk
A growing share of vulnerable households was structurally invisible in policy design, undermining climate adaptation goals and weakening the credibility of social protection frameworks.
Intervention
Strategic analysis and authorship of the first-ever European Commission report on summer energy poverty, reframing vulnerability around heat, housing, health, and affordability.
What changed
Summer energy poverty entered EU policy debates as a structural issue. Energy poverty discussions expanded beyond winter heating, influencing how housing, renovation, and climate resilience are now approached.
Making ageing and exclusion visible in energy services
Client: Consumers International
Decision at stake
Development of a global blueprint for inclusive energy services intended to guide suppliers and policymakers.
What was at risk
Older consumers, particularly those over 75, were being systematically excluded by digitalised service models, yet treated as marginal rather than structurally affected.
Intervention
Identification of age-related exclusion as a governance and service-design failure, alongside practical pathways for suppliers to adapt without disproportionate cost.
What changed
Ageing and digital exclusion were embedded as core design challenges in the blueprint, reframing inclusion as a systemic issue rather than a niche concern.
De-polarising electricity tariffs and heat pump affordability
Client: Heinrich Böll Stiftung
Decision at stake
Public and political debates on electricity pricing and heat pump affordability during a highly polarised phase of climate and social policy discussions.
What was at risk
Over-simplified narratives risked undermining social legitimacy by ignoring grid costs, risk distribution, and households’ limited capacity to absorb upfront and ongoing costs.
Intervention
Governance-focused analysis reconnecting tariff design, grid financing, and consumer protection, challenging binary framings of affordability versus ambition.
What changed
Debates shifted towards more credible, socially grounded positions that acknowledged household constraints and system-level trade-offs.
Embedding trust infrastructure in new energy services
Client: Strategy&
Decision at stake
How new energy services and business models could scale while maintaining consumer trust and regulatory legitimacy.
What was at risk
Alternative dispute resolution was treated as a compliance requirement rather than a structural element of trust, creating long-term risks for market acceptance.
Intervention
Strategic reframing of ADR as a core governance and trust infrastructure for emerging energy services.
What changed
ADR was repositioned from a legal afterthought to a strategic design component, strengthening the consumer-first logic of future service models.
Shaping priorities in the New European Bauhaus Facility
Client: New European Bauhaus Facility
Decision at stake
Design and budget allocation of a new EU funding facility linking sustainability, inclusion, and aesthetics.
What was at risk
A strong narrative risked outpacing implementation capacity, with social inclusion and governance considerations diluted in funding decisions.
Intervention
Ongoing strategic input within the Expert Group to reframe priorities, anticipate implementation risks, and connect ambition with enforceable social outcomes.
What changed
Discussions around the facility increasingly reflected governance, inclusion, and real-world delivery constraints alongside design and innovation goals.
