A part and yet apart: how third sector visions of carbon reduction are both welcomed and marginalised

Abstract

The role of the third sector in promoting action on carbon reduction is often that of a third party, lobbying and working from the sidelines and occupying ‘green niches’ (Seyfang, 2010) without direct access to levers of power. This article examines how visions of low-carbon futures promoted by third sector actors are both integrated and marginalised at a wider institutional scale. Focusing on efforts to encourage environmental sustainability by organisations within three northern English cities, it highlights how a process of ‘integrative marginalisation’ may be observed, in which radical visions of a low-carbon future are simultaneously embraced and excluded at an institutional scale. Integrative marginalisation displays four salient features: initial welcome and acceptance; relatively small investments of support; the exclusion of substantial changes from mainstream decision making; and the assertion of institutional priorities that limit potential action. Integrative marginalisation thus raises questions about the conditions required to prompt more fundamental change.