Elizabeth Shove


Elizabeth Shove is a sociologist who has written about social practice theory, consumption, everyday life and energy demand. She is Director of the Centre on the Dynamics of Energy, Mobility and Demand at Lancaster University. The DEMAND Centre is one of six End Use Energy Demand Centres.

Career

Shove’s research on energy spans 25 years during which time she has held research awards from the Building Research Establishment, the European Union, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, the European Social Fund, the Economic and Social Research Council, the Department of Education, the Department of Transport, Transport for London and Unilever. She is author/co-author of 9 books, including Sustainable Practices, The Dynamics of Social Practice, and Comfort, Cleanliness and Convenience.
Additionally, throughout her career she has explored the relationship between sociological theories and design methods.

Policy impact

On 15 September Shove gave evidence at the House of Lords to a Design Commission enquiry on design and behaviour in the built environment. She was invited in response to an official submission to the enquiry.
Shove is a regular contributor to The Conversation and a contributor to the World Economic Forum's Agenda and The Guardian.

Selected publications