Kerry Scott, global lead for environment and society at Mott MacDonald, discusses how developers should use social licence to hone their communications and outreach to gain and maintain the support of their stakeholders
The UK is entering a pivotal phase in its energy transition, with the government’s Clean Power 2030 commitment to 95% of the country’s energy being generated from clean sources fast approaching.
Delivering this shift will require both new generating capacity and a reconfiguration of the country’s infrastructure. And we are on our way: just this summer, the National Energy System Operator shared the positive news that more than half of clean energy schemes needed to meet 2030 commitments have been offered grid connections.
The challenge, however, is considerable: the volume of new transmission infrastructure required over the next five years is expected to be around five times what was delivered in the previous thirty. And ambitious targets and investment cannot guarantee delivery.
Whether upgrading the UK’s energy networks or building the infrastructure needed for major events such as the 2030 World Cup, developers, contractors and relevant stakeholders must first win the trust and support of the communities they affect. Public and media scrutiny of development projects is stronger than ever, so securing and maintaining a strong social licence to build and operate is crucial. Without it, delivering a project on time, on budget, or at all is almost impossible.
Whilst social licence has been talked about for some time, it is becoming fundamental to projects in the UK and Europe. This growing importance is partly due to increased focus on sustainability in development planning and government infrastructure policy and spending. For example, the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 has emphasised the need for targeted, meaningful and continuous engagement throughout project delivery.
Against this backdrop, government, developers or businesses must bring communities on board from project inception to completion.
Social licence explained
Essentially, social licence is the sustained acceptance of and ongoing support for an organisation’s work by affected stakeholders. Stakeholders will vary by organisation, location, and project type, but broadly include local residents, customers, employees, supply chains, and social interest groups (be it environmentalists, heritage societies, or chambers of commerce, to name a few).
Social licence to operate has historically been earned by demonstrating proactive risk management and going beyond minimum acceptable levels of legal and regulatory engagement to deliver outcomes that meet the ever-evolving needs and wants of any project’s stakeholders and end-users.
Crucially, social licence is not something you either have or don’t; it is a sliding scale. Getting it right means fostering deep, ongoing, collaborative relationships with stakeholders; building bonds that help you understand what matters to users and local communities and feeding that into the design. A permissive, passive social licence, or the midpoint of the scale, means trust is relatively fragile and support is uncertain. At the far end, a lack of social licence can create ongoing challenges throughout an asset’s lifecycle, and even lead to eventual decommissioning or project failure.
How do developers win and maintain social licence?
In over two decades of delivering projects that enhance community benefits and improve the inclusivity and accessibility of infrastructure projects, we have learned that securing a social licence is easiest when you follow what we call the “five Cs”.
First, be clear about your intended outcomes. Don’t just communicate the technical specifications of a project; be honest about all the details, including who is behind it, who it will benefit, and who or what it will affect.
Second is to act with conviction. Be passionate when showcasing the project and its goals. A consistent, compelling and transparent message will go a long way to bringing more people on board.
Third, understand the environment and context you are working in. Know the community’s needs, and remember that every community is slightly different. Understand the makeup of the community: what are the socio-economic needs? What is the culture within a community?
Fourth, proactively communicate and consult at the earliest opportunity. This is key to earning and maintaining trust. It is also vital to create a smooth process, as feedback can be gained right away, which can solve issues before they arise and be positively integrated into the design.
The fifth and final “C” is credibility, built through honesty and clarity about the project’s practicalities, as well as openness about your decision-making, tendering, and the project’s roadmap.
Despite the significant increase in stakeholder interest and community involvement in development projects, developers need not panic. With the right planning and engagement strategy, developers can deliver collaborative projects that are environmentally and socially sustainable and technically excellent. The key is to design and deliver these developments with the support and values of those ultimately affected.
