Our work in the UK

Our work in the UK.

The rationale.

Why has RR chosen the UK as one of its focus areas?

The UK’s Clean Power 2030 Action Plan foresees the accelerated rollout of clean energy infrastructure to decarbonise the grid and stimulate new industries, increased investment and skilled jobs across the country. At the same time, a wide range of infrastructures are being planned and implemented, from data centres, to mines, roads, rail freight terminals and waste plants.

However, despite broad public support for new infrastructure, specific projects have become increasingly contentious. Many communities express frustration at their exclusion from decision making, while many developers are increasingly concerned about the potential for community resistance and planning inefficiencies to impede their ability to meet ambitious rollout targets.

We believe that a new approach to engagement – founded in processes of independently-facilitated consensus building and conflict resolution – may help to secure better outcomes for communities, developers and the UK as whole.

Rather than a lobbying firm, planning consultancy or advocacy organisation, RR acts as an impartial expert and mediating group, whose mandate is to explore ways to bridge divides and identify potential win-win solutions, not to represent one side or another.

What we are doing.

Pilot projects: As part of our foundational work, RR has undertaken a research pilot project around a contentious solar energy project in the East Midlands of the UK. Our research found deep divisions but also scope for independently facilitated dialogue to help address rising distrust. See here for an article summarising our key findings: How to build trust and reduce division around renewable energy infrastructure?

Reframing the debate: In addition to specific project-level assignments, we are seeking to broaden the debate around energy infrastructure projects in the UK. For example, in June 2025, we hosted a panel discussion on ‘Projects, Protests and Politics’. The panel comprised Dr Tony Juniper CBE (Chair of Natural England and former executive director of Friends of the Earth), Julia Pyke (Managing Director of the UK’s Sizewell C nuclear project) and Mark Cutifani (former CEO of Anglo American). See here for a summary of that event: Panel event: ‘Local distrust poses an existential challenge to the rollout of strategic projects’ – Resource Resolutions.

Please also see here for an interview between Daniel Litvin and RR Global Advisory Council member, Dame Meg Taylor, the founding Vice President of the World Bank’s independent complaints mechanism and a noted advocate for community participation and rights in energy and natural resource development: Big topic interview: What happens when big projects and local communities clash? Lessons from experience

Our approach.

Resource Resolutions has been established to provide a more powerful route to building stakeholder consensus and reducing disputes and division around energy and natural resource projects, including renewables developments.

We do this by building deeper understanding on all sides and creating innovative dialogue processes strongly rooted in stakeholders’ needs and interests. Our experience tells us that this is the most effective way to build trust and – for those projects that merit development – dialogue can open the way to project design amendments and more equitably distributed costs and benefits.

Guided by leading figures from civil society, the public sector and industry, RR is able to bring into its teams both locally-trusted third parties and credible independent experts to create common understanding and build bridges.