Beyond case studies: Barriers to energy efficiency in commerce and the services sector

Schleich, Joachim; Gruber, Edelgard

doi:10.1016/j.eneco.2006.08.004

Cited by 211 publications

(173 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…A number of studies exist concerning barriers to energy efficiency, e.g. (Sorrell et al, 2000;Schleich & Gruber, 2007) but to our awareness, no study has previously been published that uses such a wide approach and also includes a number of the most important driving forces for energy efficiency related to the sector. By studying an expanded number of driving forces, it is also possible to answer the question of whether organizational and behavioural factors play such an important role as has been stated in previous industrial Swedish research on the subject.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

An energy efficient Swedish pulp and paper industry – exploring barriers to and driving forces for cost-effective energy efficiency investments

2008

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

An energy efficient Swedish pulp and paper industry – exploring barriers to and driving forces for cost-effective energy efficiency investments

2008

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“…However, both policy documents and the academic literature state that cost-effective energy measures are not always implemented. This discrepancy between optimal and actual implementation is often referred to as the energy efficiency gap, which has been illustrated and examined in multiple academic articles (e.g., York et al, 1978;Blumstein et al, 1980;Stern and Aronsson, 1984;Hirst and Brown, 1990;Gruber and Brand, 1991;Stern, 1992;DeCanio, 1993;Jaffe and Stavins, 1994;Sanstad and Howarth, 1994;Weber, 1997;Ostertag, 1999;Sorrell et al, 2000;Brown, 2001;de Groot et al, 2001;Schleich, 2004;Sorrell et al, 2004;Thollander, 2006, Thollander et al, 2007;Rohdin et al, 2007;Thollander and Ottosson, 2008;Schleich and Gruber, 2008;Sardianou, 2008;Hasanbeigi et al, 2010;Fleiter et al, 2011;Trianni and Cagno, 2011;Chai and Yeo, 2012). One of the most cited of these articles is by Jaffe and Stavins (1994), who explain the gap and how its extent differs depending on the definition of energy efficiency potential used and the perspective addressed.…”

Section: The Energy Efficiency Gapmentioning

confidence: 99%

Extending the energy efficiency gap

et al. 2012

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In order to reach the EU: s 20-20-20 primary energy savings target, energy efficiency needs to increase. Previous research on energy use and energy efficiency has focused mainly on the diffusion of energy efficient technologies. The discrepancy between optimal and actual implementation of energy efficient technologies has been illustrated in numerous articles and is often referred to as the energy efficiency gap. However, efficient technologies are not the only ways to increase energy efficiency. Empirical studies have found that a cost-effective way to improve energy efficiency is to combine investments in energy-efficient technologies with continuous energy management practices. By including energy management into an estimated energy efficiency potential this paper introduces 2 an extended energy efficiency gap, mainly in manufacturing industries and the commercial sector.The inclusion of energy management components in future energy policy will play an important role if the energy savings targets for 2020, and later 2050, are to be met in the EU.

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“…Additionally, authors have found the lack of information about energy end-use (EEU) patterns (Schleich and Gruber, 2008) a major barrier to investing in new and more efficient technologies.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

International study on energy end-use data among industrial SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) and energy end-use efficiency improvement opportunities

Thollander

Paramonova

Cornelis

et al. 2015

Journal of Cleaner Production

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The industrial sector is important to study in terms of improved energy efficiency, being one of the major energy-using sectors and responsible for a major share of CO2 emissions.The energy end-use (EEU) in the industrial sector is complex in general as processes are intertwined and interrelated. Moreover, bottom-up data of EEU on an aggregated level is scarce.Data for total energy supply like electricity, oil, coal, and natural gas exists but bottom-up data of what processes these energy carriers are used in, and moreover, where the major potential for implementation of energy efficiency measures (EEMs) exists, is less prevalent.This holds in particular for industrial small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This makes policy formulation and design for industry a great challenge. Knowledge on where and how energy is used, as well as where opportunities for improvement exist, may provide good support for developing the most effective policies. Therefore, the aim of this study has been to present and compare available bottom-up energy data for industrial SMEs in four countries, namely Belgium, Italy, Japan and Sweden. Results show that the existence and quality of bottom-up EEU data differs largely between the countries and the development of a general taxonomy of structuring EEU data as well as EEMs is needed. Without the development of such a general taxonomy, the deployment level of EEMs and carbon dioxide emission reductions is unlikely to ever reach its full potential as knowledge is missing on how large the potential is, in which processes the major potential is found, how far industry has reached in terms of deployment levels, and in which areas future energy policies are needed. In conclusion, this paper of EEU and EEM in industrial SMEs addresses the high importance of future research in creating a harmonized data categorization, as this will greatly support the transition towards sustainable industrial energy systems.

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Beyond case studies: Barriers to energy efficiency in commerce and the services sector

Cited by 211 publications

References 23 publications

An energy efficient Swedish pulp and paper industry – exploring barriers to and driving forces for cost-effective energy efficiency investments

An energy efficient Swedish pulp and paper industry – exploring barriers to and driving forces for cost-effective energy efficiency investments

Extending the energy efficiency gap

International study on energy end-use data among industrial SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) and energy end-use efficiency improvement opportunities

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