Impact evaluation of an energy efficiency network policy programme for industrial SMEs in Sweden

Johansson, Ida; Johnsson, Simon; Thollander, Patrik

doi:10.1016/j.resenv.2022.100065

Cited by 8 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…Different studies describe a variety of barriers to the adoption of energy efficiency measures by SMEs. These barriers usually vary by industry/sector, size of SME, geographies, market behaviour and amount of legislative support [51][52][53]. For example, a lack of legislative support in certain sectors typically reduces the probability of the adoption of cleaner technology in those sectors.…”

Section: Barriers To Sme Net Zero Activitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…SMEs might also often be hampered by a lack of strategic alignment between their goals and that of the net zero agenda [6]. This might be especially true for manufacturing sector SMEs that typically report other priorities not aligned towards the net zero agenda, less time to implement sustainability measures, and a lack of information about energy efficiency measures [51]. Some authors also stress that trading opportunities may not be present for green-minded SMEs and so there may be low financial rewards for adopting cleaner technologies [33,70].…”

Section: Barriers To Sme Net Zero Activitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

A Comprehensive Model for Developing SME Net Zero Capability Incorporating Grey Literature

2023

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SMEs collectively account for a significant proportion of greenhouse gas emissions and so there is a need for urgent action to be taken by SMEs in the journey to achieve net zero. In this article, we provide a comprehensive conceptual framework for SMEs to draw from in the journey towards net zero by synthesizing the academic and grey literature. By bringing together key strands of the literature, we derive a conceptual model that provides a clear pathway for SMEs to embark on their net zero journeys. The framework we invent involves understanding the position of the SME in the value chain, understanding the pressures from stakeholders, undertaking greenhouse gas accounting to measure current levels of carbon emissions, undertaking internal changes towards the net zero agenda, undertaking external facing changes towards the net zero agenda, uncoupling, community participation, and updating business activities regularly. This model acts as a progressive decision-making and continuous improvement framework that will be an asset to SMEs as they undertake net zero activities. Overall, the paper contributes to the sustainability literature by being the first to synthesize the academic and grey literature to develop a comprehensive conceptual framework for SMEs to attain net zero.

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Section: Barriers To Sme Net Zero Activitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Barriers To Sme Net Zero Activitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Comprehensive Model for Developing SME Net Zero Capability Incorporating Grey Literature

2023

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Refs. [109,110,184] have explored the role of the regional energy efficiency network ENERGIG. The first contribution investigated how to overcome the barriers identified from research, the second focused on the evaluation of the program, and the last one provides a general overview.…”

Section: Swedenmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The first contribution investigated how to overcome the barriers identified from research, the second focused on the evaluation of the program, and the last one provides a general overview. The evaluation carried out in [110] showed that the energy audit was the network feature most appreciated by participants, followed by training on energy efficiency issues, consultancy with experts in the field, presentations of case studies, and network meetings for sharing experiences. Finally, ref.…”

Section: Swedenmentioning

confidence: 99%

Energy Efficiency Policies for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises: A Review

Herce,

Martini,

Toro

et al. 2024

Sustainability

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The importance of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from economic, social, and environmental point of views and the crucial role of energy efficiency are widely recognized. However, the development of effective policies and their analysis are still challenging topics, for which research is relatively scarce. The main reasons for this are the high heterogeneity of SMEs, their low energy impact compared with energy-intensive enterprises, the lack of quantitative in-formation on the energy consumption of SMEs, and the low awareness of SMEs on energy topics. The structural paradigm change in the energy markets has underlined the importance of EE in SMEs. Several studies have been devoted to analyzing EE policies, using different methods and targets, not necessarily with a focus on SMEs or quantitative figures. This study presents a scoping review aimed at mapping the scientific literature on this topic, assessing its volume, nature, characteristics, type of evidence available, key concepts, and possible gaps. The existing contributions were systematized on three assessment levels regarding the EE policies for SMEs: general framework for their classification; comprehensive analysis of contributions providing qualitative information; in-depth analysis of evaluation studies including quantitative information. This study highlights the need for a good balance between economic and supportive mechanisms and the crucial role of energy audits. The analyzed contributions show that despite SMEs’ efforts to develop EE policies, there are still important barriers to be addressed. Moreover, there is an important lack of quantitative analyses, which are necessary for the development a harmonized policy evaluation approach. Based on a synthesis of the review findings, key learnings for the better design, implementation, and evaluation of EE policies for SMEs are provided.

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“…Energy efficiency is a driver of entrepreneurship and one of the economic drivers for the development of a more effective business strategy (Drago & Gatto, 2022). Energy efficiency network programmes may be an external driver for increasing energy efficiency of SMEs, but assessing their effectiveness is still a significant issue (Johansson et al, 2022). Information campaigns are a factor that support the implementation of energy efficiency measures in energy intensive companies, but usually it is not one of the main drivers (Preziosi et al, 2022).…”

Section: Drivers Supporting the Implementation Of Energy Efficiency M...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Challenges and opportunities for improving energy efficiency in SMEs: learnings from seven European projects

et al. 2023

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This paper analyses challenges and opportunities for improving energy efficiency in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) by reviewing research design and results out of seven European projects: SPEEDIER, SMEmPower Efficiency, E2Driver, Innoveas, Triple-A, DEESME and ICCEE. These projects aim to improve SMEs’ awareness of energy efficiency and support an effective decision-making-oriented approach to it. Drivers and barriers to energy efficiency improvements in European SMEs of various industrial sectors have been investigated by means of surveys, focused group discussions and interviews. A meta-analysis of the results of the seven EU projects was carried out to discover trends related to energy efficiency in European SMEs; this was supported by the use of a unifying analytic framework that enabled merging and cross-validation of the findings of the seven projects. The analysis indicated, by means of new data collected by the seven projects, that staff training, facilitation of energy audits, development of corporate policy measures and collaboration between SMEs involved in the same supply chain are key mechanisms to improve the uptake of energy efficiency measures in SMEs which has significant potential to achieve higher energy savings and energy cost reductions.

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Impact evaluation of an energy efficiency network policy programme for industrial SMEs in Sweden

Cited by 8 publications

References 41 publications

A Comprehensive Model for Developing SME Net Zero Capability Incorporating Grey Literature

A Comprehensive Model for Developing SME Net Zero Capability Incorporating Grey Literature

Energy Efficiency Policies for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises: A Review

Challenges and opportunities for improving energy efficiency in SMEs: learnings from seven European projects

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