SUMMARY Economic, environmental and social pressures have increased the need for business organisations to control and manage their energy performance on a continual basis. Responding to these pressures follows a learning curve that is influenced by changing drivers and barriers. Consequently, different energy management factors have different development priorities over time. This paper explores the development priority of one factor, namely, energy performance measurement, in the energy‐intensive industrial sector, which is the most advanced industrial sector in its energy management learning curve. In addition, the paper identifies the research and development needs of energy performance measurement that are required to further improve energy performance. The results are based on interviews carried out with managers and operators in three energy‐intensive industrial sectors in Finland. Energy performance measurement is found to be the third development priority in energy management, behind resource and commitment issues. This represents a paradox as resources and commitment are prerequisites for energy performance measurement to be developed, whereas energy performance measurement influences the very same issues by enforcing changed behaviour. Several deficiencies are identified in energy performance measurement in the temporal, systemic and organisational dimensions. Research should be continued towards the implementation of energy performance measurement as a process, the integration of energy performance metrics into overall management and the development of metrics for different industrial sectors, companies and operating cultures. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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