When industrial firms invest in energy efficiency, the effect may go beyond energy cost savings and produce additional non-energy benefits as well. However, there is a lack of knowledge regarding experiences in non-energy benefits and the extent to which these are acknowledged by industry. This study attempts to explore firms' perspectives on non-energy benefits of industrial energy-efficiency investments and if and how non-energy benefits are considered in the investment process. Moreover, this study also explores investment motives and critical aspects of adopting energy-efficiency investments. Based on a questionnaire and interviews with representatives of Swedish industrial firms, the results indicate that energy efficiency seems to be an important issue for the firms, but profitability and payoff appear to be the most important factors for adopting an investment, implying that it is often difficult to meet the payoff requirements with energy cost savings alone. In the meantime, various non-energy benefits are observed, but there seems to be a lack of knowledge of how these should be quantified and monetised. To facilitate such an assessment of non-energy benefits and to include them in the investment analysis, a measurement framework is provided. It is concluded that including nonenergy benefits in the investment analysis can contribute to a framing of energy-efficiency investments that can meet the firms' requirements for profitability assessment, which can further enhance opportunities for energy-efficiency investments in industry. Thus, the study contributes with new insights into the energy-efficiency investment process and the extent to which nonenergy benefits are considered, along with the methods for measuring them.

Investments in industrial energy efficiency are essential for meeting future energy needs. Nevertheless, the industrial sector's current efforts in energy efficiency investments are insufficient. Additional benefits of energy efficiency investments have been suggested to improve the financial attractiveness of energy efficiency investments. Yet, previous research indicates that not all benefits are included when investment opportunities are evaluated, leading to an underestimation of what a firm will gain from the investment. Additionally, previous research lacks conceptual frameworks for describing these additional benefits at an early stage in the investment process. Moreover, various benefit terms are found in currently existing research, but there are a lack of definitions and distinctions attributed to these terms. Therefore, this paper provides a systematic review on the benefit terms of energy efficiency investments, establishes non-energy benefits as the term most relevant for such investments and provides a new definition of the concept. Further, a new framework for categorising non-energy benefits to enable them to be included during the investment process is developed, in which the level of quantifiability and time frame of the non-energy benefits are taken into account. Including non-energy benefits in the investment process can make energy efficiency investments more attractive and increase their priority against other investments. Moreover, non-energy benefits can reinforce drivers as well as counterbalance known barriers to energy efficiency investments. Acknowledging non-energy benefits can thus contribute to an increased adoption level for energy efficiency investments.

Energy efficiency is an important means for sustainable manufacturing. One action for manufacturing companies to improve energy efficiency is through investments. While these investments often are profitable, opportunities remain unexploited. This paper explores the structural context of the investment decision-making process by examining the associated activities, procedures, and the role of information. While the structural context may limit complex investments that do not fit predefined rules and controls, such as energy efficiency and other sustainability-related investments, it remains a scarcely studied aspect of investment decision-making for energy efficiency investments. Method-wise, the paper is based on a case study of a major investment at a pulp and paper company, motivated and justified based on productivity, strategic, energy, and sustainability rationales. The paper contributes with illustrating how configurations of internal investment activities and procedures may be crucial for sustainability-related investments to pass through the investment process. Moreover, the configuration of activities and procedures is also indicated as influential for the way in which an investment is executed. Hence, for energy efficiency and other sustainability-related investments to make business sense constitutes more than achieving desirable payback periods; the structural context should be considered.

Capital investments play a crucial role for the business of every firm. In an industrial context, energy efficiency is an important means to meet future energy needs and in the same time reduce climate impact. In this thesis, the investment process for capital investments is therefore studied by addressing the case of industrial capital investments improving energy efficiency. The thesis specifically aims to illuminate how additional benefits, i.e. non-energy benefits, are and can be acknowledged in the investment process by applying an ex-ante perspective. The thesis holds the decision-making process as unit of analysis and aims to contribute with insights on firm level. Especially in an energy-efficiency context, such a process perspective has only been scarcely applied.The thesis is based on a literature review and two empirical studies. The literature review is the starting point of the thesis and reviews the literature on benefit concepts and investment behaviour of energy-efficiency investments. It is then followed by an explorative study in which thirteen industrial Swedish firms are interviewed on how they consider non-energy benefits. Investment motives and critical aspects for adopting energy-efficiency investments are also addressed. It also includes a questionnaire, distributed and collected during a networking event for energy-intensive firms within Swedish manufacturing industry. The second empirical study is a case study conducted at a Swedish pulp and paper firm. It aims to take a comprehensive perspective on the investment process as well as to analyse how and when non-energy benefits are acknowledged in the investment process. This case study approach enables participants at different levels in the organisation to be engaged in the study and new perspectives to be addressed.The results indicate a general investment process passing through the phases identification, development and selection. Investment motives, information, internal coordination and external actors appear as key aspects of the investment process. Energy-efficiency investments are primarily initiated due to cost-savings motives. However, the subsequent investment process appears as consistent for all investment categories; the investment process described here is thus not specific for energy-efficiency investments only. The results instead indicate an investment process influenced by investment size; it influences the extent to which information is collected and assessed before making the decision, i.e. level of procedural rationality, as well as how the investment project is coordinated within the firm. Last, suppliers are involved in the investment process to a large extent from an early stage.Regarding non-energy benefits, the results indicate that various benefits have been observed but far from all are acknowledged in the investment process. They are to a larger extent acknowledged for larger investments when more resources are devoted to the investment process. Quantifiable non-energy benefits improve the business ...

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