Barriers to and Drivers of Energy Management in Swedish SMEs

Abstract

The energy efficiency gap is known as the difference between optimal level of energy efficiency and the actual level of achieved energy efficiency. Energy management has proven to further close the energy efficiency gap. Energy management may differ depending on whether it concerns a large, energy-intensive company or small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). SMEs are of high interest since they form a large share of the economy today. For SMEs, a lighter form of energy management, in the form of energy efficiency network participation, has proven to deliver sound energy efficiency impact, while for larger, energy-intensive firms, a certified energy management system may be more suitable. However, various barriers inhibit adoption of energy efficiency measures. While there is an array of research on barriers to and driving forces for energy efficiency in general, research on barriers to, and driving forces for, energy management is rare, one exception being a study of energy-intensive pulp and paper mills. This holds even more so for industrial SMEs. This paper aims to identify the barriers to, and drivers for, energy management in manufacturing SMEs. Results of this explorative study show that the top four barriers to energy management are lack of time/other priorities, non-energy-related working tasks are prioritized higher, slim organization, and lack of internal expert competences, i.e., mainly organizational barriers. The top four drivers for energy management are to reduce production waste, participation in energy efficiency networks, cost reduction from lower energy use, and commitment from top management. Furthermore, results show that energy management among the studied SMEs seems to not be as mature, even though the companies participated in an energy management capacity building program in the form of energy efficiency networks, which, in turn, shows a still largely untapped potential in the societal aim to reduce the energy efficiency and management gaps. The main contribution of this paper is a first novel attempt to explore barriers to, and drivers for, energy management among SMEs.

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“…the difference between optimal level of energy efficiency and the actual level of achieved energy efficiency). Relatively few energy management drivers have been identified, as opposed to the more numerous identified drivers of energy efficiency or specific energy efficiency measures (Jalo et al, 2021). Some of the most significant barriers to energy efficiency in SMEs identified in Jalo et al (2021) are as follos: a lack of time/other priorities, prioritisation of non-energy related working tasks and an organisational structure that does not facilitate consideration of sustainability and energy efficiency.…”

“…Relatively few energy management drivers have been identified, as opposed to the more numerous identified drivers of energy efficiency or specific energy efficiency measures (Jalo et al, 2021). Some of the most significant barriers to energy efficiency in SMEs identified in Jalo et al (2021) are as follos: a lack of time/other priorities, prioritisation of non-energy related working tasks and an organisational structure that does not facilitate consideration of sustainability and energy efficiency. The limitation of the study is that only data from Swedish SMEs was considered, and the numerous barriers found were grouped into organisational, knowledge-related and economic barriers, which limits identification of the institutional 'regulatory' issues and more subtle differences which may exist between the organisational and individual levels.…”