Energy efficiency in sustainable development of Small and Medium Enterprises: An empirical study

Abstract

The Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are an integral component of the Indian economy. SMEs consists of many energy intensive industries such as foundry, forging, steel re-rolling mills, glass and ceramics, bakeries, brick manufacture, food processing etc. The primary source of energy for these industries is coal, biomass, petroleum and electricity. Energy consumption in each of these industries is of high intensity and magnitude. Among them, the brick making units are generally confined to rural and semi-urban areas. Though they make an important contri bution to the economy in terms of employment and rural development, majority of them are traditionally operated using energy ine f ficiently at the cost of environmental degradation. Hence, e f ficient use of energy is one of the pre-conditions for sustainable development of such units. The improved Energy-E f ficiency helps not only in enhancing competitiveness through cost reduction, but also in minimizing environmental degradation. In this backdrop, the current paper probes various issues pertaining to energy and environment in an energy intensive brick industry cluster in India. Based on the primary data from 50 randomly selected units, the importance of energy input is established using a Cobb Douglas production function. The energy consumption pattern and associated environmental pollution are also studied. The results revealed that energy as the most important contributor to the value of output amongst all inputs. Further, the results of this study have useful policy implications for ensuring sustainable growth of the SME sector.

Energy conservation opportunities: evidences from three industrial clusters in India

“…EE motors use low loss materials (Saidur and Mahlia, 2009) and hence, their efficiency is 8% higher than standard motors (Zabardast and Mokhtari, 2008). Energy efficiency is vital for sustainable development as it enhances competitiveness through cost reduction and also minimises environmental degradation (Narasimha and Nagesha, 2013;Costa-Campi et al, 2015). Therefore, managements must explore the benefits of EE motors.…”

“…The electrical energy consumption in India during 2018-2019 was found to be 1,196,309 GWh (Central Electricity Authority, 2019) and industries consume 58% of it (Central Statistics Office, 2018). Improving energy efficiency is a useful strategy for enhancing competitiveness in energy-intensive SMEs (Narasimha and Nagesha, 2013). These improvements have multilevel benefits.…”

An Advanced Decision Support Platform in Energy Management to Increase Energy Efficiency for Small and Medium Enterprises

“…Evidence of the high economic potential was highlighted in the case of active energy management in SMEs [43,44] and the implementation of a barrier's taxonomy regarding the adoption of energy-efficiency measures [45]. In addition, recent studies concluded that increasing energy efficiency could use the lean management concept at the SMEs level [46][47][48].…”