Download or read book Energy Efficiency in Small and Medium Sized Enterprises written by Marika Bröckl and published by Nordic Council of Ministers. This book was released on 2014-02-28 with total page 83 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The EU’s Directive 2012/27/EU on energy efficiency obliges Member States to develop programmes to encourage small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) to improve energy efficiency by implementing energy audits and the recommendations that stem from these audits. This study looks at the barriers that SMEs face and the existing policy instruments in more detail and analyses which practices are working. The study concludes that SMEs cannot be effectively targeted with solely uniform solutions even within the same country and even though many of them face similar barriers. More emphasis is needed on sharing information and best practices and guiding SMEs to implement energy efficiency improvements after having identified the opportunities. The good news is that many good practices already exist and there is potential to improve. Now it is just a question of taking action.

Download or read book Eco efficiency in Small and Medium Enterprises written by and published by . This book was released on 1997 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Eco efficiency written by Markus Lehni and published by . This book was released on 2000 with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Driving Energy Efficient and Low Carbon Investments for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises through the Finance Sector written by Asian Development Bank and published by Asian Development Bank. This book was released on 2024-09-01 with total page 183 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report presents a comprehensive review of the investment landscape in energy efficiency and climate-smart infrastructure (CSI) technologies, maps the supplier environment, and lists barriers to investments. It gives recommendations on viable investment opportunities for private sector financial institutions and for improving the adoption of energy efficiency and CSI technologies.

Download or read book Energy efficiency in Swedish SMEs written by Fredrik Backman and published by Linköping University Electronic Press. This book was released on 2018-05-14 with total page 94 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The overall aim of this thesis is to analyze how municipalities support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in their work to improve their energy efficiency. The purpose of this study is to increase the current understanding of how the methods and tools used by municipalities to assist SMEs in improving their energy efficiency influence the end results in terms of achieved energy efficiency, and how knowledge related to energy efficiency is created within SMEs. This thesis consists of two separate case studies that examine how two municipalities used a network approach to support SMEs in implementing energy efficient measures. The theoretical frameworks of policy networks, barriers, communities of practice (COPs), and energy efficiency networks were used in this thesis. The findings are presented in the appended four articles. An overall conclusion is that networks that provide information in the form of a report with technological solutions as the only output are less likely to reach the agreed-upon goals. To achieve a more successful result, SMEs must be active in the process; they must be allowed to create knowledge and understanding that they perceive as valuable and relevant for themselves. Another important result is that information is not automatically transformed by SMEs into knowledge. In fact, SMEs need a platform from which they can negotiate the received information and use it to create knowledge through practice and social interaction. Finally, it was found that the type of technological solution is not insignificant; the type of energy efficient measure to be implemented and its level of complexity affect how a municipality should support energy efficiency work among SMEs. För att policyprogram och riktlinjer ska kunna utformas så att de leder till uppfyllandet av miljömål behöver kommuner samverkar med bland annat det lokala näringslivet. En form av samverkan som har börjat användas av kommuner är nätverk där man för samman företag med olika experter som tillsammans med kommunala representanter arbetar med att införa energieffektiva lösningar i dessa företag. Syftet med denna avhandling är att studera hur kommuner har stöttat små -och medelstora företag (SMF) i deras arbete med att införa energieffektiva lösningar i sina verksamheter. Detta undersöks med hjälp av fallstudier av hur två olika kommuner har arbetat med att ge stöd till lokala SMF. Dessa två fall beskriver två olika sätt som kommunerna har jobbat med detta. Fokus i avhandlingen har varit inte bara på hur kommunerna har valt att stödja SMF utan också på hur SMF skapar kunskap och tar till sig information. Dessutom undersöks vilka faktorer i form av så kallade barriärer som kan tänkas hindra SMF från att införa energieffektiva lösningar i sina verksamheter. För analys av den insamlade empirin så har olika teorier använts såsom policynätverk, barriärer, Community of Practice (COP) och energieffektiviseringsnätverk. Resultaten beskrivs mer utförligt i de bifogade artiklarna. Resultaten pekar på att nätverk där bara information i form av en rapport delges SMF så är sannolikheten låg att målen kommer att uppfyllas. Detta beror på att SMF inte automatiskt omvandlar delgiven information till användbar kunskap. Istället behöver kommuner skapa en plattform där SMF får möjligheter att arbeta med den delgivna informationen på ett aktivt sätt i ett relevant sammanhang som de anser att de har nytta av. På så sätt kan värdefull kunskap genereras via praktiker och sociala sammanhang. Ett annat viktigt resultat är att typ av teknisk lösning och komplexitetsnivå inte är oviktiga utan dessa måste kommunerna ta hänsyn till när de skapar olika policyprogram som stöd till SMF för att kunna uppnå energieffektiviseringsmål.

Download or read book SME Policy Index Western Balkans and Turkey 2019 Assessing the Implementation of the Small Business Act for Europe written by OECD and published by OECD Publishing. This book was released on 2019-05-06 with total page 980 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Robust SME sectors are critical to the prosperity of the six Western Balkan economies and Turkey, accounting for over 70% of those employed in the business sector and generating 65% of value added in these seven economies. Yet their potential remains untapped, as SMEs across the region grapple ...

Download or read book Eco Efficiency written by OECD and published by OECD Publishing. This book was released on 2008-08-22 with total page 83 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report evaluates strategies to improve the efficiency with which environmental resources are used to meet human needs. Many firms in OECD countries have developed strategies that involve: - developing goals to reduce resource use and pollutant ...

Download or read book Small and Medium Sized Enterprises and the Environment written by Ruth Hillary and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-09-08 with total page 442 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book tackles a largely neglected topic: small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and their environmental impact. Over 90% of all firms are SMEs. Their importance to the health of national and international economies is recognized. But what of their environmental impact? Individually, this may be small but, collectively, they pose a huge and largely unregulated threat to national and indeed the global environment. There have been many failed attempts to engage SMEs in environmental stewardship. Why is this? And where are the success stories needed to set best-practice examples? Environmental protection is widely touted as being a win-win scenario for business with economic spin-offs in terms of energy and waste reduction quickly producing payback for capital expenditures. Why is the "good environmental management equals good business management" message not getting through? In Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and the Environment Dr Ruth Hillary brings together an outstanding international collection of experts from government, international and national support agencies, academics and the business community to present arguments about the key environmental business imperatives facing the small-firm sector. The book is divided into four sections:Attitudes and Perceptions of Small Firms to the Environment and SustainabilityEnvironmental Management in the Smaller FirmPractical Strategies for Reaching SMEsCase Studies from around the World. In these sections, the book examines the threats – such as trade, supply chain issues and legislative compliance – but is also solution-oriented, with considerable discussion of the management tools smaller firms can use to improve their environmental performance. It aims to provide practical strategies for smaller firms and to that end includes a range of informative case studies from around the world. Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and the Environment is the most comprehensive book on the subject available and will prove invaluable not only to SMEs themselves, seeking to understand a rapidly changing world, but to consultants and small-business advisors, local and central government and to all those in academia looking for ways to improve the environmental performance of small businesses.

Download or read book Enhancement of Industrial Energy Efficiency and Sustainability written by Andrea Trianni and published by MDPI. This book was released on 2021-02-26 with total page 294 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Industrial energy efficiency has been recognized as a major contributor, in the broader set of industrial resources, to improved sustainability and circular economy. Nevertheless, the uptake of energy efficiency measures and practices is still quite low, due to the existence of several barriers. Research has broadly discussed them, together with their drivers. More recently, many researchers have highlighted the existence of several benefits, beyond mere energy savings, stemming from the adoption of such measures, for several stakeholders involved in the value chain of energy efficiency solutions. Nevertheless, a deep understanding of the relationships between the use of the energy resource and other resources in industry, together with the most important factors for the uptake of such measures—also in light of the implications on the industrial operations—is still lacking. However, such understanding could further stimulate the adoption of solutions for improved industrial energy efficiency and sustainability.

Download or read book EIB Working Papers 2019 02 How energy audits promote SMEs energy efficiency investment written by European Investment Bank and published by European Investment Bank. This book was released on 2019-05-16 with total page 49 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Energy audits play an important role in promoting energy-efficiency measures in SMEs. This paper uses EIB Investment Survey data about energy audits and energy-efficiency investments of some 12,500 signatures from EU28 Member States per year. It suggests that: Energy audits are a useful tool for overcoming the information barriers and facilitating investments in energy-efficiency measures They are more important for small firms and for investments in things such as such as lighting, wall insulation etc. than in production processes such as the replacement of machinery and equipment The beneficial impact of energy audits ceases to exist, however, when firms are finance constrained Information campaigns are one of the most efficient available instruments among other instruments (regulatory, financial and voluntary agreements) for promoting energy audits in SMEs.

Download or read book Non governmental organizations and the sustainability of small and medium sized enterprises in Peru written by Walter V. Castro Aponte and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2023-09-04 with total page 275 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides a better understanding of the changing roles of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in promoting sustainability of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Peru. The book focuses on the domains of organic production, business social responsibility and sustainable production. The innovative study uses a combination of network and discourse analyses to identify the main patterns and shifts in the roles of NGOs in order to deal with sustainability and the market. Two major contemporary sociological theories - ecological modernization theory and network society theory - are applied to frame the analysis. The in-depth analysis of international networks of NGOs operating in Peru provide valuable inputs in terms of changes in network and discourse patterns, and consequently, changing roles for NGOs. Remarkably, social movement, liberal market and sustainability viewpoints are generating new networks and new discourses, with a prominent position of national and international NGOs vis-à-vis SMEs, and in absence of the national state. Next to the usual 'watchdog' roles, NGOs are developing roles of 'helper' in order to answer to the market needs of SMEs. The analyses challenges Castells scheme of space of flows versus space of place and suggests considering in ecological modernization theory both ecological rationality and social rationality in order to advance environmental governance of SMEs in developing countries, particularly in Latin America.

Download or read book Energy Transformation towards Sustainability written by Manuela Tvaronaciene and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2019-10-21 with total page 350 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Energy Transformation towards Sustainability explores how researchers, businesses and policymakers can explore and usefully improve energy systems and energy consumption behavior, both to reflect the reality of climate change and related environmental degradation and to adapt to the expanding periphery of renewable energy technologies. It introduces the reader to a suite of potential policy pathways to the necessary transformation in societal energy consumption, usage and behavior. Solutions discussed include energy efficiency, energy security, the role of political leadership, green public policy, and the transition to renewable energy sources. International contributions address the range and depth of current research from a position of advocacy for 'energy stewardship' as the driver of this transformation. Case studies illustrate the range of various countries to diminish energy use. Finally, policy avenues are covered in depth. - Reviews the interrelationship between economic growth, energy consumption and climate change - Uses a wide variety of case studies to support practical implementation across national energy systems - Highlights a wide spectrum of urgent issues, including threats related to energy use and secure and sustainable development - Contains contributions that reflect a breadth and depth of scholarship from international backgrounds

Download or read book Improving Energy Efficiency in Industrial Energy Systems written by Patrik Thollander and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-08-10 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Industrial energy efficiency is one of the most important means of reducing the threat of increased global warming. Research however states that despite the existence of numerous technical energy efficiency measures, its deployment is hindered by the existence of various barriers to energy efficiency. The complexity of increasing energy efficiency in manufacturing industry calls for an interdisciplinary approach to the issue. Improving energy efficiency in industrial energy systems applies an interdisciplinary perspective in examining energy efficiency in industrial energy systems, and discusses how “cross-pollinating” perspectives and theories from the social and engineering sciences can enhance our understanding of barriers, energy audits, energy management, policies, and programmes as they pertain to improved energy efficiency in industry. Apart from classical technical approaches from engineering sciences, Improving energy efficiency in industrial energy systems couples a sociotechnical perspective to increased energy efficiency in industry, showing that industrial energy efficiency can be expected to be shaped by social and commercial processes and built on knowledge, routines, institutions, and methods established in networks. The book can be read by researchers and policy-makers, as well as scholars and practicians in the field. “This book is extremely valuable for anyone who is designing or executing energy efficiency policies, schemes or projects aiming at SMEs. Both authors deserve the highest respect, and the combination of their expertise makes the results truly unique.” - Daniel Lundqvist, programme manager at the Swedish energy agency “For anyone interested in improving energy efficiency in industry, this is a must-read. The book combines tools from social science and engineering to discuss the state of art today as well as possible development path tomorrow. This is a compelling book that I find useful both in my teaching and my research.” - Kajsa Ellegård, Professor at Linköping University, Sweden "The book Improving energy efficiency in industrial energy systems is a novel approach on how improved levels of energy efficiency can be reached in industrial energy systems by merging engineering with social sciences. It is with delight that I can recommend their book to anyone interested in the field.”- Mats Söderström, Director Energy Systems Programme, Linköping University, Sweden

Download or read book Regulations in the Energy Industry written by André Dorsman and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-02-12 with total page 263 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides a broad overview of the financial, economic and legal implications of energy industry regulations in various countries. In light of significant changes around the globe, it analyses various institutions that are involved in regulative measures, and based on various country studies, it offers insights into how energy sector regulations differ across countries with different market structures and institutions. Covering major topics such as laws and regulations geared to market competition and sustainability and the impact of noncompliance to regulations, from the perspectives of financial markets, and financial risks, the book is divided into four parts: Part I Regulations: price and trade controls; Part II. Non-price & trade control regulations; Part III: Compliance with regulations; and Part IV: Market issues and regulation. It will appeal to scholar in economics, finance and related fields as well as to policymakers and practitioners in the energy industry. This is the seventh volume in a series on energy organized by the Centre for Energy and Value Issues (CEVI). The previous volumes in the series were: Financial Aspects in Energy (2011), Energy Economics and Financial Markets (2012), Perspectives on Energy Risk (2014), Energy Technology and Valuation Issues (2015), Energy and Finance (2016) and Energy Economy, Finance and Geostrategy (2018).

Download or read book Financing Energy Efficiency written by Robert P. Taylor and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2008-02-08 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While energy efficiency projects could partly meet new energy demand more cheaply than new supplies, weak economic institutions in developing and transitional economies impede developing and financing energy efficiency retrofits. This book analyzes these difficulties, suggests a 3-part model for projectizing and financing energy efficiency retrofits, and presents thirteen case studies to illustrate the issues and principles involved.

Download or read book SME Policy Index Western Balkans and Turkey 2022 Assessing the Implementation of the Small Business Act for Europe written by OECD and published by OECD Publishing. This book was released on 2022-07-08 with total page 1064 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are essential drivers of sustainable economic growth in the Western Balkans and Turkey, where they make up 99% of all firms, generate 65% value added and account for 75% of employment. Nevertheless, SMEs across the region continue to face obstacles such as difficulties accessing financing, low levels of digital uptake, regulatory barriers and relatively low participation in international trade.

Download or read book Supply Chain Sustainability in Small and Medium Sized Enterprises written by Prasanta Kumar Dey and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2022-09-29 with total page 293 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book examines the sustainability of supply chains in small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), in developed and emerging economies. Drawing on contributions from experts in the field and examining case studies from a range of countries, including Thailand, Bangladesh, France, Spain, Austria and Greece, this book provides researchers and industry practitioners with guidance on how to make SMEs more sustainable through appropriate trade-offs between economic, environmental and social aspects. Over the course of the book, the authors examine the current state of sustainable supply chain practices, highlight the key issues and challenges, and identify critical success factors across different industries and geographical locations. They also explore how supply chain carbon footprints and effectiveness are measured, and navigate the delicate balance between reducing the carbon footprint whilst still ensuring enhanced productivity. Finally, the book reflects on how the circular economy model might facilitate higher sustainability of SMEs. Supply Chain Sustainability in Small and Medium Sized Enterprises will be of great interest to scholars and practitioners of supply chain management and sustainable business.