Understanding the impacts of energy efficiency measures on a Company's operational performance: A new framework

Energy efficiency has long been considered a key component of an industrial company's competitive repertoire. However, despite the potential benefits of adopting so-called energy efficiency measures, their uptake in such companies remains low. In response, this study proposes a framework aimed at supporting key decision-makers in undertaking a thorough assessment of energy efficiency measures. This involves, on the one hand, providing a complete characterization of a general industrial energy efficiency measure and, on the other, identifying the multiple impacts stemming from its adoption based on a novel performance measurement system that encompasses sustainability features and is defined at the shop floor level. Once theoretically validated through literature, the framework is empirically tested with a heterogeneous sample of Italian companies. The preliminary results demonstrate the framework's ability to thoroughly assess energy efficiency measures, highlighting characteristics and impacts that are sometimes considered more critical than energy saving by industrial decision-makers and therefore able to guide the outcome of the adoption decision.