Energy Efficiency Engagement Training in SMEs: A Case Study in the Automotive Sector

Gema Millán (), Yassine Rqiq (), Erudino Llano, Víctor Ballestín, Lisa Neusel, Antoine Durand, Josephine Tröger, Fabrizio Lamberti, Federico De Lorenzis and Maurizio Repetto
Additional contact information
Gema Millán: Fundacion CIRCE, 50018 Zaragoza, Spain
Yassine Rqiq: Fundacion CIRCE, 50018 Zaragoza, Spain
Erudino Llano: Fundacion CIRCE, 50018 Zaragoza, Spain
Víctor Ballestín: Fundacion CIRCE, 50018 Zaragoza, Spain
Lisa Neusel: Fraunhofer ISI, 76139 Karlsruhe, Germany
Antoine Durand: Fraunhofer ISI, 76139 Karlsruhe, Germany
Josephine Tröger: Fraunhofer ISI, 76139 Karlsruhe, Germany
Fabrizio Lamberti: Department of Control and Computer Engineering, Politecnico di Torino, 10129 Torino, Italy
Federico De Lorenzis: Department of Control and Computer Engineering, Politecnico di Torino, 10129 Torino, Italy
Maurizio Repetto: Energy Department “G. Ferraris”, Politecnico di Torino, 10129 Torino, Italy

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 17, 1-15

Abstract: Energy efficiency requirements in Europe are set by the Energy Efficiency Directive, considering energy audits as a systematic procedure to determine the savings in energy costs. These kinds of tools provide useful information for companies to identify opportunities for the improvement of their energy performance. However, the regulation is only applied for non-SMEs in Europe, which make up only 0.2% of the total number of European companies. Compared in terms of the value added or the number of employees, these companies are still at a lower percentage than small and medium enterprises. The wide versatility of small companies, however, makes it difficult to determine a regulation that promotes the objective of the Directive in a uniform way. For this reason, one aspect that is being worked on with small companies is raising awareness and training in energy aspects, encouraging them to carry out activities to improve their energy performance based on their own initiative. In this regard, within the framework of an H2020 research project based on the automotive sector, the E2DRIVER project, a collaborative–cooperative training methodology has been designed to motivate and empower the key actors within a company. This paper describes the methodology and its implementation in different companies in European countries, providing some representative results.

Keywords: energy efficiency; energy audits; automotive sector; energy efficiency awareness; SMEs; industrial sector (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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