Abstract
Economic, environmental and social pressures have
increased the need for business organisations to control
and manage their energy performance on a continual basis.
Responding to these pressures follows a learning curve
that is influenced by changing drivers and barriers.
Consequently, different energy management factors have
different development priorities over time. This paper
explores the development priority of one factor, namely,
energy performance measurement, in the energy-intensive
industrial sector, which is the most advanced industrial
sector in its energy management learning curve. In
addition, the paper identifies the research and
development needs of energy performance measurement that
are required to further improve energy performance. The
results are based on interviews carried out with managers
and operators in three energy-intensive industrial
sectors in Finland. Energy performance measurement is
found to be the third development priority in energy
management, behind resource and commitment issues. This
represents a paradox as resources and commitment are
prerequisites for energy performance measurement to be
developed, whereas energy performance measurement
influences the very same issues by enforcing changed
behaviour. Several deficiencies are identified in energy
performance measurement in the temporal, systemic and
organisational dimensions. Research should be continued
towards the implementation of energy performance
measurement as a process, the integration of energy
performance metrics into overall management and the
development of metrics for different industrial sectors,
companies and operating cultures
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 936-951 |
Journal | International Journal of Energy Research |
Volume | 37 |
Issue number | 8 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2013 |
MoE publication type | A1 Journal article-refereed |
Keywords
- Energy efficiency
- energy management
- energy performance
- industry
- performance measurement