How human behaviour can impact energy efficiency

Combining people, systems and skills to reduce energy costs by 20%

Trying to save energy isn’t new, it’s been on the agenda for years, both in our homes and our businesses. Improved efficiency, lower costs and better environmental performance all build a strong case for ensuring that energy management is at the forefront of your business plan. Individual businesses can all help by setting and achieving their own decarbonization and sustainability goals and nowhere is this more important than when it comes to industrial energy efficiency.

According to the International Energy Agency, industry is responsible for around 38% of global total final energy use. By implementing cost-effective energy efficiency opportunities, industry could produce nearly twice as much value per unit of energy use in 2040, compared to current levels. These targets are impressive, however, to reach them we need to tackle the current mismatch between potential savings and those that are realized and the barriers standing in the way of industry reaching its efficiency potential.

A common misconception, especially in industry, is that the problem and therefore the solution only lies with systems, manufacturing processes and equipment. By placing responsibility purely on the physical aspects of your operation you neglect the single biggest contributing factor for energy saving potential in your organization, your employees.

By understanding and determining what drives employee behaviour and attitude to energy conservation and taking into consideration the varying tasks and challenges they face, you can begin to change the way that hundreds or thousands of employees think about and interact with energy.

Savings can then be realized through management and behavioural changes. At DNV, we call this Energy Culture. Energy Culture is the shared mindset that creates and sustains an environment that leads to continual improvement of the organization’s energy performance. It comprises people, systems, structure, skills and strategy.

Want to know more?

Explore our services for energy efficiency.

Decarbonization

DNV supports critical decision making in decarbonization across many global industries.