Rethinking Energy Audits: How a Multiple Benefits Approach Empowers Sustainable Business

The M-Benefits research across 23 pilots identified 251 non-energy benefits (NEBs) of energy efficiency, quantifiable in 58% of cases, markedly increasing average internal rate of return and shortening payback periods, thereby underscoring their strategic business significance.

Energy efficiency offers more than cost savings, including improved product quality, employee well-being, and corporate reputation. Its strategic value is underestimated due to non-energy benefits being often invisible and unquantified in decision-making processes.

Energy Efficiency Networks (EENs) promote cooperation between companies to improve energy usage and reduce carbon emissions. Over 1,300 networks exist globally, with Germany and China leading the way. EENs encourage sharing best practices, setting targets, and implementing energy-saving measures, with proven results in energy and CO2 reductions. This collaborative model supports achieving national and international climate goals and drives innovation across industries.

The CORALIS project examines data exchange in industrial symbiosis networks, identifying lack of standardization and proposing a structured communication framework to improve trust, efficiency, and innovation for sustainable industrial practices.

Easter impacts energy demand, with UK households increasing electricity use during the holiday. Efficient practices and sustainable choices in areas like confectionery production and rabbit farming can mitigate environmental effects and promote energy savings across sectors.

Easter influences electricity markets, with household energy use rising, industrial consumption dropping, and the UK setting record-low carbon intensity levels due to high renewable energy contributions during the holiday. Seasonal solar energy benefits and energy efficiency practices at homes and industries enhance sustainability.

A discussion of the challenge of managing information for industrial symbiosis, focusing on digital tools developed for matchmaking and economic assessment. It underlines the importance of integrating technology with human relationships and adapting to regulatory changes that promote data standardization and transparency.

Industrial symbiosis (IS) optimizes resource use and minimizes waste by exchanging resources among industries. European initiatives invest in IS methodologies to enhance market adoption but face challenges like complexity and data availability. The identification process involves mapping, screening, and matchmaking, requiring collaboration and long-term viability assessments.

The EU project CORALIS explores biomass gasification's techno-economic feasibility for decarbonizing energy-intensive industries, highlighting its potential with syngas and biochar production as fossil fuel alternatives. Larger-scale operations demonstrate better economic returns, with significant positive impacts on industrial decarbonization efforts.