Decision on energy efficiency from the perspective of the managers: its barriers

The Energy efficiency is nowadays a priority on the political agendas and, consequently in the expected priority actions. However, the effective implementation of energy efficiency projects by companies is still far short of the necessary and desirable aim. Many investments in energy efficiency are not successful despite their apparent viability and necessity. This paper intends to contribute in this area by investigating the nature of the barriers that are affecting the decisions for energy efficiency projects implementation in Portuguese companies. A quantitative methodology was used through application of an original survey. All companies participating in this study are located in Portugal and belong to the industrial sector. The main results suggest the existence of barriers at the level of projects costs, the lack of time and the lack of understanding what the implementation of an energy efficiency project may require. These factors are strongly highlighted by medium-sized firms. Based on these findings, this paper argues that governments may simultaneously improve overall energy efficiency and increase private sector productivity by providing informational and organizational services that must go beyond the traditional regulatory framework, namely boosting literacy in energy efficiency. Finally, our study reveals that smaller firms as most critical and therefore the ones to deserve greater attention from policy-makers.