Abstract
In the realm of industrial energy efficiency studies, very little research has been done to understand the barriers and opportunities to influence behavior of production workers and the corresponding energy-saving potentials. This paper analyzes a case study of Volvo Construction Equipment AB in Braås, Sweden (VCE Braås), that has reduced its relative idle electricity use by more than 10 percentage points during 2013–2016 by implementing a strategy of changing everyday behavior of production workers. The results based on interviews with actors involved in the energy efficiency project showed that a concrete goal, the employment of a fulltime operational leader who earlier worked as a production worker at VCE Braås, and the involvement of both the leadership and employees in project management were key to the success of the project.
Highlights
The European Union has a target to reduce energy use by at least by 27%, reduce greenhouse gas emission by 40%, and increase the share of renewable energy use by 27% (European Commission 2017a)
Energy efficiency of the European industry sector has improved by 1.4% per year since 2000 (ODYSSEE-MURE 2015), but there remains a large potential for energy saving, even in the most mature industries (Chirez 2016)
In Sweden, final energy use in the industrial sector has remained almost constant since the 1970s in spite of significant increase in production, but the share of electricity in the final energy use of that sector has increased from 21% in 1970 to 35% in 2013 (SEA 2016)
Summary
The European Union has a target to reduce energy use by at least by 27%, reduce greenhouse gas emission by 40%, and increase the share of renewable energy use by 27% (European Commission 2017a). Energy efficiency of the European industry sector has improved by 1.4% per year since 2000 (ODYSSEE-MURE 2015), but there remains a large potential for energy saving, even in the most mature industries (Chirez 2016). Only 103 companies out of more than 1000 potential enterprises participated and some large corporations in the metal, refinery, and chemical sectors were not eligible to join the program (Björkman et al 2016). This suggests that there is still significant potential to improve energy efficiency of the Swedish industrial sector. Since the year 2014, the law on energy audits in large companies specifies that large companies have to undergo mandatory energy efficiency audits every 4 years (SEA 2016)
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