Energy efficiency-enhancing policies and firm performance: Evidence from the paper and glass industries in Italy

Abstract

This paper presents an empirical analysis of the impact of adopting energy efficiency measures, labeled “White Certificates”, on the economic performance of companies active in the paper and glass sector in Italy. White Certificates, launched in 2005, represent the longest-lasting and effective policy tool to stimulate energy efficiency, in particular for the manufacturing industry.My analyses exploit financial statements of Italian companies available from the AIDA (Computerized Analysis of Italian Companies) database with the aim to quantify the impact of these measures on the performance of firms in the two industries. The impact of energy efficiency policies is assessed on both productivity and profitability, and the effect is broken down into direct and indirect impacts, obtained by calculating spatial lags of energy efficiency support based on geographical as well social, relational, and technological proximity matrices. Resultssuggest the existence of a positive and significant association between White Certificates and firm performance. This effect is fostered when support also goes to other firms that are relationally, socially, and technologically close to treated firms. Instead, no synergy between social, relational, and technological connectivity and the geographical co-location of firms is found.