Energy efficiency
Industry uses enormous amounts of energy. Half of the world’s electricity generation is used to run factories. In addition, vast amounts of coal, gas, oil and biomass are burned to produce heat. This leads to enormous CO2 emissions from the factories themselves, but also from the power stations if they are not based on renewable energy sources. So it’s important for the environment that we make smarter use of energy, for example by using more efficient pumps, compressors, fans, and cooling systems.
Smarter use of energy benefits not only the environment, but industry too, since less energy used means less money spent. But even if the technology already exists and is profitable it will not automatically be used. Companies are not always aware of the opportunities offered by smarter energy use, and management is not always good at recognising the benefit of energy-efficiency measures.
To improve this, industry can focus more on systematic analysis and improvement of its energy use (energy management) and search for ways in which to save energy. Several companies, for instance, have employed their own ”energy hunters” who actively seek out opportunities for saving electricity. Governments can also contribute by requiring companies to use the best available technology so that new and more efficient technology is developed and demonstrated on a large scale.
