| Ida Johansson is PhD student at the department of Building Engineering, Energy Systems and Sustainability Science at the University of Gävle. Her role in the SMEPlus project is to support the coordination and monitoring of project activities as well as provide expert consultation regarding policies during the project. | |
Anna Näsman, Regional Communication Manager for SMEPlus at the University of Gävle, asked Ida to answer several questions related to energy efficiency in SMEs.
SMEPlus project: Why is energy saving important for industrial SMEs?
Ida Johansson, University of Gävle: Energy efficiency is important for SMEs, not only to reduce energy use and costs, but also to improve the company image and competitiveness. SMEs have a relatively large potential to improve the energy efficiency, and this potential should not be neglected.
SMEPlus: What are the benefits of energy saving, apart from reduced energy costs?
Ida: There are non-energy benefits of energy efficiency improvements. Reduction of maintenance, improvement of lighting and improved quality of products are examples of these types of benefits.
SMEPlus: Does energy efficiency has an impact on the public image of an industrial SME?
Ida: Energy efficiency improvements can have a positive impact on the public impact of an SME. In some cases customers favor “green” products, and certificates or energy program participations are mentioned on the companies public websites.
SMEPlus: In your opinion, are good practices transferable between the regions and countries in the EU?
Ida: Sharing experiences between the countries are important and showing off good practices is one way. SMEs in different countries faces different challenges and the preconditions may vary, the policies and activities must be designed to specifically target that group.
SMEPlus: What are the most important incentives for SMEs to invest in the energy efficiency measures?
Ida: Improving the competitiveness, by improving the company image, reducing maintenance and production disruptions, and improving the quality of the product offered to the customer.
SMEPlus: Which existing energy policies towards SMEs in your region are, in your opinion, the most efficient?
Ida: Energy efficiency networks seem to be an efficient mean to improve the energy efficiency in SMEs. The networks also increase the general knowledge on energy efficiency in the companies.
