LIFE: Supporting the clean energy transition of European businesses

Engaging businesses in the clean energy transition and reducing their domestic footprint is central for the European Green Deal and to deliver on the Fit-for-55 package and the REPowerEU Plan to phase-out EU dependence on Russian fossil fuels imports.

It is also important for the Green Deal Industrial Plan and the overall competitiveness of EU enterprises. Energy policy instruments such as the Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) and the Renewable Energy Directive (RED) recognise the role that businesses, especially small and medium-sized, can have at local and national level in accelerating the transition.

As highlighted in the Green Deal Industrial Plan, the achievement of climate-neutrality by 2050 will require a full mobilisation and deeper cooperation among all players operating across the different value chains of Europe’s net-zero industry. Exposure to energy prices, increased global competition as well as potential transition risks linked to changing regulation, market demand and buyers/suppliers procurement criteria are increasing pressure on EU companies. New business models and financial schemes are needed to be able to adapt in the current energy crisis and take the decision to invest in an energy efficiency or renewable energy project.

The REPowerEU Plan strengthens the need to act fast. Energy management systems and energy audits are instruments that the European Commission is encouraging Member States to roll out in the framework of the EU Save Energy Communication and the recast Energy Efficiency Directive. In fact, recommendations of high-quality energy audits, already performed but not implemented or to be performed in the future, can on one side generate savings and reduction of energy demand in the short period, and on the other contribute to the competitiveness of the EU economy by optimising energy use for industrial, manufacturing and commercial purposes. Energy audits recommendations can also increase the self-generation and self-consumption of renewable energy e.g. with solar panels and heat pumps, amongst companies. Enabling factors such as geographical proximity and value chain relations can also make businesses decide to make investments in energy efficiency or renewable energy and engage in energy related collaborations.

The overall objective of this topic is to support the clean energy transition and decarbonisation of businesses by strengthening national and regional ecosystems for energy management systems and energy audits and by fostering collaborative approaches between companies. Synergies with relevant EU projects and initiatives such as the Covenant of Companies for Climate and Energy (CCCE) and/or the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) are encouraged.