Policy Pathways Brief - Accelerating Energy Efficiency in Small and Medium-sized Enterprises 2017

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) typically represent 99% of the enterprises within an economy, and provide 60% of the employment. If these SMEs could be helped to use energy more efficiently, it would benefit the companies by reducing their cost base while simultaneously boasting national productivity. However, due to a lack of information, technical expertise and funding, SMEs are rarely in a position to exploit energy efficiency opportunities resulting in the competitive benefits being lost.The International Energy Agency has identified six critical factors to guide policy makers in helping SMEs realise the cost saving from more efficient use of energy leading, to improved SME competitiveness, a boast to the overall economy and improved national energy security.