The new European Investment Bank (EIB) report, Going Green – Who is investing in energy efficiency, finds that less than half of EU firms have invested in energy efficiency measures and that this accounts for only a small share of their total investment budget.
The surveyed firms also state that, on average, only a third of their building stock satisfies the highest energy efficiency standards, showing a huge potential for further energy efficiency savings.
The report further finds that firms’ awareness of energy efficiency benefits is critical for the uptake of energy-saving measures.
Slovakia: Highest percentage of firms investing in energy efficiency
In 2019, only 40% of EU firms took measures to improve energy efficiency. Slovakia displayed the highest percentage of firms investing in energy efficiency (61%), followed by Spain, the Czech Republic, Austria, Slovenia, Portugal and Sweden.
Only these seven EU countries show a greater share of firms investing in energy efficiency than in the United States, where 47% of firms have invested in energy efficiency.
By contrast, Lithuania, Estonia, Greece, Romania and France were at the other end of the spectrum. As regards their share of total investment in energy efficiency improvements, European firms spent only 10%, whereas this figure was 12% for US firms.