The energy-efficient transformation of EU business enterprises: Adapting policies to contextual factors

Business contexts differ in their ability to foster the energy-efficient transformation (EET) of enterprises. Accordingly, energy efficiency policies have to be adapted to different situations. The present paper analyzes the relationships between the EET of European Union (EU) business end-users and three contextual factors, i.e. high energy prices, stringency of regulations, and society's alertness toward environment conservation. Enterprises from 9 EU Member States have been grouped according to country, industry and size. The final sample includes 256 enterprise classes, and the model controls for the innovation propensity and energy intensity of each enterprise class. Our results show that regulatory stringency is the most impactful contextual factor, while the environmental alertness of society does not have a significant effect. Concerns over energy costs have not been found to drive EET per se, but more energy-intensive enterprise classes are more likely to react to high energy prices. We discuss the implications of our results for the EU governments that are currently monitoring and refining the transposition of the 2012 Energy Efficiency Directive. - Highlights: • Regulatory stringency drives the energy-efficient transformation of EU enterprises. • Society's alertness toward environment does not have a comparable impact. • More energy-intensive enterprises are more likely to respond to energy prices. • Prescriptive elements of the EU Energy Efficiency Directive play a key role. • EU policymakers should assess the effects of supportive information measures.