Energy efficiency plays a key role in achieving strategic energy and climate goals, particularly in decarbonizing the economy, security of supply and reducing energy costs. However, despite the countless benefits, the potential for energy efficiency is still largely untapped. The energy efficiency gap in the industrial sector is a well-known issue and can be traced to several barriers including the economic/financial environment, awareness on energy issues, behavioral aspects, company size, sector, and competitiveness.

One of the possible options to address these barriers is to highlight more effectively the ‘co-benefits’ of energy efficiency. This paper focuses particularly on economic co-benefits, which are expected to be among the most attractive from the perspective of businesses. In fact, the purpose is to investigate the correlation between energy efficiency investments and competitiveness of firms belonging to medium-energy-intensive sectors in the Italian manufacturing landscape.

Medium-energy-intensive sectors were chosen because they have been less studied than energy-intensive sectors and because the correlation between energy efficiency and competitiveness may be less obvious and direct.

First, the paper analyzes possible existing differences in competitiveness indices between high- and low-energy-efficient firms, with a focus on where these differences are strongest across sectors and within the company dimension.

Second, it investigates possible statistical correlations between the implementation of energy efficiency measures and increased economic performance of firms. The study reveals a statistically significant and positive overall correlation between energy efficiency investments and business competitiveness. The results shown have interesting implications for both policy makers—who need tools to address the energy efficiency gap in energy-intensive industries—and top management—who need to increase internal awareness and co-benefit knowledge of energy efficiency measures.