In most countries, small and medium-sized (industrial) manufacturing enterprises (SMEs) account for more than 99% of the total number of companies and 60% of employment. Therefore, this sector, in addition to energy use, is one of the main drivers of the economy in terms of innovation, GDP, investment and exports. Despite the importance of SMEs in the economy, they have not been the subject of much attention in most countries’ energy policies.

Energy management in its various forms is considered one of the main factors behind energy efficiency in industry. While the term ‘energy management’ is often associated with the ISO 50001 standard, there is a wide variety of different programs and schemes that do not strictly adhere to the framework of this standard. For SMEs especially, ISO 50001 standardized protocols are often too complex for cost-effective implementation.

The purpose of this article is to provide an international overview of existing energy efficiency policies, with a focus on energy management practices in selected EU member states as well as Norway and Japan. The results show that several countries apply a wide variety of policy frameworks in which energy management practices are incorporated.