Energy 108 (2016) 41e49

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Energy
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Gap analysis of industrial energy management systems in Slovenia

Matevz Pusnik a, Fouad Al-Mansour a, *, Boris Sucic a, A.F. Gubina b
a
Energy Efficiency Centre, Jozef Stefan Institute, Jamova cesta 39, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
b
Laboratory of Energy Policy, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Industrial energy management systems, which comprise software solutions, upfront services, and
Received 15 March 2015 ongoing monitoring and management, enable industrial companies to actively manage their energy
Received in revised form consumption and energy procurement activities. Energy management systems are usually tailored to the
30 October 2015
specific industrial needs but may offer limited functionalities, mostly as a result of different identified
Accepted 31 October 2015
Available online 25 March 2016
gaps (process simplifications, improper measurement points, a lack of motivation, etc.). A survey was
conducted in order to analyse the gaps and use of energy management systems in Slovenian industry.
The results of the survey presented in this paper demonstrate that the use of energy management
Keywords:
Energy management systems
systems in industry is recognised as a potential competitive advantage by most of the addressed com-
Energy efficiency panies. Furthermore, motivation was highlighted as an important prerequisite for process and structural
Industry improvements and reported to be thus far insufficiently addressed. Furthermore, the importance of
strong cooperation with actors at different levels of industry, namely the executive and shop floor levels,
is addressed. In the conclusion, possibilities for new opportunities in the exploitation of energy efficiency
through the use of industrial energy management systems are discussed.
© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Energy efficiency measures and the utilisation of renewable
energy sources have been consistently incorporated into the
energy-related strategic documents of EU member states that
address various sectors and facilitate research. Extensive research
has been done in the field of the utilisation of renewable energy
sources, overall efficiency, and environmental management [1e7].
Energy and environmental management is becoming an essential
aspect of the daily operations of industrial companies and is sup-
ported by several international standards or schemes, such as ISO
14001 and/or ISO 50001. A number of modelling approaches and
methods have been designed in order to provide an appropriate
and accurate background for energy and/or environmental man-
agement systems in industry.
Energy management practices in steel production companies
are presented in Ref. [8] and the importance of prioritisation and
awareness within the given organisation is highlighted. Cagno and
Trianni [9] analysed barriers to industrial energy efficiency through
* Corresponding author. Tel.: þ386 (0)1 588 53 29.
E-mail addresses: matevz.pusnik@ijs.si (M. Pusnik), fouad.al-mansour@ijs.si
(F. Al-Mansour), boris.sucic@ijs.si (B. Sucic), andrej.gubina@fe.uni-lj.si (A.F. Gubina).
various case studies in Italian SMEs (small and medium-sized en-
terprises). Furthermore, fuzzy logic process control systems and
rule-based EMSs (energy management systems) have been used in
the cement industry [10]. Numbi and Xia [11] reported a daily cost
saving of more than 40% when using an optimisation model for
energy management regarding the crushing process in the mining
industry. Interesting research is presented in Ref. [12], where a
system dynamics model for analysing energy consumption in the
Iranian cement industry is introduced. The use of an integrated
approach to energy optimisation in the cement industry is analysed
in Ref. [13], leading to a 7% energy costs savings. Dorr et al. [14]
proposed a methodology for energy efficiency on a process level.
The proposed methodology is the basis for continuous improve-
ment of industrial energy efficiency. As reported by Gordic et al.
[15], EMSs used in the Serbian automotive industry enabled a 25%
energy savings. Continuous focus on energy efficiency at all hier-
archical levels of a chemical plant enabled a specific energy con-
sumption reduction of 26% [16]. In order to reduce energy
consumption and related costs, it is essential to integrate different
management concepts and systems while considering energy effi-
ciency as a strategic factor alongside technical measures, as stated
in Ref. [17]. Technologies that support the real-time and large-scale
handling of energy data are provided in Ref. [18], where the need
for assessing the impact of energy-aware information systems is

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2015.10.141
0360-5442/© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
42 M. Pusnik et al. / Energy 108 (2016) 41e49
addressed. The case study presented in Ref. [19] shows that the
strategic importance of energy management in industry is
neglected to a large extent. In Ref. [20] the energy manager's in-
fluence on the adoption of energy efficiency practices is examined.
It is reported that the most effective managers implement 13.4%
more of the recommended savings.
Energy efficiency challenges and barriers in the shipping in-
dustry were explored in Ref. [21]. The study concludes that using
accurate measurement instruments and providing suitable and
vivid feedback with regard to energy consumption is of vital
importance for bridging the energy efficiency gap in the addressed
industry. Furthermore, the energy savings potentials in Taiwan's
pulp and paper industry are presented in Ref. [22]. It is reported
that an energy reduction of 30e40% can be achieved using high-
concentration preparation pulp systems. An advanced model of
domestic load scheduling is addressed in Ref. [23], stating that the
robustness of the proposed model could be enhanced using neural-
network-based forecasting that is based on historical data and
weather information. The energy intensity in Thai manufacturing
industries is analysed in Ref. [24]. The findings provide evidence
that implies the importance of balancing industrial policies with
energy intensity reduction policies. Advanced application of energy
saving technologies in the data storage industry is presented in Ref.
[25], where an energy savings potential of 75% is reported when
implementing the proposed free cooling heat pipe solution. A
quantitative analysis of strategic energy management in the Aus-
trian paper and pulp industry concludes that economic (cost-
related) factors dominate over environmental concerns, the main
driver being the perceived need to minimise energy costs through
reduced energy consumption [26]. In Ref. [27] a survey was carried
out as a multiple case study of the Turkish iron, steel, cement, pa-
per, ceramics, and textile industries. The study reports that the
main identified barriers to proper energy management imple-
mentation were the lack of synergy between the stakeholders, the
extent and scope of courses for energy managers, and the lack of
financial support for energy management activities. A big step
forward was made in Sweden, where energy audits in SMEs are part
of a publicly financed programme, achieving a 53% implementation
rate of the suggested measures, as reported by Backlund and
Thollander in Ref. [28]. Such incentives are paving the way for
wider implementation of EMSs.
This paper presents a gap analysis of industrial energy man-
agement systems in Slovenia, with an emphasis on the investiga-
tion of business and implementation potential. The analysis was
conducted using the 3EMT tool, which is a tool developed in the
scope of the CEEM project (Central Environmental and Energy
Management as a Kit for Survival) funded by the EU Central Europe
Programme. The research described in this paper was inspired by
the recommendations proposed by Backlund and Thollander in Ref.
[29], where future research should focus on determining the rea-
sons for the implementation gap with regard to wider imple-
mentation of energy efficiency measures in the manufacturing
industry. A very important challenge that lies ahead for Slovenian
industry is how to stimulate further growth of the industrial sector
without jeopardising the achievement of national and European
climate and energy goals. The real research question that arises in
this context is: “What is the potential for the improvement of en-
ergy management practices in Slovenian industry?”
1.1. Energy use in Slovenian industry
Slovenian industry accounts for approximately 25% of all final
energy use in Slovenia. According to the Statistical Office of the
Republic of Slovenia, the final energy consumption in industry was
1195 ktoe in 2013. The importance (impact) of industry in terms of
final energy consumption in Slovenia is presented in Fig. 1. With a
13% share of renewables and waste, a 46% share of final electricity
consumption, a 72% share of total natural gas final energy con-
sumption, and a nearly 90% share of all solid fuel final energy
consumption, it is evident that the industrial sector is vital as
regards achieving sustainable development goals.
According to Slovenian national statistics, 42% of final energy
consumption in industry is accounted for by electricity use. Natural
gas represents 33% of final energy consumption in industry, fol-
lowed by other fossil fuels at 14% (solid fuels 4%, petroleum prod-
ucts 10%), heat (4%), and renewables and waste (7%). Fig. 2, shows
the final energy consumption for industry in 2013 by fuel used.
The breakdown of costs for final energy consumption in in-
dustry in 2013 by type of fuel is presented in Fig. 3. Almost 65% of all
energy costs in Slovenian industry can be attributed to electricity
use, followed by the costs for natural gas (26%), petroleum products
(3%), district heat (4%), renewables and waste (1%), and solid fuel
(also 1%). When comparing the prices for electricity in industry, the
Slovenian price is at 89% of the EU-28 average, according to Euro-
stat. The price for natural gas for industrial use in Slovenia is
significantly higher than the EU-28 average, namely 21% higher.
In the Slovenian industry sector, two-thirds of industrial final
energy is consumed by only 55 companies in 5 industry branches,
as presented in Fig. 4. Namely (in descending order), C24 e
manufacture of basic metals, C17 e manufacture of paper and paper
products, C23 e manufacture of other non-metallic mineral prod-
ucts, C20 e manufacture of chemicals and chemical products, and
C22 e manufacture of rubber and plastic products. Furthermore, in
2012, only 120 industrial companies accounted for 80% of total
industrial final energy consumption. Taking the current situation
into account, it should emphasised that the Slovenian industrial
sector needs a healthy environment for further development and
only a strong and active partnership between government and in-
dustry representatives could provide such conditions.
The sectorial structure of final energy consumption in Slovenian
industry by company size is presented in Fig. 5. Nearly half of
Slovenian industry energy use (49.8%) is attributed to companies
that have 250 or more employees (labelled as large), followed by
medium-sized (50e249 employees) companies (43.9%), and small
companies (6.4%).
According to the national statistics, 96.7% of manufacturing
companies are small (up to 50 employees), of which 88.5% are
micro companies (fewer than 10 employees), medium-sized com-
panies (from 50 to 249 employees) represent 2.7%, and large
companies represent only 0.6% (more than 250 employees). Large
companies, representing less than 1% of all Slovenian companies,
consume approximately 50% of all energy in industry. Medium-
sized companies consume 44%, and small companies 6%.
1.2. The savings potential in Slovenian industry
Significant energy savings in industry are possible through the
implementation of energy efficiency measures that need to be
supported by the sector specific national energy efficiency policies.
Energy efficiency in Slovenian industry is improving as a result of
new investments in the development of core business, as well as
investments to improve the energy efficiency of production pro-
cesses. In accordance with the national energy efficiency policy
documents [29,30], both branch-specific and horizontal energy
efficiency potentials have been analysed. Energy efficiency mea-
sures and future development assumptions specific to the indus-
trial sector are presented in Table 1.
When assessing energy efficiency in industry, the peculiarities
of energy-intensive branches must be taken into account (i.e.
electrolysis in aluminium, electric arc furnaces in steel, and thermal
 M. Pusnik et al. / Energy 108 (2016) 41e49
Fig. 1. The total impact of energy use in industry in 2013.
Fig. 2. Final energy consumption in industry in 2013 [ktoe].
Fig. 3. The breakdown of costs for final energy consumption in industry in 2013.
processes in the paper industry). Taking into consideration the
assumptions presented in Ref. [29], the savings potentials and
measures in industry have been quantified as follows:
43
 Measures for electric motor drives e an estimated final energy
savings of 7% e improving efficiency through the use of variable
speed drives, energy-efficient electric motors, pumps, and
ventilators;
 Measures for compressed air machinery: an estimated final
energy savings of 4% e reduced leaks, optimised tubing, and
optimised regulation for reducing compressed air consumption;
 Measures for industrial thermal processes: an estimated final
energy savings of 3% e the introduction of EMS, employee
training, improved maintenance, the replacement and upgrad-
ing of equipment (the introduction of new technologies);
 Measures for other consumption of electricity: an estimated
final energy savings of 2% e energy-saving lighting, the intro-
duction of energy accounting and monitoring of consumption,
employee training, improved maintenance, the replacement
and upgrading of equipment (the introduction of new
technologies);
 Measures for boilers, CHP, and heating appliances: an estimated
final energy saving of 14% e improvement measures for boilers
and the introduction of new CHP systems.
The savings induced by the implementation of energy man-
agement systems are estimated to be in the range of 5%e15%, with a
payback period from 3 to 5 years. The implementation of EMS in
industrial facilities enables the identification and review of energy
issues, including past and present energy consumption and op-
portunities for improving energy efficiency.
2. Methodology
2.1. The general structure of the 3EMT tool
The 3EMT tool was developed in the form of a web-based self-
assessment questionnaire. The questions have been divided into
five sustainability categories, as presented in Fig. 6. Each category is
given a sub-score using PI (performance indicators), as a core 3EMT
methodology for performance and scoring, resulting in the deter-
mination of the overall score. The Energy Efficiency category is
addressed through various questions related to the energy con-
sumption of the assessed company with selected indicators, such as
44 M. Pusnik et al. / Energy 108 (2016) 41e49

Fig. 4. Cumulative (branch-specific) share of final energy use in manufacturing industry in.

Fig. 5. The sectorial structure of final energy consumption in Slovenian industry by company size.

Table 1
Energy efficiency measures and technology development assumptions.

Energy efficiency measures Quantification

Measures in energy-intensive industry branches:

Measures concerning electric arc furnaces: continued implementation of measures to reduce the energy intensity (“oxy 10% reduction in the specific consumption of
fuel” burners, the use of natural gas for initial start-up processes, preheating, etc.) electricity by 2030
Thermal processes in paper production (waste heat recovery, replacement and modernisation of paper machines, 12% reduction in specific energy consumption
organisational measures) by 2030
Horizontal energy efficiency measures:
Variable speed drives for electric motors where possible (~60% of electric motors) 85% market share by 2030
Energy-efficient motors, pumps, and ventilators 75% market share by 2030
Energy-efficient measures in the field of compressed air 85% market share by 2030
Energy-efficient lighting and other electricity consumption 0.5% reduction in the intensity of use per year
Increasing the efficiency of industrial boilers 7% increase in efficiency
Heat pumps (waste heat, geothermal energy) 37 MW by 2030
New biomass boilers (including gasification) 200 MW by 2030
Measures concerning process heat, heating, etc. 0.5% improvement in the specific
consumption per year

energy intensity, energy productivity, and the share of renewable
energy sources in final energy use. The Future and Innovation
category is addressed through questions related to attitude towards
green issues, climate-friendly investments, awareness of related
obstacles, and the future outlook. The Environment category is
addressed through indicators such as the SME carbon footprint, CO2
emissions, and attitude toward recycling and ecology. The Quality
and Management (Q&M) category is addressed through questions
related to quality control, maintenance, management, and the in-
ternal structure of the addressed company. The final category is
Horizontal Issues, which is a category important for assessing the
self-image perception of the company. It addresses questions
related to the adhesion of the policies, awareness, and relevance of
future EU programmes, and the already-mentioned perception of
 M. Pusnik et al. / Energy 108 (2016) 41e49
Fig. 6. General structure and categories of the 3EMT tool.
self-image. The Energy Efficiency module has been used for the
energy analysis presented in this paper, as presented in Fig. 6.
2.2. Performance and scoring
The analysed features of the company can provide quantitative
information (i.e. energy consumption and costs), while others yield
qualitative information (i.e. policies, awareness, and perception). To
obtain the scores required for the 3EMT tool company benchmark, a
scoring technique based on the performance indicators has been
used, for both qualitative and quantitative analyses.
For each indicator and each company subset (i.e. the NACE code)
a PI (Performance Indicator) is calculated in a range from 1 to 5,
according to the following rule: PI ¼ n if up to n  20% of the
benchmark companies have a worse indicator score than the
company at issue. The benchmark values are therefore dynamic,
since with each newly addressed company the benchmark data
pool is larger. With the economy progressing towards sustainabil-
ity, the benchmark values are automatically adapted through the PI
rule and companies that do not consider such transition will receive
lower scores.
For the quantitative analysis, different predefined sub-category
weights are assigned to the performance
ðqtÞ
indicators wij ¼ wðPIi ; cj Þ, where PIi is the PI associated with the
indicator Ii, and cj is the addressed sub-category. The overall sub-
category quantitative Performance Indicator PIðqtÞ ðcj Þ is defined
ðqtÞ
by Eq. (1), where wij is the predefined weight (value) corre-
sponding to the i-th indicator and the j-th sub-category.
P ðqtÞ
wij PIðIi Þ


PIðqtÞ cj ¼ i
P ðqtÞ
(1)
wij
i Energy management systems in the manufacturing industry
For the qualitative analysis, different predefined weights are
ðqlÞ
assigned to the qualitative scores, wij ¼ wðsi ; cj Þ, where si is the
score (value) associated with the i-th answer and cj is the addressed
sub-category. The sub-category qualitative score is given by Eq. (2).
0P 1 mented impacts (IV).
ðqlÞ
w s
B i ij i C
Sj ¼ B
@ P ðqlÞ A
C (2)
wij
i
45
The above-mentioned PI definition rule is also applied here, as
the conversion of the scores appears to be problematic, due to the
possibly narrow distribution of only a few integer numbers. An
overall sub-category qualitative Performance Indicator PIðqlÞ ðcj Þ is
ðqlÞ
therefore defined by Eq. (3), where wij is the predefined weight
corresponding to the i-th answer and j-th sub-category.
0P 1
ðqlÞ
wij si


 B C
PIðqlÞ cj ¼ PI Sj ¼ PIB i
@ P ðqlÞ A
C (3)
wij
i
However, in both cases the final output is a PI that is a relative
value based on the benchmark comparison of the companies. These
relative values are then combined in the calculation of the final sub-
category PIs, where different weights are assigned to the quanti-
tative and qualitative contributions.
2.3. Energy management systems assessment
The analysis presented in this paper has been performed based
on a total of 50 selected industrial companies from Slovenia. Almost
half (N ¼ 24) of the industrial companies are energy intensive (C17
manufacture of paper and paper products; C23 e manufacture of
other non-metallic mineral products; C24 e manufacture of basic
metals; and C25 e manufacture of fabricated metal products),
whilst the other 26 represent energy non-intensive branches. Due
to the size of the Slovenian economy, for some industrial branches
only one representative could be found. Furthermore, data sensi-
tivity was also a very important issue. The research presented in
this paper was conducted in the period between March 2014 and
December 2014.
were addressed using the 3EMT tool, namely the energy efficiency
module described in the methodology section. The module survey
can be generally divided into four different categories. Namely,
questions related to EMS functionalities (I), a company's perception
of its energy efficiency (II), obstacles (III), and expected or imple-
 Perception e This category is addressed through the following
questions: “Does the company consider energy efficiency to be a
relevant topic? and “Is the company doing well in energy
46 M. Pusnik et al. / Energy 108 (2016) 41e49
efficiency?”. The perception category is important in terms of
analysing a company's confidence and awareness levels, which
provides insight into a certain level of knowledge when com-
bined with the EMS functionalities category.
 EMS functionalities e This category is described by the speci-
fications of the functionalities of the EMS installed, i.e. moni-
toring and targeting (energy data collection), simple energy cost
analysis (energy accounting), and system control (EMS as a part
of a SCADA system). The aforementioned functionalities are
basically the core elements of each EMS, thus such question was
added to analyse the proper understanding of the EMS.
Furthermore, the organisational aspect was also addressed. In
such manner, the industry representatives were asked whether
the company has dedicated personnel or a dedicated office that
is responsible for energy-related issues.
 Obstacles e Industrial companies were asked to highlight the
obstacles that they had faced, if any, prior, during, or after the
implementation of the EMS. Furthermore, their relevance was
rated, either on the basis of direct experience or according to
their knowledge of the field. The industry representatives were
prompted to give a numerical score between 1 and 5, where 1
means a small obstacle (low relevance) and 5 means a big
obstacle (high relevance). To complement the highlighted ob-
stacles that arose during EMS implementation, the participants
were asked the following question: “Have you been able to
overcome the obstacles related to EMS implementation?”.
 Impacts e The company representatives were asked the
following question: “Has the company received a positive impact
from EMS implementation in the last three years?”. Participants
provided numerical ratings, with 1 corresponding to a low
impact and 5 corresponding to a very high impact.
It has to be emphasised that the industry representatives come
from different types of companies, they have different roles in such
companies, and have different educational backgrounds. Thus, it is
only natural that certain differences in the importance each one
attaches to the individual addressed topics are expected. Fig. 7
presents the structure of the 50 participating industry companies
according to their size. More than half of the participating com-
panies employ from 50 to 249 employees (medium-sized), 13
companies more than 250 employees (large), and 11 companies
employ from 1 to 49 employees (small), of which 5 companies
employ fewer than 10 employees (micro).
3. Results and discussion
In accordance with the described methodology, the results of
the analysis are shown and presented according to the following
categories (perception, EMS functionalities, obstacles, and
impacts).
Fig. 7. Structure of the selected industrial companies according to size (N ¼ 50).
3.1. Perception
There will always be a difference between what management
thinks e the perception and what is actually happening. Hence, in
the analysis the companies’ own perception of their energy per-
formance was addressed. The results show that the majority of the
companies (72%) rated their performance as 2 (fair e 38%) or 3
(good e 34%), as presented in Fig. 8. Stating that their energy per-
formance is “average” correlates with their plans and projections
for future investments, while according to the profile of all partic-
ipants (i.e. that of energy manager), there should always be some
room for improvement.
On the other hand, almost 10% of the companies that partici-
pated in the analysis rated their energy performance as poor,
mostly those that belong to an energy non-intensive sector; 15%
gave a score of 4 (very good), and 3% gave a score of 5 (excellent).
The companies that highlighted their energy performance as
excellent without exception have dedicated teams responsible for
energy investment and maintenance tasks. Their staff have a spe-
cialised position and are highly educated and some of these com-
panies have already implemented the ISO 50001 standard.
Furthermore, 98% of the participants also stated that energy effi-
ciency is a relevant topic for improving the company's competi-
tiveness on the market (49 out of 50 answered in the affirmative).
3.2. EMS functionalities
Since the goal of this research was to analyse the gaps in the use
and implementation of energy management systems, the partici-
pants were prompted to highlight their main energy management
system functionalities. As shown in Fig. 9, the participants reported
that almost half (45%) of the EMSs installed do not include moni-
toring and targeting. This unexpected result is linked to a certain
level of misunderstanding of EMS end users, due to the strong
correlation of EMSs and installed SCADA systems.
At this point it has to be emphasised that EMSs are usually
interconnected with SCADA systems through the use of measuring
points, sensors, databases, etc., which is the main reason for such
misuse of terminology. The participants also report that almost 70%
of EMSs include SCADA functionalities. Furthermore, 62% of the
installed EMSs include simple cost analysis and 66% enable auto-
matic data acquisition. Since many industrial companies already
use SCADA systems, the following questions should be taken into
account. Is the data collected useful for energy management? Does
the current monitoring process provide results in terms of eco-
nomic benefits? Systems with poorly selected follow-up indicators
and reporting functionalities tend to not perform well.
3.3. Obstacles
Industrial companies in general have to deal with several chal-
lenges related to the following obstacles: financial, behavioural,
and human resources, a lack of knowledge, and the absence of a
corporate energy strategy, as stated and addressed by Venmans in
Ref. [31], Nagesha and Balachandra in Ref. [32], and Triani et al. in
Ref. [33]. During the research, the obstacles the participants had
Fig. 8. Companies' own perception of their current energy efficiency performance
(N ¼ 50).
 M. Pusnik et al. / Energy 108 (2016) 41e49
Fig. 9. EMS functionalities in Slovenian manufacturing industries (N ¼ 50).
faced or recognised when implementing EMSs were analysed. The
identified obstacles were rated in accordance with their relevance,
providing scores from 1 (not significant) to 5 (very significant).
Company representatives identified the following obstacles: the
interruption of production activities, the low significance of energy
costs in comparison to total costs, a long payback period, financial
issues, a lack of external support (subsidies, legislation), the avail-
ability or lack of staff resources, and a lack of knowledge. Fig. 10
presents the relevance of the identified obstacles.
Almost two-thirds of the survey participants rated the inter-
ruption of production activities as a significant obstacle (24%
moderately significant, 24% significant, and 17% very significant).
Such a result is more or less expected, since energy managers (the
typical survey participant profile) had to go through the difficult
process of achieving consensus with the company's management
board. The results also confirmed that there is a strong need for
cooperation between the middle management of industrial enter-
prises and shop floor employees who have the authority to change
different process parameters if they believe that they can improve
the company's energy performance.
In many industries the energy costs represent only a small
portion of total costs, which, according to the analysis results,
represents an important obstacle. Hence, 14% rated this obstacle as
very significant and 10% as significant; 48% of participants rated this
obstacle as moderate (i.e. 3 out of 5). According to the analysis re-
sults, companies that belong to an energy-intensive sector tend to
provide a better and more supportive environment for energy ef-
ficiency investments. Energy costs in such branches represent
around 15% of total costs. On the other hand, in energy non-
intensive branches the share of energy costs usually represent
less than 3% of total costs, hence investments in energy efficiency
are not of essential importance.
Fig. 10. The relevance of the identified obstacles when implementing EMSs (N ¼ 50).
47
Fig. 11. The positive impact of EMS implementation (N ¼ 50).
Another obstacle that was identified is the long payback period
of EMS implementation. This was rated as highly relevant, since
82% of the participants gave a score of 4 or higher. Such a result was
not expected and it clearly shows the need of better clarifications of
EMS benefits. When addressing financial issues, more than half of
the survey participants gave a score of 4 or higher. Furthermore, a
clear “cry for help” was made by these companies, since 76% of the
participants rated the lack of external support as 3 or higher.
Companies also highlighted the importance of staff resources, as
79% rated a lack of staff resources as 3 or higher. More than half
(55%) of the survey participants rated a lack of knowledge as 2 or
lower, meaning that it does not represent a significant obstacle.
Motivation has been highlighted as an important prerequisite
for process and structural improvements and were reported as
being not sufficiently addressed (confirmed by 98% of the
participants).
Industrial companies will have to realise that their potential lies
in their employees and their willingness as regards the introduc-
tion of behavioural change. When implementing energy efficiency
technologies in industrial companies results usually do not come
overnight. Solely the introduction of new technology, without in-
vestments in human relationships and trust-building among em-
ployees will not provide the desired results.
3.4. Impacts
Fig. 11 presents the relevance of the positive impact of the
implementation of EMSs. According to the results of the analysis,
14% of survey participants responded that EMS implementation has
a poor (1) impact, 29% rated its impact as fair (2), 40% responded
that it is moderate (3), 12% as significant (4), and 4% very significant
(5).
The achieved savings reported by the companies participating in
the survey are presented in Fig. 12. It is interesting to note that none
of the company representatives reported savings higher than 20%.
Almost 70% of the companies reported savings between 1% and 9%
and 30% reported savings between 10% and 19%.
Since the implementation of an EMS represents the basis for a
company's energy consumption evaluation, it is commonly used as
48 M. Pusnik et al. / Energy 108 (2016) 41e49
Fig. 12. Savings achieved when implementing EMSs (N ¼ 50).
a catalyst for larger energy efficiency investments. The main energy
sources consumed in the participating companies are electricity
and natural gas. When prompted about future investments, their
stated plans are mostly related to branch-specific technologies. In
energy-intensive branches, the measures adopted primarily con-
cerned waste heat recovery and the upgrading of an existing EMS,
while some companies also highlighted investments in awareness-
raising campaigns and in behavioural change processes e i.e. soft
measures. One interesting aspect is also the given company's atti-
tude toward new and innovative technologies. Companies tend to
be fonder of proven, traditional, and more reliable technologies.
The place for innovative technologies is usually some smaller
projects that are not connected to the company's main production
activities. By having a great deal of knowledge as to the peculiarities
of the production process, companies have an in-house advantage
as regards implementing innovative approaches and technologies,
as already confirmed by Cagno et al. in Ref. [34].
4. Conclusion
It is evident that the integration of basic principles of energy
efficiency into daily operational practice is a continuous process
that requires additional skills and knowledge. The presented
analysis clearly confirmed that, in the majority of cases, the existing
energy management solutions in Slovenian industry are not suffi-
cient to achieve sustainable energy performance improvements.
Achieving significant and continuous energy savings requires a
well-defined energy strategy on the company level. Having this in
mind, the analysis confirms the findings presented in Refs. [35e37],
where the importance of in-house energy management and a
company's long-term energy strategy is addressed. Furthermore,
in-house knowledge plays a crucial role in the successful imple-
mentation of energy efficiency measures. Companies that have an
in-house research and development department tend to imple-
ment innovative technologies using in-house insight into the plant-
specific peculiarities. It can also be concluded that the survey par-
ticipants are not particularly satisfied with the current energy sit-
uation in their companies. This reveals a very important obstacle
related to the lack of proper communication between energy
managers, upper management, and shop floor employees. A proper
energy management system must integrate people, procedures,
and technology in order to optimise the company's energy per-
formance. People play the most significant role in this process, and
they are critical for the company's overall, and not just energy,
performance. In the process of energy efficiency improvement, it is
of crucial importance, as demonstrated by the survey, to have
constructive and open cooperation between all stakeholders. It is
necessary that all employees start to feel that the implemented
EMS is their own, and, consequently, that they become more eager
to reach the set goals. Open communication between the energy
manager and shop floor employees should result in the continuous
upgrading of the installed EMS. Companies also reported that the
impacts of EMS implementation and the savings achieved were in
the range of 1%e19%, which is in accordance with findings from the
literature review. One has to be aware that energy management
systems require proper infrastructure for data collection and pro-
cessing. This can represent a significant obstacle to the wider
implementation of energy management systems due to the costs of
additional measuring equipment, which can significantly prolong
the payback period of the proposed solutions. Based on the rec-
ommendations proposed by Backlund and Thollander in Ref. [28], it
would be very beneficial to conduct additional analyses and
investigate what subsidy margin would motivate Slovenian small
and medium-sized enterprises to conduct energy audits and
implement modern EMSs. Finally, it is important to emphasise that
the motivation of shop floor employees to cooperate with the en-
ergy manager and upper management tends to increase if they are
given recognition for their personal contributions.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the European Commission and
the partners of the European FP7 project “Context Sensitive
Monitoring of Energy Consumption to Support Energy Savings and
Emissions Trading in Industry” (www.lifesaver-fp7.eu/, FP7-ICT-
2011-287652) for their support.
Furthermore, the authors would like to thank the European
Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the partners of the Central
Europe project “CEEM e Central Environmental and Energy Man-
agement as a Kit for Survival” (http://www.ceemproject.eu/,
4CE459P3) for their support.
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