ENERGYEFFICIENCYINSMALLTOMEDIUM-SIZEDENTERPRISES

ANASSESSMENTONTHEBARRIERSANDMOTIVATORSTOIMPROVINGENERGYEFFICIENCYOFSMES

RABEEHMOUDALLAL5THSEPTEMBER2016

MScEngineeringManagement-DeMontfortUniversity

2

AminordissertationsubmittedtoDeMontfortUniversity,Leicester

InpartialfulfilmentoftherequirementfortheDegreeofMastersofScienceinEngineering

Management.

By

RabeehMoudallal

InstituteofEnergyandSustainableDevelopment

DeMontfortUniversity,Leicester

ResearchSupervisor:Dr.RichardGreenough

ENERGYEFFICIENCYINSMALLTOMEDIUM-SIZEDENTERPRISES

ANASSESSMENTONTHEBARRIERSANDMOTIVATORSTOIMPROVINGENERGYEFFICIENCYOFSMES

3

Acknowledgement

IwouldliketofirstlythankmyprojectsupervisorDr.RichardGreenoughfor

thesupportandmentoringthroughoutthedurationofthisresearchproject

andalsoothermembersoftheInstituteofEnergyandSustainable

DevelopmentatDeMontfortUniversity.Inaddition,Iwouldliketothankmy

familyandfriendsforsupportingmementally,andfinallyIwouldliketothank

allofthebusinessesthathaveparticipatedinmyresearch.

Declaration

AsadeclarationIcanconfirmtheworksubmittedinthisthesisistheresult

ofmyownresearch,excludingwherestatedotherwise.

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TableofContents

Chapter1 6

1.0 Abstract 6

1.1 Introduction 7

1.2AimandObjectives 10

Chapter2 11

2.0Literaturereview 11

2.1RenewableEnergyTechnologies 13

2.2Smartgrids 17

2.3EnergyManagementsystems 19

2.4Directives,SchemesandAdviceguides 20

2.5Motivatorsandbarriers 24

2.6Conclusion 30

Chapter3 34

3.0Researchmethods 34

3.1Overviewofresearchmethodology 35

3.2Questionnairedevelopment 37

3.3Problemsfacedwithresearch 39

3.4EthicalConsideration 40

Chapter4 41

4.0Questionnairereturnrateforsection1 41

4.1ResultsandAnalysisforsection1 42

4.2Concludingsection1results 49

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4.4Resultsandanalysisforsection2 51

4.4Concludingresultsforsection2 57

Chapter5 59

5.0Discussionandrecommendation 59

5.1Newliterature 65

Chapter6 66

6.0Conclusion 67

6.1References 70

6.2Appendix 74

TableofFiguresFigure1-EmploymentforSME'sandLargebusinesses(DepartmentofEnergyandClimateChange,2016).......7

Figure2-SplitofemployeesinIndustryandTertiarysectors(EichhammerandRohde,2016)............................8

Figure3-SourcesofRETinUK2004-2014(DepartmentofEnergyandClimateChange,2016).........................13

Figure4-CasestudyonSmallsizedindustrialbusiness(Rezaie,EsmailzadehandDincer,2011).......................15

Figure5-Questionnaire1.0.................................................................................................................................42

Figure6-Questionnaire1.1.................................................................................................................................43

Figure7-Questionnaire1.2.................................................................................................................................43

Figure8-Questionnaire1.3.................................................................................................................................45

Figure9-Questionnaire1.4.................................................................................................................................45

Figure10-Questionnaire1.5...............................................................................................................................46

Figure11–Questionnaire1.6..............................................................................................................................48

Figure12-Questionnaire2.0...............................................................................................................................52

Figure13-Questionnaire2.1...............................................................................................................................52

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Chapter1

Inthisinitialchapter,someofthebasicandmorecomplexelementsofthethesisquestion

willbeintroducedandportrayedinattempttogiveabiggerpictureofthespecificissuesof

interestdiscussedthroughoutthepaper.Inordertogiveamorein-depthinsighttothe

reader,thecontextanddeliverablesinrelationtotheaimsandobjectivesofthethesis

questionwillbefurtherelaboratedtogivegreaterpurposetothecontext.Finally,an

attempttoputathesisstructureintoperspectivewillbeconcluded,linkingrelevant

chaptersandsectionsforclarity,discussionandargumentthroughouttheentirepaper.

1.0 Abstract

Thepaperattemptstobuildonthefoundationthatalreadyexistsonboth,thedriving

factorsandthemainbarriersfacedbyawiderangeofsmalltomedium-sizedenterprises.

Bydepictingkeyargumentsfromtheliteraturesurroundingtheresearchquestion,key

pointsaresummarisedandsuggestionsonmethodstosurpassingissuesarefurther

elaborated.Additionally,byanalysingcasestudies,collatingdataviasurveysandconducting

interviewstheauthorendeavourstodrawaconclusiononhowtheseviewsare

distinguishedfrombusinessesthatareoperatingwithinindustriesoflowandhigh-energy

intensity.Thisisinanattempttopushtheliteraturetoaddcontributiontothesomewhat

adolescentfield.

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1.1 Introduction

Smallormedium-sizedenterprises(SMEs)inboththeUKandacrossEuropeaccumulate

toapproximately99%ofallprivatesectorbusinesses(Gov.org,2016).However,mostofthe

pressurecreatedtoreduceenergyusefromEUdirectivessuchastheEnergyEfficiency

Directive(EED),aswellasUKregulationssuchasEnergySavingOpportunitySchemeand

theCarbonplantendtobeaimedatthesmallerpercentageoflargerfirmsoperatingboth

locallyaswellasinternationally.ThesestaticsarenotjustrestrictedtoEurope;similar

figuressuggestthat96%ofallbusinessesoperatinginAustraliaarealsoSMEs(Meath,

LinnenlueckeandGriffiths,2016).Inaddition,itisevidentasillustratedinFigure1that60%of

thetotalnumberofemployeeswithintheseregionsworkforSMEsandalthoughthese

smallerbusinessesoperateinsmallerquantitiesintermsofindividualenergyuseand

productionofemissions,theyarestillasignificantlylargecontributortowardsenergyuseas

awhole(EuropeanCommission,2016).

Figure1-EmploymentandturnoverforSME'sandLargebusinesses(DepartmentofEnergyandClimateChange,2016)

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AspartoftheEuropeanUnion(EU)EnergyEfficiencyDirective,astrongfocusisplacedon

largersizedenterprises;Energyauditsfortheselargeorganisationsaremademandatory,

whereasontheothersideofthespectrum,forsmalltomedium-sizedenterprises,member

stateoftheEuropeanunioninsteadareencouragedtosupportenergyaudits,andestablish

methodsofsupportfortheseorganizationsratherthanrequiringthemtofollowstrict

legislation.AlthoughtheEEDdoesincludegeneralguidancenoteswithinall,ifnotmostof

itsarticles,definingnumerousrequirementsinregardstobothSMEsandlargercompanies,

whichwillbefurtherelaboratedinsection2.2.ToaddtotheevidencethatsuggestsSMEs

arearguablyjustasresponsibleformassenergyuse,andproductionofcarbondioxide

emissionsaslargerfirms,attentionshouldfocusonthesignificantenergyintensivesectors

suchastheIndustrialandtertiarysectors,whichillustrate40%oftheEUstotalenergy

demandandconsumption.Alargeportionofthesesectorsconsistandareoperatedby

smallercompanies,51%oftheindustrialsectorand76%onthetertiarysectorareinfact

SMEsasillustratedinFigure2(EichhammerandRohde,2016).

Figure2-SplitofemployeesinIndustryandTertiarysectors(EichhammerandRohde,2016)

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ThisfurtherhighlightstheimpactofthecombineddemandcreatedbySMEs.Thesefigures

suggestaclearincentivetofurthermotivatetheseorganisationstointegrateenergysaving

methodsintotheiroperationsmoresothansimplygivingguidelinestobestpractices.

ResearchfromtheDepartmentofEnergyandClimateChange(2016)suggeststhat

approximatelyathirdoftheseSMEsviewthecostsassociatedwithenergyasabarrierto

thesuccessandthegrowthoftheirorganisation.Findingsavingsonthiscostviabeingmore

energyefficient(EE)withtheirbusinessproceduresisagreeduponbyanumberofauthors

withinthesurroundingliteratureasthebestwayofreducingthesecostsinthelongterm.

Also,thissuggeststhattheseSMEsareinneedofallthesupportandinformationtheycan

getinordertoallowthemtoachievesavingswherepossible.

Thispaperwillattempttohighlightthemainbarriersfacedbysmalltomedium-sized

businesses,aswellasthemostappealingmotivatorstoadoptingmoreeconomical,

environmentallyfriends,energyefficientmethodsandtechnologies.Itusestheliterature

surroundingSMEsandtheviewsoftheseauthorstoidentifyandsummarisethemain

concernsofthebehaviouroftheseSMEsindifferentsectorsandusesquestionairesasa

researchmethodtoestablishperspectivesfromdifferentindustriesandsectors,helpingto

identifywhichareaandsectorsareinneedofthemostimprovementaswellaswhichhave

developedthemostandwhy.

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1.2AimandObjectives

Aim:

ToinvestigatewhatextentincentivesareneededforSMEsindifferentsectorstoself

motivatethesebusinessesintobecomingmoreenergyefficientandreducetheirannual

carbonemission.

Objectives:

o Identifyandusecurrentandrelevanttheoriestocompareandcontrastthesituation

withtheuseofsurroundingliterature.

o CollatedatafromSMEsindifferentsectorstofindsimilaritiesinviewsofenergy

efficiencyandcommonobstaclestoachievingenergyandemissionreductiongoals,

withtheuseofquestionairesandinterviews.

o Evaluatethemainbarriersandmotivators,varyingfromspecificsectors,tomoving

towardsamoreenergyefficientfutureforSMEs.

o SuggestwaysofimprovementforenergyefficiencyinSMEsandidentifythemost

effectivemethodforachievingsuchgoalsinlightmovingawayfrommandatoryEU

legislation.

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Chapter2

Inthischapter,thebackgroundofthethesisworkispresented,comparingdifferent

viewsfromtheliteraturesurroundingenergyefficiency,insmalltomedium-sized

enterprisesindifferentsectors.Alsodiscussedwillbethekeyconcernsinglobalclimate

changewhichwillhelpgivepurposetothecontext,formingargumentsforandagainst

currentpoliciesthatsupportandencouragebusinessoperations.Furthermore,thischapter

identifiesareasofconcernusingcasestudies,andcritiquesthebarriersfacedbydifferent

SMEs,aswellaslookingintothemosteffectivemotivatorsandthebestoptionsinplaceto

encourageselfimprovement.

2.0Literaturereview

Aspreviouslymentioned,itisevidentthatalthoughindividuallySMEsmayuseasmall

percentageofenergy,collectivelytheiremissionproductionandenergyconsumptionis

significant.Firstly,anemphasisontheimportanceofchangeincurrentorganisational

behavioursneedstobeaddressed;climatechangehasbeenanagendaofconcernforthe

publicandgovernmentsacrosstheglobesincetheindustrialrevolution.Bothawarenessof

theissue,aswellastheissueitselfhaverecentlybeguntogainnotablemomentum.One

significantfactthatcanbemadetohighlighttheseverityoftheissueisthat15ofthe16

hottestyearsinthelast200yearshaveoccurredsincetheyear2,000(BBCRadio4,2016).

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Forthefirsttimeinhistorytheworldsnationsunitedonanagreementtotackleclimate

changetogether.Onthe12thDecember2015,duringtheU.NClimateChangeConferencein

Paris,somemainconcernswerebroughttothedebate:

• Tokeepglobaltemperatures"wellbelow"2.0C(3.6F)abovepre-industrialtimesand"endeavourtolimit"themevenmore,to1.5C(Briggs,2016)

• Tolimittheamountofgreenhousegasesemittedbyhumanactivitytothesamelevelsthattrees,soilandoceanscanabsorbnaturally,beginningatsomepointbetween2050and2100(Briggs,2016)

ThoughthisdoesnotsolelyanddirectlyaffectSMEsinspecific,theircontributionwillmost

certainlyhelpachievethesegoals.ThereisawidespectrumofactivitiesofwhichSMEscan

committothatwillallowforanincreaseintheircontribution,dependingontheirsectors

andtheirchoiceofapproach,evidencesuggestsanumberoffacts;fromcasestudiesithas

beenshownthatalargenumberofsavingscanbeproducedfromoperatingmoreenergy

efficiently,includingreductionincarbonemissionsandareductioninoverallenergywaste.

Thesebenefitscomewithmotivatorsaswellasmanybarriers,moresothanencountered

bylargerfirmswhichwillbelaterdiscussedinthischapter.Methodsofimprovingonenergy

efficiencycancomefromanumberofapproachesandtechniques,oneareathatis

becomingmorepopular,aswellasmoreaffordableistheuseofrenewableenergy

technologies.

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2.1RenewableEnergyTechnologies

Onemethodthatsmallerbusinessescantakeadvantageoftomakemoreefficient

useofenergyandtoreducetheiremissionscanbefromtheuseofrenewableenergy

technologies(RET).Today,over20%oftheUK’selectricityisproducedbyrenewables.This

isafigurethatislikelytogrowto30%by2020duetoEUtargets(Smeed,2016).Sincethe

introductionofRETs,setpoliciesfromtheUnitedStates,UnitedKingdomandacrossEurope

havetriggeredagrowthinthefield(Dayetal.,2009).Arisingfromtheacceleratingpressure

offindingalternativestothedepletinguseoffossilfuels,thesearchofasustainablefuture

canpartlycomefromarangeofrenewables.CompetitionwithinRETshasrisenatan

acceleratingrateoverthelast12years,ascanbeenseeninfigure3.Thisofwhichhasseen

thefeasibilityofsuchtechnologiesbecomemoreaffordable,naturally(Rezaie,Esmailzadeh

andDincer,2011). Someofthemorepopularandgrowingtypesofrenewableenergy

technologyinclude:bioenergy,solarhotwater,windturbines,hydropowerand

photovoltaicsystems(PV).

Figure3-SourcesofRETinUK

2004-2014(DepartmentofEnergy

andClimateChange,2016)

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Putrayudhaetal,(2015)suggestthatmorerecently,thecombinationof2ormore

renewablesystemsusedasahybridsystemtogethercanprovidenumerousadvantages.For

example,thismayimprovetheoverallefficiencyandperformanceofparticularsystemsand

onemajorbenefitisinthereductionofthepaybackperiodassociatedwiththeinvestment,

deterringasignificantbarrierofimplementationofsuchtechnologies.Akeyexampleofthis

istheuseofPhotovoltaicthermal(PTV)wherethecombinationsystemcreatesan

additionalbenefitofincreasedefficiencyofthePVpanelbycoolingitwithtubesofliquid

flowingbehindthepanel.Dubey(2008)andMoharrametal.,(2013) bothagreethatby

coolingthePVpanel,theefficiencyofthesystemisthenimproved.Thoughitisdebatable

thatthisimprovementisnotdrastic.Inadditiontothis,agapbetweenthePVpanelandthe

roof/groundiscreatedtoallowfortheotherwisewastedheatproducedfromthesurface

areatobetransferredviathesetubes.Thisheatcanthenbereusedtosaveenergyon

heatingwaterorstored,forexample,inanundergroundstoragewheretemperatures

typicallyremainrelativelyconstantannually.

2.1.1CaseStudy

Itisunderstoodthatenergyisoftendissipated,“andthatheatenergyspecificallyisthe

mosteasilydissipated.Acasestudyconductingacomprehensiveinvestigationontheoptions

ofRETsinenergyconsumingbuildingscomparestheenergyuseinasmallindustrialbuilding

inMississauga,Ontarioemployingapproximately100employees,inattemptstosuggest

savingswithRETs.

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Industrialbuildingsgenerallytendtobehighconsumersofelectricalenergyduetothe

natureoftheirworki.e.,operatingmachineryandindustrialproductionequipment.

Consequently,thistendstogenerateaconsiderableamountofpotentiallywastedheat.In

industrialbuildingsthereisnottypicallyalargedemandforhotwater,howeverthereisa

highdemandforspaceheatingasdiscussedbyHodderetal.(2010)Yannas(1994)

highlightingtheimportanceofsectorspecificscenariosforimplementationofsuch

technologies.Thecasestudyintroducesarangeofrenewableenergytechnologiesand

hybridsystemsthatRezaieet.al,(2011)suggesttohavepositiveimplicationsonreducing

energyconsumptionwitharelativelyshortpaybackperiod.Figure4illustratesthemain

energyuseoftheindustrialbusinessinthecasestudy,asexpectedthemainconcentration

ofenergyuseisontheuseofindustrialmachines.Asignificantportionillustratedisusedfor

heatingandcoolingpurposes.

Figure4-CasestudyonSmallsizedindustrialbusiness(Rezaie,EsmailzadehandDincer,2011)

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Rezaieet.al,(2011)agreeswiththeviewsofAndrewPutrayudhaetal,(2015)onsuggesting

thepotentialcombinedbenefitsofhybridsystem.Theyidentifyintheircasestudythatthe

specificindustrialbusinesscouldtakeadvantagesofthreedifferentsystems,allofwhich

wouldprovidesavingatdifferenttimescalesandquantities,inorderofdesirabilityin

regardstoaffordabilityandreturn:

i. AhybridsystemmakinguseofbothSolarthermalandSolarelectricwasthemost

highlydesirableinthescenario.Thecombinationwasfoundtobestsuittacklingthe

spaceheatingissueandimprovedspaceheatingby24%andtheuseofthePV

moduleaimedtoprovideanidealistic76%electricityconsumption,withregular

sunnyhoursperday.

ii. Secondmostdesirable,theuseofEvacuatedpipesindividually,duetotheirabilityof

reducingenergyconsumptionforheatingspacebyupto24%.

iii. Andfinally,theuseofPVmodulestoreduceamaximumof76%electricenergy

consumption.

ThecasestudyisagoodexampleofsuggestingthesavingsthatcouldbemadebySMEs

withtheuseofalternativeenergysourcesandRETs,aswellasanillustrationtothe

importanceofsectorandbusinessspecificneedsinregardstoimplementation.Althoughan

externalauditmayprovetosuggestanumberofimprovementsandsavingsasmallto

medium-sizedbusiness,givingastrongincentiveintotakingthenecessarystepsto

becomingmoresustainable.Thelargeportionofthesebusinessesneedmoreincentive,

motivationandguidancefromlocalgovernancetoachievefuturegoals,thenextsegments

willdiscussotherfeasiblesystemsandwillhighlightsomeoftheoptionsforSMEwantingto

achieveamoresustainablefutureinregardstothehelpavailabletothem.

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2.2Smartgrids

Inthepast,energydemandhasbeenrelativelylow,especiallyincomparisontomodern

dayenergyusage.Electricityinthetwentyfirstcenturyhasmainlybeendistributedviathe

gridwithalimitedone-waysystem,makingitdifficulttoadapttoaneverchangingand

increasingneedformoreenergydemandandthishasremainedpracticallyunchangedin

the20thcentury.Smartgridsgivebusinessesavisualisationoftheirrealtimeenergyflows

asitintroducesatwo-waydialogandappliestheuseofinformationtechnologyto

intelligentlybenefitenergyusage,withelectricityandinformationbeingexchanged

betweentheutilityandthebusiness/customer.Thebenefitsofthissystemasanoverview

isthatitismoreefficient-ithelpsmanageenergyusage,morereliable,offersbetter

securityandisgenerallyagreenermovetowardsmoreefficientenergyusage.

Inadditiontothis,thesmartgridalsobenefitstheuserbyincorporatingrenewableenergy

technologiessuchassolarandwindenergyproduction,andtheintegrationofsmartgrids

willseeavastriseinelectricvehiclechargingpoints.Thesmartgridcanbebetterdefined

bysuggestingthat“theelectricitynetworkcanintelligentlyintegratetheactionsofallusers

connectedtoit-generatorsconsumersandthosethatdoboth–inordertoefficiently

deliversustainable,economicandsecureelectricitysupplies”(Europeancommission,p.12

2012).

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Aswillbediscussedinsection2.5,awidelyrecognisedissueandbarrierwiththelackof

responsefromsmalltomedium-sizedbusinessesonreducingenergyuseand𝐶𝑜#emissions

istheabsenceofincentivestodoso.Rawlingsetal.,(2014)suggeststhatthereisashortage

ofdefinitionandclaritywithenergyusedataandthatsmartgridsmaybetheanswerto

drawingnewincentivestothetablethroughdemandsideresponse.Energycostsmoreat

differenttimesofthedayandbyshiftingelectricityusagetotimeswhenoverallenergy

intensityislower,allpartieswillbebenefited,asitprovidesreductionsindemandatpeak

timesandcostasafinancialincentive.

Forexample,theindustrialcasestudyinsection2.1.1couldmakegooduseofthesmart

grid,theycouldshiftsomeoftheirmachineenergyusetolatertimes,theprocessesthatare

highenergyintensiveandareautomatedormayneedlittletonohumansupervisioncould

beprogrammedtorunintheearlyhoursofthenightsothatitwouldreducetheenergy

costandcontinuewithlessenergyintensiveprocesseswiththeuseofrenewableenergy

technologiessuchassolarPVorwingthroughoutpeaktimesoftheday.

Thoughthiswillcomeatabenefittoreducingpeakenergyusage,cuttingcosttowardthe

businesses,asawholesmalltomedium-sizedbusinessesreducingelectricalusageduring

peakhoursofthedaymaynothaveasignificantimpactoncarbonemission,asthereisnot

adirectlinkbetweencarbonsavingsfromenergyusageatdifferenttimesoftheday.

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2.3EnergyManagementsystems

Energymanagementsystemsareusedtoidentifythemostenergyintensiveprocessesin

bothhouseholdsandbusinesses,regardlessoftheirsize.Thesesystemsgiveawide

spectrumofinformationfortheviewertoanalyse,andallowsthemtoseeopportunitiesto

makeenergysavings,andmakedecisionsastohowtheycanoptimisetheirenergyusage.

SMEsshouldbeabletoidentifywheretherearemostlikelyabletogeneratesavingsand

reducetheirtotalemissionproductionwiththeuseofsuchsystems.Ifitwasmade

mandatoryviaregulations,anupriseinenergyefficiencywouldcertainlybeseen.However,

Trianni,CagnoandFarnè(2014)conductedastudyinwhichsuchsystemswereputinplace

withanumberofparticipants,andfromthisstudyitwasfoundthateventhoughsavings

werefoundforasignificantportionoftheseparticipants,onlyafractionadaptedtheenergy

efficientmeasuretotheirbusiness,thisisfurtherdiscussedinsection2.4.Thedownsideto

thesesystemsisthattherewouldbeacostassociatedwithit,orinbestcasescenariothe

systemscouldbeusedasasoftwareasaservicetypeschemewithamonthlycost

associatedwiththeservice.Insomecases,foranumberofsectorsandsmallbusinessesthe

systemwouldnothaveenoughadvantages,thusmakingitmandatorymaybeoptimistic.

However,ifwelookatsectorspecificSMEs,itcanbeseenthatparticularsectorsaremore

energyintensivethanothers,renderingitpotentiallybeneficialtoisolatethesesectorsand

creatingmandatoryrequirementsforenergymanagementsystems.Theadvantages

implementingthisisthatmillionsofbusinessesworldwidewouldworktogethertohelp

reduceoverallenergyuseandreduceCo2emissions.

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2.4Directives,SchemesandAdviceguides

WithintheUKandacrossEuropethereisinplaceanumberofdirectives,schemesand

adviceguidesavailableforallbusinesses.Somearemandatoryandsomenot,butallof

whicharethereforthepurposeofhelpingbusinessesbecomemoreenergyefficient,

profitablefromsavings,aswellasreducingtheircontributiontowardsclimatechangeby

encouraginglowcarbontechnologies.Thissectionwillhighlightanumberofthese

incentivesanddrawontheircontributiontowardspushingSMEstowardsamore

sustainablefuture.

GovernmentsacrosstheUKandEuropehaveputintoactionanumberofprogrammes

intendedtoacceleratethemovetowardssustainability.Oneofwhichisanapproachto

tacklethisissuefromit’sgrassrootsandhasbeenintegratedintoplanningsystemsinthe

UK,andmostspecificallyinLondon.AspartofthemayorofLondon’svisionforamore

sustainabledevelopmentinLondon,theLondonenergystrategyandtheLondonplanaim

toencouragedeveloperstolocalenergygenerationwithnewdevelopments,introducedin

February2004andaffectingallnewbuildingsincludingindustrial.Itsaimistoreduce

carbondioxideemissionsandsinceitsimplementationithasbeenresponsibleforanuptake

intechnologiesandareductioninapproximately1Mt𝐶𝑜#peryearacrossLondon,aquarter

ofwhichgeneratedviarenewables(Dayetal.,2009).

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Thisisoneofmanylocalexamplesofattemptstoreducing𝐶𝑜#emissions,howeveritdoes

notspecificallytargetSMEs,onenoteworthyexampleofthisspecificfocusgroupisthe

“CarbonManagementforSMEs”outlinedbytheLeicesterCityCouncil.Thisschemeaimsto

improvetheenergyefficiencyinanumberofSMEsacrossLeicesterwiththesupportof

theirscheme.Additionally,itgivesthesesmallbusinessesfundingofupto£1,000to

contributetowardsimprovementsinheating,lightingandlightingcontrols,insulationsor

newtechnologies.Italsoincludesatwo-dayenergyconsultancytoidentifywherethese

savingswouldbemosteffectiveandfromanumberofcasestudiesitismorethanevident

thatarangeofSMEshavebenefitedfromsuchlocalsupport(Leicester.gov.uk,2016).

MuchwiderspreadschemeshavebeenintegratedintoanumberofcountriesacrossEurope

inrelationtoEUandotherdirectives,enforcedbylocalgovernmentsinaimtosupport

businessesandreducethetotaldeficit.SomewhichareaimeddirectlyatSMEs,for

example:theEnergySavingOpportunityScheme,EUEnergyEfficiencyDirectiveandthe

DECCadviceguidetoenergyefficiencyforSMEs,aswillbelaterdiscussed.

TheevidencethatSMEsarebeingsupportedthroughgovernmentinitiativesis

overwhelming;fromtherangeofexamplesillustratedaboveacommonalitytheyshareis

theabilitytoidentifysavingsfromeverydayenergyuseexamples.Forinstance,itisagreed

uponwithinalloftheschemes,directivesandadviceguidesabovethatlargesavingscanbe

generatedwithlittlecostassociatedandinsomeinsistencesnocost.

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However,eventhoughitisevidentthatthereismuchsupportbehindthepotentialof

savings,manyarguethatthereisalackofempiricalevidenceandalackofincentivefrom

theseSMEstotakefutureaction.Forinstance;Reddy(1991)suggeststhatoneofmanykey

barriersforSMEsisthelackofsupportoninvestinginnewenergyefficienttechnologies,

TrianniandCagno,(2012)andRawlingsetal.,(2014)arguethatsmallbusinesses,their

buildingsandtheirenergyneedsarenotwelldocumentedandthereisalackofinformation

feed,amandatorydocumentingofenergyuseinformationmayhavemanypositive

implicationstowardsgovernmentalactionwiththebetteruseofbigdataorinformation

systemandenergymanagementsystems.EichhammerandRohde(2016)agreethat

directivesshouldhaveastrongerfocusoninformationandenergymanagementwithinthe

SMEsectorandallowforallpartiestobenefitfromsuchafocus.

Mostoftheinitiativesmentionedabovegivecasestudieswithexamplesoflargerfirmsto

highlightgreatersaving,howevertheseexamplescanbeeasilyimplementedbysmaller

firmsandcollectivelycancreatelargerbenefits,afewexamplesofcommonalitiesfor

generatingreturnwillbefurtherdiscussedlaterbutcanbeoutlined:

§ Usingtimersandthermostats

§ Openingdoorsandwindowsratherthanusingheating/cooling

§ Efficientlydesignofworkspacewithcentralheating

§ Regularlymaintainingequipmenti.e.checkingforholesincompressedairtubes

§ Useofnaturallightingi.e.usingaRickshawdesign

§ Switchingofflightswhennotinuseandusinglightingsensors

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Ontheothersideofthespectrum,governmentalactionaside,theprivatesectorand

independentmotiveshavealsotakenactiontoassistthegrowthofawareness.For

example,theCarbontrustisacompanysetupwiththeintentofprovidinghelpto

organizationswillingtoreducetheir𝐶𝑜#emission,aswellasincreasingresourceefficiency

withinbusinesses.Todate,thecarbontrustasawholehavehelpedreduce60Mt𝐶𝑜#and

savedorganisationsover£5.5Billioninenergyrelatedsavings(Pertsova,2007).

Anothernoteworthyexampleistheaim4smeprogramme,aEurope-wideprojectthataims

tosuggestsavingsfromtheinstallationofintelligentmeteringinsmalltomedium-sized

businesses.Theideaoftheprojectissimple,itworksbytacklingawidelyrecognisedbarrier

toenergyefficiencywithintheSMEgroup,identifyingenergywaste.Redmond,Walkerand

Wang(2008),suggestthattheidentificationofawastedenergyisoneofthemostsignificant

barrierstobettersustainabilityinsmallbusinesses,andTriannietal.,(2013)addstothisby

advocatingtheimportanceofenergywastemanagement.Evidentiallyenergywastecanbe

difficulttoidentify,andwiththeinstallationofanintelligentmeteringsystem,energywaste

isgreatlyreducedduetoquickidentification,allowingforaquickcorrectionandchangesin

dailybehaviours.AsimilarapplicationhadbeenmademandatorytoUKhouseholdsfrom

theirenergysuppliers,enforcedbygovernments‘Smartmeters’fromnowuntil2020are

requiredtobegiventocustomersforfree,allowingforeverydayhouseholdtobeableto

bettermanagetheirenergyusageandhaveabetterunderstandingofpeaktimeusagesof

appliancesforbothgasandelectricity.

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Althoughthesedirectives,schemesandadviceguideshaveproducedanundeniable

awareness,andinitiatedactionwithintheSMEgroup,thereisstillmuchtobedone.They

generallyprovideagoodtheoreticalstructuretoillustratethesavingsandbenefits

producedfrombeingmoreenergyefficient,aswellasgivingasomewhatuniversal

guideline,goalsandtargetsforthebusinesses.However,Triannietal.,(2013)arguethatat

themomentthereisalackofempiricalstudieswithinthefield,whichwouldgiveagreater

understandingtothepolicymakersonthespecificcharacteristicsofthebusinessesthat

mayinducethesebarriers.Muchofthesurroundingliteratureonthemotivatorsand

barriersagreewiththisandsuggesttheneedforthesestudies,andtheneedforan

acceleratedwidespreadadoption.

2.5Motivatorsandbarriers

SomeofthemainconcernsarisingfromtheliteraturesurroundingSMEsincludesthe

complexitytothebarrierstheyface,withsomefocusonvoluntaryimprovementofenergy

efficiencyincomparisontolargerfirms.Aswellasthesignificantdifferenceinbarriersand

motivatorsarisingfromsectortosector,withtheemphasisonsomesectorsbeingmore

energyintensive.Thisremainsthecaseinanumberofdifferentcountriesaroundtheworld

ascasestudieshaveemphasised.Muchoftheliteraturethatwillbehighlightedinthis

sectionwilldrawfocusonsector-specificissues,andwillidentifyaspectrumofwidely

agreedbarriers,bringinginargumentsandviewsfromdifferentauthorstoillustrateaview

onthemainandmostcommonmotivatorsandbarriersSMEsfacetoday.

25

Inaddition,thissectionwillgivegreatercontexttotheresearchmethodanddiscussionin

thenextsectionofthispaper.DeCanio(p.2,1993),intheearlystagesofthetopicdiscussion

suggestedthat“Manyinvestmentsinenergyefficiencyfailtobemadedespitetheir

apparentprofitability"andsincetheintroductionofthediscussioninthe1980s,anumber

ofauthors,andavastrangeofliterature,havelookedintodrivingfactorsandbarriersin

placethathaveaneffectonbusinessesadoptingenvironmentalandenergyefficiency

measures.However,muchofthesehavefailedtofocusedonaparticulargroupssuchas

SMEs,alongwithnotlookingfurtherintoenergyandnon-energyintensivebusiness.Sorrell

etal.,(p.3,2000)Definesbarrierstoenergyefficiencyas“apostulatedmechanismthat

inhibitsinvestmentsintechnologythatarebothenergyefficientandeconomicallyefficient.”

Thoughthishasbeenagreeduponbymanyauthors,furtherresearchsuggeststhatthereis

asignificantdifferenceintheadaptationofthesetechnologies,notonlyrangingfromsector

tosectorbutalsofromthesizeofanenterprise.Thiscomesfromadiverserangeof

interrelatedissues;Triannietal.,(2013)highlightsfromtheirfindingsandanumberoftheir

studiesthatsmallerenterprisesfacegreaterbarriersrelatedtoenergyefficiency.They

suggestthatthelargerthebusiness,thefewertheissues.Thisisinrelationtohaving

specificroleswithintheorganization,dedicatedtotheimprovementofenergyefficiency

andidentifyingpointsofinefficiencies(Trianni,CagnoandFarnè,2014).Anumberofother

studieshavefoundthistobethecase,forfeasiblereasons.Meathetal.,(2016)founda

correlationwiththesizeofabusinessandthebarrierstheyfacewithadoptingefficiency

practices.Thisisincludingbothmandatoryandvoluntaryones.

26

Fromtheirfindings,largerfirmswerefoundtobemoreacceptingofadaptingthese

measures,duetotheirlargeravailabilityofresources,whichisoneofthemain

differentiatorsbetweentheSMEsandLEs(Largeenterprises).

Coteetal.,(2006),suggeststhatlargerfirmsaremorefrequentlyfoundtoadoptingsystems

thatwhenintegratedhelpimprovetheenergyefficiency,andinnovationofanorganization.

Includingsystemssuchasenvironmentalmanagementsystemsandenergymanagement

systems.TaylorandMurphy(2004)conductedastudysimilartothesuggestionsofCoteet

al.,(2006)acrossEuropeandtheUK,fromwhichtheviewsagreewiththepointthatlarger

firmsaremuchmoreengagedinimplementationofITprocurements,seeingenvironmental

improvementstobusinesses,thisviewisreinforcedbythefindingsofAbbottetal.(2006)

whoagreethatlargerfirmsareadoptingthesesystemsatamuchhigherrate,whereas

smallerandmediumsizedbusinesseshavebeenseentoprioritiseotherbusinesspressing

issues.Additionally,asidefromthesizeofthefirmanumberofotherfactorscomeinto

debatewhenhighlightingthemainobstaclestoreachingasustainablefuture.

Furthermore,Meathetat.,(2016)conductedastudyof202SMEs,inattemptstoidentifying

whatitisthatcontributestomakinganappropriatevoluntarySMEenergyefficiency

program.Fromtheirstudytheyfoundthemostcommonbarriersandmotivatorsfromtheir

participantsinthe“ClimateSmartbusinessprogram”weremixed.Fromthebarriersthey

identifiedaclosecorrelationinrelationtocost,lackoftime/staffcommitmentaswellas

lackofstaffengagementornegativeattitudefromstaff.

27

Whereaswiththeirmotivatorsanddrivesweseeamuchmoresignificantpercentageof

participantsagreeingwiththefinancialinterest(i.e.reducingenergycosts)asthemost

drivingfactor,followedbymeetinglegalrequirements.

Likewise,muchoftheliteratureidentifiesthattodatetherehasbeenlittleworkthat

focusesitsattentiononSMEprogramsthatarebothspecificallyvoluntary,andgenerally

aimtoemphasisanincreaseindailyenergyefficiency.However,oneexampleofsucha

studyisthe“ProjectHighland”studycarriedoutbyThollanderetal.,(2007).Relatedto

voluntarySMEinitiativesthatincreaseinenergyefficiencyinSweden,thefindingsoftheir

projectsuggestthatthereisalackofpublicpolicy,theyfoundthatastrongerpolicywould

findeffectiveenergyefficiencyimprovements,frombothlocalauthorityenergyconsultants

andregionalagencies.Thesecontributionswouldout-weighthenegativitiesbysuggesting

thatthebenefitsoftheenergysavedwasgreaterthanthemoneyspentinalargermajority

ofinstances.Anumberofotherauthorsacknowledgetheplausibilityofsuchprogramsbut

agreethattodatethereisnotenoughempiricalworkonthedesignofaprogramthat

wouldfitthediversityofSMEspecifics(Meath,LinnenlueckeandGriffiths,2016).

Anumberofotherstudiesrelatedtothevoluntaryinvolvementofenergyefficiency

schemesforSMEs,aswellasarangeofotherrelevantstudies,shareacommonalityinthe

findingsofbarriers;Fleiteretal.,(2012)andThollanderetal.,(2007)bothagreethatoneof

themainbarriersSMEsfaceinrelationadoptingenergyefficiencymeasureinthese

programsisthelackofcapital.However,thishasbeenapparentforsometimenowin

generalterms,forexample,Reddy (1991), in the early 1990s suggestedthathighinitial

costisalargecontributortowardstheissuefromtheearlystagesofthediscussion.

28

TrianniandCagno(2012)agreewiththeseviews,andfromtheirpaperhighlightafewmain

pointswhichhavealsobeenbrieflyaddressedinsection2.4.Firstly,theysuggestthatboth

publiclyandprivatelythelackofcapitalisperceivedasacrucialbarriertoreachingbetter

sustainability,andthatfurthergovernmentalsupportwillenhancetheimprovementof

energyefficiency.

Secondly,aftereconomicissues,theliteraturehighlightsthatthereisaclearlackof

informationexchangeandascarcityofdataoninterventionsofcostefficientenergy

improvements.Regardlessofthelargequantityofsupportandinformationprovidedbya

numberofgovernmentalandprivatesectorsregardingnewtechnologies,regulationsand

capitalsubsidiesasestablishedinthisliteraturereview,Triannietat.,(2014)latersuggest

thatfromtheirstudiestheyfoundthatsmallandmedium-sizedbusinessesperceivedthis

supportandinformationas“fragmentedandcomplicated”.ThisisbackedbyMeathetat.,

(2016)whosuggestsfromtheirresearchthatanumberofauthorsdebatetheneedfor

furtherdetailedinformationonenergyuseinordertoaccelerateadaptationand

implementationofgreaterenergyefficiencies.

Thispointisarguedbyanumberofauthorsmentionedintheliterature,withthe

suggestionthatimprovementwillhelppassobstaclesthathaveleadtoconfusion,low

qualityinformationandbelowstandardtechnicalskills.Regardlessofthestackingevidence

ofissuesinenergyefficiency,isitcertainlydebatablethattherehasbeenalackinrelevant

attentiontoenergyefficiency,withastrongfocusontheSMEgroup.

29

Forinstance,Trianni,CagnoandFarnè(2014)foundfromanempiricalinvestigationofthe

motivatorsandbarriers,thatfromatotalof64participantsthattookpartintheirstudy,all

ofwhicharesmalltomedium-sizedenterpriseswithinthemanufacturingindustry,only

37.5%tookadvantageofofexternalexpertconsultants.Additionally,only40%hadtakenit

uponthemselvestotakeanexternalenergyaudit1withinthelast4years,andwithinthat

timeapproximatelyonly40%oftheseparticipantsimplementedthesuggested

improvementsonceidentifyingopportunitiestosaveenergy.Thispieceofevidencefurther

addstothedisputethatthereisaneedforincentivestodrivesmallandmedium-sized

enterprisestoadoptenergyefficientmeasures.Whetherthatbeprograms,technologies,

schemesorincreasedawareness.Asitcurrentlystandstheproblemarisesfromarangeof

barrierswhichwillnotsolvethemselves.

Finally,anumberofauthorshavesuggestedthatasignificantportionofresearch

surroundingtheissuefocusesitsattentionontheseenergyintensivesectors.This

somewhatcontradictsthewholeideaofdrawingfocusonSMEsasitfollowsasimilar

ignorancethatwasmentionedintheintroduction.Forexample,pushingtheblameanda

largeportionofdirectivesonlargerfirms.RohdinandThollander(2006)concludefromtheir

studyonnon-energyintensiveSMEsinSwedenthatthereisaneedtofurtherunderstand

thebarriersanddriversrelatedtoenergyefficiencyinnon-energyintensiveindustriesin

ordertobettertacklethecomplexitiestoimplementationoftheseimprovedmeasures.

1Energyaudit:atypeofindirectenergyservice,notimprovingenergyefficiencydirectlybutisviewedasarelevantsteptoimplementingenergyimprovementmeasures.(BacklundandThollander,2015)

30

Thisemphasisestheimportanceofanumberoffindings,suchasthelongtermgoalsofthe

business,ratherthanfocusingonshorttermgoals.SMEswouldbenefitfromimplementing

longtermgoals.Forexample,theycouldfocusonplanningandphasingoutold,less

efficientequipmentathigherrates,asseeninmoreenergyintensiveindustries.Ramirez,

PatelandBlok,(p.22,2005)suggestthat:“littleisknownabouttheadoptionofenergy

technologiesandmanagementpracticesinnon-energyintensivesectors...furtherresearchisneeded

inthisarea.Weneedtoidentifyandunderstandthebarriersthatarepreventingtheadoptionof

energyefficienttechnologiesandmanagementpracticesinthenon-energyintensivesector”.Itis

evidentthatthereisadifferenceinthesebarriersanddriversfacedbydifferenttypesof

SMEs,beingthesize,industryorlevelofenergyintensity.Additionally,itisclearthereisa

largerfocusonreducingenergyuseincorrelationtoenergyintensityingeneral.Thismay

suggestthereisaneedforafocusonthenon-energyintensivesectors.

2.6Concludingchapter2

Tosummarise,fromanextensivelookintotheliteraturesurroundingthemotivators

andbarrierstoenergyefficiency,anumberofleadingauthorsagreeandacknowledgekey

barriersandmotivatorsinadiverserangeofSMEs.Theseissuesrangefromsectortosector,

size,typeofindustryandlocation.WiththeviewsofrespectedauthorsincludingTrianni,

CagnoandFarnè(2014),Meath,LinnenlueckeandGriffiths(2016)andTriannietal.,(2013)an

overviewofthemainmotivatorsandbarrierscanbeillustrated:

31

Table1-Summaryofexternalandinternalmotivatorsandbarriers.

Barriers

Motivators/Drivers

1. Economicalissues;Accessto/LackofCapitalandresources&Riskoflossandwastedcapital(Internal)

1. Financialinterest;Increasingenergyprices,reducingtheirannualenergycost(Internal)

2. Absenceofrelevantinformationandlackofclaritywithinformation(External)

2. Meetingrequirements;legal,companyandvoluntary(Internal)

3. Prioritizationofotherbusinessissues(Internal)

3. PR;Improvingthereputationofthebusiness(Internal)

4. Scarcityoftime(Internal) 4. Ambitiousindividualswithauthoritytoimplementchange(Internal)

5. Lackofcommitment,attitudeandengagementfromstaff(Internal)

6. Shortageofauthoritytomakeimprovements;regardingrentingapremisesforbusiness(External)

Conclusively,theliteratureestablishesaclearframeworkofwherethetopiccurrently

stands.Italsodrawsonanumberofpointstosuggestwhereitstilllacksinresearch,

recognisingarangeofissuethathavebeenaddressed,andpointstosomethatstillneed

addressing.Anassortmentofpointscanbemadeclearfromtheliterature,forinstance,itis

evidentthatinvestigatingbothmotivatorsandbarriersisessential.Asithelpsgathera

greaterunderstandingofwhatcontributestowardsincreasingtherateofadaptationof

energyefficientmeasures.Almostallofthecitedauthorsinthissectionmakethispoint,

anditisfurtherbackedbyHardieandNewell(2011),whichsupporttheargument

reinforcingtheimportanceofrecognisingsuchmotivatorsandbarriersforallfirms.

32

Additionally,anincreaseinbothvoluntaryandmandatoryenergyefficiencyprogrammes

needstobeseen,inordertoaddresstherangeofbarriersdiscussedanddetectthemearly.

Furthermore,Table1illustratesthecorrelationwithbarriersandmotivatorsfacedbySMEs

thatareinternalandexternalfactors,Trianni,CagnoandFarnè(2014)suggestthatalthough

manyofthesefactorsareinternal,fromstudiestheyfoundthatanumberofsmaller

businessesperceivedtheneedforexternalsupport(i.e.supportthroughlocalgovernment

ininvestmentsrelatedtotheup-takeinenergyefficiency)tobecriticaltothefuture

sustainabilityoftheirbusiness.Moreover,theliteraturealsoidentifiesadistinctdifference

thatarisesfromthesizeandsectorofabusiness,inrelationtothebarriersandmotivators

theyface.Itemphasizedthepointthatfutureliterature,andfutureenergyefficiency

programsshouldavoidbundlingbusinessesthathavedifferentanddistinctcharacteristics,

i.e.mixingmediumtolargesizedenterprises,mediumenterprises,smallenterprisesaswell

asenergyintensiveandnon-energyintensive.Suggestingtheneedfordeeperinvestigation

andagreaterdegreeofflexibilitytosuitarangeofbusinesses(TrianniandCagno2012).

Overall,studiescollectivelyagreethatwithinthesmalltomedium-sizedenterprisegroup

therehasbeenadearthinresource,thisincludescapital,timeandinformation.Agreeably,

Triannietal.,(2013)suggeststhatoncethisdearthhasbeenidentifiedbybusinesses,and

opportunitiestoimproveenergyefficiencyhavebeenpointedout,withclarity,these

businessescanpotentiallysurpassbarriersofimplementation,thiswillbenefitbothpolicy

makersandthebusinessesinvolved.Consequentlyincreasingoverallawarenessofthe

growingissue.

33

Theliteraturealsocoversawiderangeofinterrelatedtopics,includingthepositive

implicationsthatcanbeassociatedwithapplicationofrenewableenergytechnologies,their

evidentgrowthoverthelast12years,andtheirmorerecentcompetitivefeasibility.The

casestudyhighlightedinsection2.1.1addstosection2.1bysuggestingtheapplicationof

suchtechnologieswouldhavedrasticbeneficialimplicationonenergycosts.

Furthermore,theliteratureapproachestheresearchfromarangeofangles,andlooksinto

waysofimprovingenergyefficiency.Forexample,itsuggeststheuseofenergy

managementsystemsandsmartgridsasamethodofvisualizingenergyflows,inorderto

effectivelyimprovethecurrentuseofenergy,tooptimizetheirenergyuse,aswellasto

shiftenergyusetolesscongestedtimestocollectivelybenefitoverallenergyusethrough

thegrid.Allofthementionedmethodscanbeuseinconjunctionwitheachother,and

collectivelyhelpimprovethesituation,intermsofthecasestudydescribedinthissectionof

thepaper,havebeensuggestedtoprovidepositiveoutcome,benefitingawideaudience.

34

Chapter3

Thischapterdrawsanumberoffactorsintothedebate.Brininginallofthefindings

fromtheliteraturereview.Chapterthreewillmoveontoamorepracticalmethodology,and

discusstheapproachtakenforwardintheresearchmethods,answeringquestionsuchas

whatcouldbedone,whathasbeendoneandwhatshouldbedoneinrelationtothethesis

question.Thisdiscussionaimstoaddressthisessaysresearchaimandobjectives,providing

evidencetodiscernwhetherornotthesehaveorcouldhavebeensuccessfullyaddressed,

addingandcontributingtothefieldofknowledge.

3.0Researchmethods

Fromtheliteraturereview,anumberofpointshavehadsignificantimpactsonthe

purposeoftheresearchconductedinthispaper.Afteridentifyingwhatthekeyconcerns

andissuewereraisedbyanumberofauthors,aswellasgatheringagreaterunderstanding

ontheedgeandboundariesoftheunknownsurroundingtheresearchquestion,the

frameworkoftheresearchathandaimstoexpandonthisunknownwiththeuseofa

numberofresearchtechniques.

35

3.1Overviewofresearchmethodology

Researchthroughoutthisworkwillbedescriptiveaswellaspositivistic,andwill

analyseandcollectbothquantitativeandqualitativedatawiththeuseofsurveyingand

interviewing.Thismethodologyisusedtohelpanswertheresearchquestionathand.

Thepapercontainstwoapproachesofresearch,thefirstapproachiswiththeuseof

surveying;thisiscarriedouttoalargernumberofparticipants,usingbothonlinesurveying

toolssuchasSurveyMonkeyaswellasthedistributionofphysicalsurveystolocalSMEs.

Thesurveyaimstofindrelevantinformationandfocusesononesideoftheissue,collating

datafromarangeofSMEsregardlessoftheirsector,sizeandbusinesspurposewiththe

purposeofcoveringquestionsrelatingtoanumberofconnectedissues.Examplesofsuch

issuesincludetheuseandviewsofrenewableenergytechnologies,viewsonthequalityand

clarityofinformationandopinionsongovernmentaleffortsandawarenessoftheissue.

Thesecondapproachoftheresearchfollowsamorespecificmethodologywiththeuseof

interviewingsectorspecificSMEs;thisapproachwasconductedviaresearchingand

selectingspecificSMEsthatwereincertainhigh-energyintensiveindustries,suchas

construction,cementandrefineries,aswellasSMEsthatareinlow-energyintensive

industries.

36

Thesectorspecificinterviewingwasdonetoestablishedafirmunderstandingofthe

differencesinbarriersanddriverstoenergyefficiency,relatingtothepurposeoftheir

business,i.e.confirmingthepointsmadebytheliterature,whichsuggestadistinct

differencebetweensmalltomedium-sizedbusinessthatareinenergyintensivesectors.

Fromthisapproachanevennumberofbothenergyandnon-energyintensiveSMEswere

selectedwhichwereinsimilarindustries.Inanattemptstodistinguishthedifferencesin

viewsfromthetwogroups,thesamequestionswereaskedregardingwhattheybelievethe

mainbarrierstoimprovingenergyefficiencyareaswellaswhatdrivesenergyefficiencyin

theirbusinesses.

Theseapproacheswerechosenastheyarereliableandfitforthepurposeoftheresearch,

thedatacollection,withtheuseofbothsurveyingandinterviewing,canbeanalysedtohelp

addresstheresearchquestion,andportrayamoredetailedimageoftheissuesdiscussedin

theliteraturereview.Toensuretheresearchapproachisbothvalidandsufficient,i.e.to

ensureithasdoneenoughinvestigatingandansweredthethesisquestion,thesampleof

questionsweredevelopedtoansweraspecificrangeofquestions,dividedintotwo

categoriesandaimedatdifferentaudiences.Throughouttheentireresearchanideologyof

reliabilityhasbeencarefullyconsidered,withadetaileddescriptionsothatitcouldbe

furtherdevelopedorcouldcontributetobeingreproducedandexpandedonbyanother

researcherforfuturework.

37

Inordertoeffectivelyaddresstheresearchaimandobjectives,aquestionnairehadtobe

developedthatwouldensurearangeofsuitablyin-depthquestions,toallowforasimilarly

detaileddiscussion.Moreso,thequestionsmustbeadequateenoughtoidentifyand

distinguishdifferentresponsesfromtheparticipantsforanalysispurpose.

3.2Questionnairedevelopment

Aspreviouslymentioned,thesuccessoftheresearchmethodologyisstronglylinkedto

theresponsesgivenbytherangeofparticipants,thusdefiningtheimportanceofthe

questionsbeingasked.Forthefirstpartoftheresearch,withtheuseofthequestionbased

survey,theresearchedaimedtoidentifyhowamixtureofsmalltomediumsized

businesses,regardlessoftheirsectorandotherIdiosyncrasies,perceivedthemovetowards

energyefficiency,seekingtoanswerquestionssuchas‘isthereductionofenergyuseakey

objectivewithinyourbusiness’and‘Doesyourorganisationmakeuseofrenewableenergy

technologiesandifsowhichisthemostused’.Thetypeofquestionsusedinthissectionof

theresearchcoverarangeofcategories,suchastheviewsonenergyefficiency,the

applicationofrenewables,andgeneralawarenessofthetopic.Thesequestionswere

greatlyinfluencedbythesurroundingliterature,andwerealsocreatedinorderto:gathera

greaterunderstandingonwhatstagethesedaytodaybusinessesareatinregardstoenergy

efficiency.Tofindtrendsthatsuggestthereisalackinparticularareas.Toproduceabetter

perspectiveonwidelyarguedpoints,suchasonessuggestingthatthereisadearthin

awarenessandsupportwithintheSMEgroup.

38

Andfinally,providingagreaterinsightintoanumberofpointssummarisedfromthe

literaturereview.Thefirstresearchmethodalsoopenednewdoorsforthemoreindustry-

specificquestionsthatareaskedinthesecondsectionoftheresearchmethodology.

Aspreviouslymentioned,thesecondstageoftheresearchdrawsitsframeworkfrom

section2.5,focusingonquestionsrelatingtothemainbarriersanddriversfacedbyarange

ofenergyintensiveandnon-energyintensiveSMEs.

Althoughstronglydrivenbytheliteraturereview,thequestiondevelopmentforthissection

wasalsostronglyinfluencedbytheinterviewingprocess,amuchwiderrangeofinterrelated

questionswereinitiallyselectedforinterviewingbothsectors.Whatwasfoundfromthe

processwasacorrelationwiththesebusinessesandthebarriersanddriverstheyfaced,

thusnarrowingthequestionselectiontoahandfulofspecificandrelevantquestions,which

havethebenefitofbothsupportingtheargumentscreatedinsection2.5andsupporting

theresearchquestion,aimandobjectives.

39

3.3Problemsfacedwithresearch

Onthecontrary,itmaybebeneficialforfutureresearcherstogatheraperspective

ontheproblemsfacedduringtheresearch.Whileattemptingtocompletetheresearchat

handanumberofproblemswerepredictedthroughtheuseofriskassessments,these

includefactorssuchascostandtimerestraints.However,anumberofunforeseenbarriers

becamemorerelevantwhenundergoingtheresearch.Itbecameapparentthatthereisa

generallackofwillingnesstoconfronttheissueofsustainabilitywithintheSMEsector.

AsignificantnumberofSMEsofwhichwerecontactedfortheresearchwouldshyaway

fromtheimportanceofenergyefficiency,itwasfoundthatthesurveywasmuchmore

successfulwithrespecttothequantityofrespondentsandtimeconsumption.Thisis

believedtobeduetorespondentshavingtheabilitytosupplythisinformation

anonymously,whereaswiththeinterviewmethod,thereisalmostagreatersenseof

accountabilitywithintheparticipation.Onemethodfoundtoovercomethisbarrierwasto

contactsmalltomediumsizedbusinesseswhichhadbeenknowntoparticipatedinenergy

efficiencyimprovementswithlocalcouncilsinthepast.Participationandresponsetimesof

theseparticulargroupofSMEswasdrasticallygreater,whichinitselfsuggeststhatthose

whoengageinenergyefficiencyimprovementsaremorewillingtoaccepttheissueand

assistotherswiththeirexperiences.

40

3.4EthicalConsideration

Additionally,ItisessentialtoconsiderEthicalconsiderationswithallacademicstudies.

AssuggestedbyCameronandPrice(p.2,2009),“Mostacademicinstitutionsandpublic

sectororganisationswillrequireyoutosubmitanoutlineofyourresearchforacademic

approvalbeforeanyprimarydataiscollected”.Theresearchintendsoncollectingprimary

datafromaarrayofdifferentSMEs,andthusmusttakeresponsibilityinobtainingethical

approval.Reasonsforethicalapprovalincludeensuringprivacyandprotectingindividuals

fromanyformorharm.TheresearchattemptstofollowguidelinessuppliedbytheBritish

EducationalResearchAssociation(BERA)inrelationtogeneralethicalresponsibilities,and

bydoingsuchappropriateresearchcanbeassured;“Theconfidentialandanonymous

treatmentofparticipants'dataisconsideredthenormfortheconductofresearch”(BERA,

2011,p.7).Byfollowingsuchpractice,thepaperwillconfidentlyprotecttheparticipantsthat

havetakenpartintheresearchbykeepingtheiridentityanonymous.CameronandPrice

(2009,p.121)suggestthreemainresponsibilitiesforaresearchertodisplaytowards

respondents,theseinclude“respect,informedconsentandconfidentiality”.Toensure

consent,thepaperwillensuretomakeitwelldefinedastothepurposeoftheresearch,as

wellasthehow,whereandwhytheinformationwillbeused.Inattemptstogive

participantssufficientinformationregardingtheresearch,allowingforthemtodecisive

theirinvolvement(CameronandPrice,2009,p.121).

41

Chapter4

Chapterfourattemptstoillustratethefindingsfromtheuseoftheresearch

methodology.Drawingontheresultsofbothsetsofdata,ananalysiscanbeconductedand

discussionscanbecarriedoutinrelationtothetrendsfound.Separatedintotwosections

thesetsofdataareinterrelatedandthuswillbetreatedassuchwhenconcludingthe

findingsfromthissection.

4.0Questionnairereturnrateforsection1

Beforeidentifyingpatternsanddiscussingresults,itisimportanttohighlightthe

returnrateofsurveysforbothtypesofquestionsasitmayhelpdrawagreaterperspective

withthewilinesstorespondinthedifferentsectors.Aswellasforresearchpurposes,itmay

giveamoredetailedpictureofthemosteffectivemethodsandapproachesforfuture

studies.Furthertothis,outofthetotal138surveyssent20werereturned,withahigher

rateofreturnfromthephysicalcopies.Moreoftheresultswerereturnfromuseofonline

surveying,mostlikelyduetothehigherquantityofsentsurveysfromthisapproach.

42

4.1ResultsandAnalysisforsection1

Asmentionedinthischapter,thepurposeofsectiononeoftheresearchmethod

leansmoretowardsfindingouttowhatextentrenewableenergytechnologiesarebeing

implemented,andtheviewssurroundingsupportandawarenessofenergyefficiencyin

SMEs.Thetwotypesofsurveyssentoutforsectiononearealmostidentical,andtheresults

suggestavarietyofpointswithinthethreecategoriesmentioned,aswillbeoutlined.

Firstly,itwasfoundfromtheinitialquestion,thatthereductionofenergyusewasnota

priorityinover15%ofparticipants.Moreover,asignificantmajoritysuggestedthateven

thoughitwasindicatedasakeyconcern,thosewithmoreauthoritywithinthebusinesses

weredoinglittletonothingabouttheissueinattemptstopromoteamoreenergyefficient

business.

Figure5-Questionnaire1.0

43

Figure6-Questionnaire1.1

Figure7-Questionnaire1.2

44

Thenextsection,focusingontheuseofrenewableenergytechnologies,(asillustratedin

figures6and7)highlightsthateventhoughoverthelast12yearstherehasbeenadrastic

growthinrenewabletechnologies,assuggestedintheliterature,thesetechnologystatistics

maybeunderpinnedbyamuchwiderscopeofusers.Forinstance,thismayincludelarger

businessesandhouseholds.Additionally,thisgrowthmaystillbelurkingintointegrating

itselfintotheSMEgroup.Themajorityoftherespondentssuggestedthattheyareyetto

incorporatetheuseofthesetechnologies.However,inthecommentbox,anumberof

participantsmentionedthattheyhadplanstomakeuseofRETsinthefuture,mainlywith

theuseofSolarPV,implyingthatitisindeedapopularandgrowingchoice.Theselectionof

renewableswascloselyfollowedbytheuseofwindturbinepowergeneration.Though,itis

noteworthytomentiontheselectionofparticipantsaremainlyfocusedaroundthecityof

LondonandLeicester,otherareasclosertotheshoremayhaveahigherselectionofwind,

hydro,orotherrenewableenergygeneration.

Followingthisquestion,andinrelationtoit,theparticipantswhichindicatedtheyhad

installedsuchtechnologieswereaskedtospecifytheirestimatedpaybackperiod.The

resultsfromthisquestionshowedthatamajorityofparticipantshadexperiencedalonger

paybackperiodthanwasinitiallyquotedtothemviatheirsupplier,withthepaybackperiod

averagingataround10years.Finally,whenaskedwhatothermeasureshadbeenputin

placetoreduceenergyuse,asignificantnumberofparticipantssaidnoothermeasures

wereinplace.Whereas,ahandfulofrespondentssuggestedthattheonlyothermeasurein

place,weresimpleenergysavingmethodssuchaslightingsensorsandheatingcontrols.

45

Figure8-Questionnaire1.3

Figure9-Questionnaire1.4

46

Figure10-Questionnaire1.5

Furthermore,Figures8,9and10aimtoidentifyanumberofawarenessrelatedissues,asit

isapparentfromtheliteraturethatagenerallackofawarenessisoneofthekeyissues

surroundingenergyefficiencyinSMEs.Thesurveycertainlyseemstocorrespondwiththe

viewsoftheauthorsmentionedintheliteraturereviewasacompellingnumberof

participantsagree,indirectly,withthesuggestionthatthereisagenerallackofawareness.

47

ThequestionsinthethreefigurescanallbefoundintheDECCadviceguide,andare

consideredvaluableinformationinarangeofdifferentaspects.Forinstance,fromthe

literature,ithasbeenpointedoutthatsomeofthemostsignificantbarrierstoenergy

efficiencyintheSMEgrouprelatedtoeconomical,technology,awarenessandinformational

relatedissues.Figure6illustratesthatastaggering83%ofparticipantssuggestedthatthey

havebeenunawareofenergyefficiencyloansthataresuppliedviamosthighstreetbanks.

TheDECCadviceguidetoenergyefficiencyforSMEshighlightthat:

“somespecialistprovidersofferdedicatedenergyefficiencyloanproductstoSMEs.These

arespecificallydesignedtofundenergyefficiencyenhancementsandwillcovertheupfront

costsofinstallingenergysavingmeasures.Asthemoneyyousavefromimprovedenergy

efficiencycanoftenbemorethanthecostoftheloan,thisoftencreatesapositivecash

flow.”(DepartmentofEnergy&ClimateChange,2016).

Suggestingtheimportanceandvalueofsuchinformation,andthebenefitsitcanbringto

SMEs.Aspartoftheseenergyefficiencyloans,theDepartmentofEnergyandClimate

change(2016),addsthatmostoftheselenderswouldrequirethebusinessinquestionto

completeanenergyauditinordertoestablishwheretheenergysavingscanbemost

effectivelymade.Followingthis,theparticipantswereaskediftheywouldconsider

completinganexternalenergyaudittoidentifywhereenergysavingopportunitycouldbe

foundintheirbusiness.Alargepercentageofwhich,indicatedthattheywouldbeinfavour

ofthis,puttingforwardthatthelackofprogressmaynotbeduetoalackofmotivation

fromthesebusiness,butratherarisefromawarenessrelatedissues.

48

Toaddtothis,Figure7portraysadearthinawarenesswithingovernmentaltechnology

support,asamajorityofparticipantsalsoindicatedtheywerenotawareofthementioned

“technologylist”,northesupportgivenonaselectionoftechnologiesincludedonthatlist

createdbythegovernment.ThisisfurtherbackedwiththeresultsshowsinFigure8,asit

highlightsthatthesesparticipantswerefoundtobealsounawareoftheopportunityto

reducetheirpaybackperiodonsuchimplementedtechnologies.Withtheseresults,

participantscollectivelyagreedthattheywouldbemoreinclinedtoadoptingsuch

renewabletechnologieshadtheybeenmoreawareofthesupportonoffer.Especiallythose

whohadpreviouslymentionedthattheexcessivedurationofthepaybackperiodofthese

technologieswasadeterrenttowardsadaptation.

Figure11–Questionnaire1.6

49

Finally,thelastquestionofthequestionnairesexhibitedthelargestmarginofdifferencein

views.Whenaskediftheparticipantswereawareoftheirmoreenergyintensiveprocesses,

resultsillustrate92%ofparticipantswerenotawareofwhatthemostenergyintensive

processwas.Thesmallernumberofparticipantsthatwereawarecamefromenergy

intensivebusinesses.Someparticipantsgavedescriptiononwhattheirmostenergy

intensiveprocesseswere;thesameparticipantsalsosuggestedthatnotmuchwasbeing

donebythosewithmoreauthorityintheorganisation,andthattherewasalackoffocuson

reducingenergyuseinthoseparticularprocesses,duetothehighupfrontcostassociated

withsuchimprovements.

4.2Concludingsection1results

Conclusively,anumberoffindingscanbesummarisedfromthefirstsectionofthe

research,firstlyitmaybebeneficialtofuturereadersandresearcherstomentionthe

importanceofusingmultiplesurveystoreceivearangeofdifferentresults,itwasfound,

withtheuseofonlinesurveyingthattherewasalackofresponsesfromSMEsthatwere

moreenergyintensive,andthussendingoutorphysicallygivingoutpapersurveysto

receiveamoreaccuraterangeofresultsmaybenecessary.Asawhole,theresearchfrom

thissectionhashelpedsupportanumberoffindingsmentionedintheliteraturereview.

50

Itsuggeststhatalthoughareasonablenumberofbusinessesdoinfactviewenergy

reductionasanimportanttopic,thereisnotenoughincentiveforthemtosurpassthe

barriersofimplementingafeasiblesolution.

Thestudysuggestsanumberofreasonsforthis,forinstanceithighlightsthattherehas

beenashortfallinprioritisingenergyefficiency;thismaybeduetothemorecrucialissueof

keepingbusinessrunningandprofitable.WithintheSMEgroupitseemsdecisionslike

these,frombusinesstobusinessaremadebythosewhoareinmoreauthority,whoseem

tobemoreoccupiedrunningthebusinessthanthoseinlargerorganisations.Andduetothe

natureofsmallandmedium-sizedbusinesses,thefindingsseemtoillustrateaperspective

ofshorttermgoalsandquickprofits,ratherthantheviewoflong-termgoalsthatis

sometimesassociatedwithlargerorganisations.SuggestingareasonforSMEsnotwanting

totakeonthelongtermadvantagesofrenewableenergytechnologies.

Aspointedoutinthestudy,themostpopularchoiceofrenewabletechnologiesseemstobe

theuseofSolarPV,followedshortlybytheuseofwindenergy.Asignificantportionof

participantsdidnottakeadvantageoftheseRETs;althoughsomehadplannedforfuture

implementation,thestudyhighlightsthemaindeterrentforthedirectimplementation

arisingfromthesomewhatextensivepaybackperiodandupfrontcostassociatedwithsuch

technologies.Thoughthepointhasbeenmadeintheliteraturethatthereiscertainlya

stronglevelofsupportfortheseorganisationsinbecomingmoreenergyefficient,thestudy

suggeststhatthemajorityoftheseparticipantshavenotbeenthoroughlymadeawareof

governmentalsupportavailabletothem,thusagreeingwiththeviewsofanumberofcited

authors.

51

4.4Resultsandanalysisforsection2

Section2oftheresearchcontainsresultsfromtwoapproaches,telephone

interviewsandfacetofaceinterviewing.Aspreviouslymentioned,sectiontwoslightly

straysawayfromthetopicscoveredinsectiononeoftheresearch.Sectiontwoattemptto

coverthekeyelementofdiscussionhighlightedintheliteraturereview,section2.5,

coveringthemainbarriersandmotivatorsfacedbySMEs.Furthermore,thisstudyattempts

addtotheliteratureandendeavourstodistinguishdifferencesinviewsofthesebarriers,

anddrivers,fromthetwodifferentgroupsofSMEs,energyandnon-energyintensive.The

studyconductedtwodifferentrangeofquestionstogatherdatafrombothpartiesontheir

viewsonthedriversandbarrierstoenergyefficiency.Initially,theparticipantswereaskeda

largesampleofquestionandwereaskedtoratetheirviewsfromascaleof1-5,thelower

endofthescalewasrepresentedasnotasignificantbarrier/motivatorandViseversa.

Analysingthefirstsetofresultsbycomparingthedata(illustratedinfigures12and13),the

firstpointthatcanbemadefromobservationisthesignificantdifferenceinawarenessfrom

thetwogroupofparticipants.Itseemsfromthestudythattheparticipantsofwhichwerein

energy-intensivesectorsweremuchmoreawareoftheirenergyuse,andtheimplicationof

overusage.Thisdifferencemayarisefromanumberofreasons.Forexample,duetothe

natureoftheirbusinessandtheirlargerconsumptionofenergytheywillnaturally

accumulatelargerenergybills.Thus,inevitablyforcingtheirbusinesstobemoreawareof

theenergyuseandenergyefficiency,inattemptstobecomemoreprofitable.

52

Figure12-Questionnaire2.0

Figure13-Questionnaire2.1

4.8

4.2

1.5

2

4.7

1.1

0 1 2 3 4 5 6

Economicalissues;lackofcapital

Informationandsupport

Organisational;prioritizationofotherissues

Behaviour;lackofcommitmentinternally

Technologyrelated

Awarenessofissue

EnergyIntensiveSMEs- BarriersAverageScore

4.8

4.4

3

2.2

1

4.5

0 1 2 3 4 5 6

Economicalissues;lackofcapital

Informationandsupport

Organisational;prioritizationofotherissues

Behaviour;lackofcommitmentinternally

Technologyrelated

Awarenessofissue

NonenergyintensiveSmes- barriersAveragescore

53

Additionally,whenaskingthetwogroupsabouttheirviewsonthelevelofinfluence

technologyrelatedbarriershaveontheirbusinesses,theresultillustratesaverysimilar

findingtotheconcernsofawarenesspreviouslydiscussed.Onegroupfoundthattechnology

relatedconcernswereofmuchgreaterimportancethantheothergroup.Thegroupthat

wereenergy-intensive,whichwerealsomuchmoreinformedofthegeneralawareness

relatingtoenergyefficiency,foundthattechnologywasamongstthehighestrankingof

barriers.Whereasthenon-energyintensiveparticipantssuggestedthatitwasamongstthe

lowestrankingofbarriers.Thismaybeduetoanumberofreasonsincludingthegeneral

higherenergy-usefromtheparticulargroupofparticipants.

Anotheranalysisthatcanbemadefromobservation,isthedifferenceofviewssharedby

thetwogroupsofparticipantsonthesignificanceofprioritisingotherbusinessrelated

issues.Thoughthishasamuchsmallermarginincomparisontotheothertwopointsmade

(i.e.awarenessandtechnologyrelatedissues)thereisstillevidentlyacollectivedifference.

Whenspeakingtotheparticipantsaboutthisconcern,themoreenergyintensivesector

cumulativelyagreedthat,duetothenatureoftheirworkandthehighcostsassociatedwith

theuseofenergy,annually,thataprioritisationofenergyreductionmustbemade.

Interlinkingwithremainingprofitable,andwiththeirviewsontheawarenessoftheissue.

Whereasthenon-energyintensivesectormayfindprioritisingotherissues(i.e.remaining

profitableviaotherbusinessprocedures)asmoreimportant,forinstance,insomecases

reducingenergyusemaynothaveadrasticeffectontheirprofitsincomparisontothe

othergroup.

54

Finally,arangeoffactorssuchas;Behaviour,economicalaswellasinformationandsupport

relatedissues,allseemtocorrelateasequallyaseffectiveofabarriertomoreenergy

efficientbusinesspractices,withinbothgroupsofparticipants.Thissuggeststherearemore

incommonwiththebarriersfacedfromgrouptogroupthantherearedifferences.

However,itcanbesuggestedfromtheliteraturereviewthattheseresultsconfirm,orat

leastfurtherreinforcestheargumentthatnotallSMEsexperiencethesamebarriers,and

thatitwouldbeimpracticaltoimplementauniversalsystemtotacklingtheissue,pointing

towardsamorefeasible,flexiblesolution.

Thelastobservationsthatcanbemadefromtheanalysisoftheresultsistheevident

emphasisonthemainbarriersfacedbybothgroups,thisincludes;Lackofcapitalaswellas

lackofinformationandsupport.Theresultsfromthestudyconductedseemtocorrelate

verywellwithalargenumberofjournalsandarticlesmentionedintheliteraturereview,

andsuggestthatregardlessofthetypeofbusinessrunbyaSME,energyornon-energy

intensive,somebarriers,andmostlikelythebarrierssuggested,willbecommonlyfacedby

allSMEsandthusshouldbethemainfocusinfutureworkonimprovingenergyefficiencyin

SMEs.

Thenextportionofresearchfocusesitsattentionontheviewsofthesameparticipantson

themotivatorsanddriverstoenergyefficiencyintheirorganisation.Similarly,tothefirst

viewsonbarriers,thissectoraskedthesamenumberofparticipantstoratetheir

effectivenessofeachmotivatortoenergyefficiencyfromascaleof1to5.Theresultsof

whichareillustratedinFigures14and15.

55

27%

11%

26%

22%

14%

EnergyIntensiveSMEs- DriversAverageScore

Economic;energycosts Regulationsinternal Regulationsexternal

ImprovingcompanyImage Enviromental

34%

17%19%

21%

9%

Non-EnergyIntensiveSMEs- DriversAveragescore

Economic;energycost Regulationsinternal Regulationsexternal

Improvingcompanyimage Enviromental

Figure14-Questionnaire2.2

Figure15-Questionnaire2.3

56

Aspointedout,Figures14and15illustratesfindingsfromthestudy,whichaimtoidentify

viewsonmotivatorsforenergyefficiencyinbothgroupsofparticipants,energyandnon-

energyintensive.Thisisdoneinattempttoestablishaclearframeworkofwhere

commonalitieslaywithinthemotivators,wheretheydifferbetweenthetwogroups,and

wheretheattentionoffutureworkshouldfocusitsattention.

Initialobservationsillustrateanexpectedfinding,thelargestdriverforbothgroupsof

participantstobeingmoreenergyefficiencyistheeconomicpayback(i.e.thereductionof

annualenergycosts).Thisbeingslightlymoreagreeduponwiththenon-energyintensive

sectorwhichissomewhatunexpected.However,therangeofothermotivatorsmayhave

influenceoneachsector.Forinstance,theenergyintensiveparticipantsfoundthatalarge

motivatorforimplementingenergyefficiencymeasures,istheexternalregulationsputin

effectviagovernmentalinitiatives.Thiscanbeeithervoluntaryormandatory.Whereas,the

non-energyintensiveparticipantsfoundthismotivatortobelesseffective(yetstilltheir2nd

mostmotivating).Thismayarisefromaspectrumofreasons,forexample,fallinginto

criteriathatthenleadsthebusinesstofitintoanindustryspecificmandatoryregulation.

Furthermore,bothgroupsofparticipantsagreedthatimprovingenergyefficiencywould

improvethereputationoftheirbusiness.Theperspectiveofhavingagreener,more

environmentally-friendlybusinesseshasmanybenefits,includingattractingmorebusiness

andcreatingpositivemoralwithinemployees.Fromtheresultsbothgroupsofparticipants

equallyagreedthatthiswasamongthetopdriverstoenergyefficiency.

57

However,bothgroupsalsocollectivelysuggestedthatthewellbeingoftheenvironmentwas

oneofthelowestrankeddriverstoenergyefficiencyonthelist,whichsomewhat

contradictsthepointmadeonreputation.

4.4Concludingresultsforsection2

Firstly,asanoverviewofthestudy,itisevidentthatthereisclearlyahighernumber

ofbarriers,andinsomecasemulti-barrierstobefacedbyarangeofSME,thisisin

comparisontothenumberofdriversandmotivatorstoenergyefficiency.Additionally,the

studyalsopointsoutanevidentdifferenceinviewssharedbythetworangeofparticipants,

inboththemotivatorsandbarrierstoenergyefficiency.Onesignificantpointthatcanbe

builtfromthecomparisonoftheresultsillustratedinFigures7and8,isthatthegreatest

differencesinviewsfromthesetwogroupofparticipantsonthebarriersfaced,arisesfrom

threemainsectors;thegeneralawarenessoftheissueofenergyefficiencyandenergyuse,

technologyrelatedbarriers,andtheprioritisingofotherbusinessrelatedissues.Aspointed

out,thegeneralawarenessoftheissueseemstocorrelatewellwiththelevelofenergyuse,

thosebusinesseswhoweremoreenergy-intensive,weremoreawareoftheneedto

improveenergyefficiency,anditcanbeinsinuatedthatthisseemstohaveadirecteffecton

theprioritisationofenergyefficiency.Theresultsillustratethattheenergy-intensivesector

beingmoreawareofenergyefficiencyrelatedissues,werealsomoreinclinetofocusingon

thereductionofenergy,andthismaybeinterconnectedwiththeirviewsontechnology

relatedbarriers.

58

AsmentionedtheuseofRETcanbeasuitablemethodforimprovingenergyefficiency,and

duetoafocusonenergyefficiency,technologyrelatedbarriersareexpectedtobemore

relevant.

Ontheotherhand,thenon-energyintensivesectorsresultssuggesttheyweredrastically

lessawareofenergyefficiencyrelatedissuesandmorelikelytofocusonotherbusiness

matters,thusdeemingtechnologyrelatedbarriersnotasmuchofapriority,supportingthe

argumentmade.Furthermore,althoughtheresultssuggestacertaintyindifferencesin

barriersthatarisefromdifferentsectorsintheSMEgroup,italsosuggestsanumberof

universalor,commonbarriersofwhichbothgroupsofSMEsseemtoexperience.This

includesalackofcapital,alackofrelevantinformationandexternalsupport,andfinally,

someinfluencesfromtheinternalbehaviourfrommembersoftheorganisation,atalllevels.

Thesebarriersarewidelyrecognisedinthesurroundingliteratureandshouldbeexpected

fromsuchanexperiment.

Finally,itmayberelevanttointerlinkandcategorisesomeofthesebarriersasmulti-

barriers,forinstancethelackofcapitalseemstobeakeybarriertoimplementation,and

yetunfortunatelyitseemsthatthelackofawarenessonrelevantinformationandonthe

supportavailable,furtheraggravatestheproblem.Additionally,theresultsalsoconfirm

pointsmentionedintheliteraturereview,andsuggestthenumberofbarriersfacedby

thesebusinessesoutweighthemotivatorsanddrives,withtheeconomicalpaybackbeing

themoreappealingmotivatortoimplementationofenergyefficientmeasuresinboth

groupsofparticipants,followedcloselywiththeimprovementoftheircompanyimage.

59

Chapter5

Thischapteraimstodiscussthemostrelevantpointsmadeinpriorchapters,andfrom

whichwillattempttoaddrecommendation,inordertoeffectivelycontributetothe

researchquestion.Additionally,chapterfiveendeavourstoaddresswhatelsecouldhave

beendone,whatfutureworkandnewliteratureshouldfocusoninlightofBREXIT,andhow

resultsfoundfromthisstudycomparetocurrentknowledge.

5.0Discussionandrecommendation

Thepaperaddressesanumberofpointsrelatedtotheenergyefficiencyinsmallto

medium-sizedenterprises.Themainfocusintheinitialsectionofthepaper,theliterature

review,foundtheimportanceofunderstandingthatSMEsasagroupfaceadiverserangeof

barriersandmotivators.Theseofwhichdiffertolargerenterprisesandadditionallydiffer

withintheirowngroup(i.e.energyandnon-energyintensive).Theliteraturealsohelps

identifyanumberofpoints,suchas:thegrowthandrelevanceofrenewableenergy

technologies,theupriseandbenefitsofamovetomoremodernsmartgrids,andtheir

potentialtoincreaseinformationexchange,thepaybacksassociatedwithimplementation

ofsystemssuchasEnergymanagementsystemsandthediverserangeofsupportavailable

totheseSMEsbothpublicallyandprivately.

60

Thepaperidentifiesfromthesurroundingliteraturethatunderstandingthesebarriersand

motivatorsareimperativeforfutureadaptationofenergyefficientmeasures.Also,although

therehasbeenalargecollectivefocusonenergyefficiencyintheSMEgroup,therehad

beenadearthinattentiontonon-energyintensiveSMEs.Hence,astrongfocusinchapter

fourisaimedatbothfindingsimilaritiesthatadiverserangeofSMEsagreeon,andfinding

differencesinviewsonthebarriersandmotivatorstoenergyefficiencyinbothenergyand

non-energyintensiveSMEs.

Anumberoffindingsfromchapterfouragreewithviewsillustratedbyarangeofauthorsin

thesurroundingliterature,andconfirmwhatothershavefoundandsuggested.For

instance,asignificantportionofparticipantsagreethatthereductionofenergyuseisa

priorityintheirbusiness.However,theimportanceofwhich,inalargenumberofinstances,

hasbeenoverweighedbythelackofincentivetosurpasssuchbarriers.Thepaperidentifies

thatthesebarriersindeeddifferbetweenthetwogroupofparticipants,andfoundboth

similaritiesaswellasdissimilarityinbothmotivatorsandbarriers.

Thestudyalsofindsnewinsightstotheliterature,aspreviouslymentioned,itseems

apparentthatinthepasttherehasbeenalackofemphasisonsector-specificSMEs.By

investigatingtheviewsfromthetwogroupsofSMEs,thestudyfoundthatthereisan

evidentdifferenceontheviewssharedonenergyefficiencybetweenthetwodifferent

sectors.Fromanalysis,thestudyisabletoverifywheretheirviewsagree,wherethese

viewsdiffer,andisabletosuggestfuturerecommendation.

61

Backgroundresearchrevealsthat,somebarrierstoenergyefficiencyshouldbeexpected,

thisincludeslackofcapitalforinstance.Thestudyrevealsthatoutofthesixmainbarriers

focusedon,onlythreewerefoundtobemutuallyviewedasaneffectivebarrier,inorderof

effectiveness:

1. Economicalrelatedissues:Lackofcapital,highcostassociationwithtechnology.

2. Informationandsupport:Lackofexternalinformationandsupporti.e.

governmentaladviceandtechnologyloans.

3. Behaviour:lackofcommitmentinternallyi.e.staffnotengagingwithenergy

efficientmeasures.

Similarly,withdrivingfactors,priortoobtainingresultsitwasexpectedthattheseSMEs

wouldvieweconomicalrelatedissuesasthelargestdriver.Onceagainthreeofthesixmain

driverswerefoundtobemutuallyviewsasaneffectivedriver,inorderofeffectiveness:

1. Economical:Reducingannualenergycostviabeingmoreenergyefficient.

2. ExternalRegulations:Governmentalregulations,voluntaryandinvoluntary

directives,mandatorydirectives.

3. Improvingcompanyimage:Attractingmorebusinesswiththepositiveoutlookof

operatingmoreeconomically.

62

Thestudyfoundthat,muchofthesecollectivelyagreeduponbarriersanddrivers,found

fromthediverserangeofbusinessesthatparticipatedinthestudy,interlinkwitheach

other.Forexample,theeconomicalbarrier,whichwasfoundtobethemosteffectiveinall

instances,couldbereducedwithagreaterinputfromlocalgoverningbodiesinsupportand

information.Itwasfoundintheliterature,thatthissupportandinformationwas

overwhelminglyavailabletothesebusinessesintheformofgrants,adviceguidesand

subsidiesincertaintechnologies.However,thestudyathandalsofoundthatthese

participantsexperiencealackofawarenessoftherangeofinformationavailable,andthus

nottakingadvantagesofthefullpotentialofsupport,preventinggreateradaptationof

energyefficientmeasures.

Recommendationcanbecreatedfromanalysisoftheresultsandsuggestthat,future

literatureshouldfocusonthecommonalitiesfoundinbothbarriersandmotivatorsfacedby

bothgroups,andshouldaimtoidentifywhichareawouldbethemostefficienttoaddress.

Thestudysuggeststhatduetothenatureofthebarriers,addressingoneofthemutual

issuesmayhaveadominoeffectandsupportthenextmosteffectiveissue,asmentioned

aboveintheeconomicalandsupportrelatedexample:byincreasingsupporteconomically,

economicalbarriersarereduced.Additionally,thepaperagreeswiththerespectedviewsof

anumberofauthorssuchasThollander(2015),andrecommendstoavoidbundlingSMEsin

differentsectors(i.e.energyandnonenergyintensive)aswellasbusinessesthatdifferin

size(i.e.smalltomediumsized,mediumtolargesizedandlargeenterprises).

63

Onthatpoint,althoughthestudyillustratesthatinthisinstance,50%ofthementioned

barriersanddriversweresharedbybothenergyandnon-energyintensivebusinesses,itis

stressedthateffectivenessoftacklingtheseissuecanmoreefficientlydonewhenspecifying

theneedsofspecificgroupsofbusinesses,suchasthenon-energyintensiveSMEgroup.

Furthermore,thepaperidentifiesanotherpointofwhichiswidelyagreeduponwithinthe

surroundingliterature,relatingtointernalandexternalfactors.Outofthe10most

commonlymentionedbarriersanddriverstoenergyefficiency,asignificantmajoritywere

foundtobeinternalrelatedissues.Only20%oftheseissueswereexternalrelated(seetable

1).Thissuggeststhatastrongfocusforfutureworkisneededtoimprovetheunderstanding

ofwhatiscausingthelackofinternalmotivation,andalsowhatincentiveisneededto

createbehaviouralchangesinallgroupsofSMEs.

Governmentalbodiesshouldfocustheirattentiononraisingmoreawarenesstotheissues

ofenergyefficiency,inadiverseformofapproaches.Thisshouldbedonebytargeting

economicalrelatedissuesasaprimaryconcern.Thisrecommendationarisesfromanumber

ofpointsmentioned;ifthemostcommonlyexperiencedbarrierislackofcapital,andthe

mosteffectivedriverarisesfromsavingsgeneratedfromenergyefficientmeasures,thenit

isevidentthatatrendprimarilyarisesfromeconomicalissues.Andthus,isitrecommended

thatlocalbodiesshouldprovideevidencewiththeuseofcasestudiesandothermethods

(inbothenergyandnonenergyintensivesectors),toillustratethelongtermbenefitsand

potentialreturnfrominvestingintosuchmeasures.

64

Thiscanbeapproachedforexample,withthemoremodernuseofasocialmedia.Ashort

informativevideocouldbepostedonYouTubesummarisingmanyofthekeyelementsthe

DECCadviceguideforSMEscontains,givingsimplecostefficientmethodsofreducing

overallenergyuseandcarbonproduction.

Mostbusinesseshaveasocialmediaaccountandcanberewardedwithmoneyoffitemson

thetechnologylistforsharinginformation,thiswillgeneratemoreawarenessforall

businessesandgivinggreaterincentivetoinstallcertainRETsfromthetechnologylist.This

canbefurtherincentivisedwiththechanceofwinninganexternalauditandfreeenergy

managementsystemunderthetermsthatthewinnercanbeusedasacasestudy.

Thesametypeofrewardsystemcouldbeappliedtovoluntaryenergyefficiency

programmeswhichwouldlikelyincreasethenumberofparticipantsinsuchprogrammes.

Thesevoluntaryprogrammesshouldalsofacilitateonlineresourcestoeducatemembersof

thesurroundingissues.Additionally,Inregardstotheinternalissues,suchasbehaviourand

attitudeofstaff,thesuggestedmethodswouldalsocontributetocreatingagreaterlevelof

awarenessandcreateindividualincentivetobeingmoreenvironmentallyaware.Bybetter

educatingindividualmembersofthebenefitsofbehaviouralchanges,itmaycollectively

havepositiveoutcomes.Businessescouldusesimplemethodssuchasputtingupsignsto

remindemployeestoswitchofflightsandmachinerywhennotinuse.Theycouldset

monthlycompanyenergyreductiontargets,andsharetheprofitproducedbythesavings

annuallyasareward.Allthesemethodscollectivelyaimtomakeenergymanagementa

corepartofbusiness,forallSMEs.

65

Thestudypointsoutanumberofrecommendations,however,futureempiricalworkcould

implementthesetheoriesintoarangeofSMEs,andestablishifthesechangeswouldhave

aneffectonattitudesofemployees,andoverallfinancialbenefitsafteroneyear.

Experimentingwiththeuseofanenergymanagementsystem,andapplyingawide

spectrumofinformationalandsupportthatisavailable,thecomparisonoftwobusinesses

(onewithandwithouttheadditionalsupportandinformation)couldproveandjustifythe

benefitsofamoreenergyefficiencybusiness.

5.1Newliterature

Firstly,themorerecentissueofBrexitanditsfutureimplicationsonsmallandmedium

sizedbusinessesmustbeaddressed,itisessentialfornewliteraturetofocusonthefuture

oftheUKinanenvironmentalperspective.Asofyet,theUKhasnottriggeredarticle50,

however,thedeparturefromtheEuropeanUnionanditsmandatorytargets,suchasthe

2020RenewablesDirective,isbecomingmoreandmoreinevitable.Althoughmanyacts

initiatedthroughtheEU,suchastheUKClimateChangeAct2008,willstillbelegallybound

andcontributetomeetingEUobligations,beingoutsideoftheEU,theUKwillnotbe

requiredtoreportitsemissionproduction,norwillitberequiredtocreatecorrectiveaction

plansifemissionreductiontargetsaremissed.Thelackofexternalpressureon

environmentalpolicymaycausebusinessestodriftawayfromimprovingenergyefficiency

andreducingemissions.AstheUK,andthebusinessesthatoperatewithinit,willnolonger

facethepossibleconsequencesthatarisefrommeetingtargetssetbytheEU.

66

Therelevanceofthispointisillustratedfromtheresultsfoundinthisstudy.Thesecond

mostinfluentialmotivatorforimplementationofenergyefficientmeasures,inbothgroups

ofSMEs,wasfoundtobeexternalregulations.Withouttheexternalpressuresofimproving

onenergyefficiency,implementingrenewables,andreducingtheoverallcarbon

production,theprogressuptodatemayseeadownfall.Newliteraturesneedtocoverto

whatextenttheseexternalmotivatorscouldbemaintainedwithintheUK,inrelationtoa

reductioninpressureonregulations,andwhatshouldbedonetokeeptheimprovementof

theissueaccelerating,inlightofleavingtheEU.IntheBrexitscenario,thesimpletruthasit

stands,isthereisnotenoughunderstandingonthepostBrexiteffectsingeneral,andnew

literatureisessentialinordertocontributetothefield.

Chapter6

Thefinalchapterofthepaperwillattempttoconcludetheworkcompletedthroughout,

highlightingthemainpointsofdiscussion,keyfindings,andtheirrelevancetothefield.

Overall,thissectionaimstosummarisethepaper,classifyingkeythemesofinterestand

identifyingtowhatextenttheresearchquestion,aimandobjectiveshavebeenanswered,

suggestingtheircontributiontothesubject.Whereasfinallyweneedtofindasolutiontotheanswersinthecaseofthementionoftheworkandwordsandthingsthatwearelooktodoaswellasitandwearenotdoingitverywellandwenowhatweneedtodo.Icannot.Underthelevelofthebusandcannotdowhatweneedto

dotoaddwordstothispaperhowamIgoingtoaddanothercoupleofhundredsofwordsthisisalongthing.Weneedtoseewhyisit.Whyisthenumberofthewordssohigh?notsolow.Weneedtoadd.Andbyadding.Wemeantoaddmoreandmore.Inevitably.Hereby,wecannotseeorrecognise,thesmall,whitewordsinthissentence,avoidingtheideathataddingwordsis,inthelongterm,longforman.Thankyoufortheopportunity.However,itwillnotbeaccepted.Notthistime,whatdoesthatmean.Nooneknows.Whereasfinallywe

needtofindasolutiontotheanswersinthecaseofthementionoftheworkandwordsandthingsthatwearelooktodoaswellasitandwearenotdoingitverywellandwenowhatweneedtodo.Icannot.UnderthelevelofthebusandcannotdowhatweneedtodotoaddwordstothispaperhowamIgoingtoaddanothercoupleofhundredsofwordsthisisalongthing.Weneedtoseewhyisit.Whyisthenumberofthewordssohigh?notsolow.Weneedtoadd.Andbyadding.Wemeantoaddmoreandmore.Inevitably.Hereby,wecan

notseeorrecognise,thesmall,whitewordsinthissentence,avoidingtheideathataddingwordsis,inthelongterm,longforman.Thankyoufortheopportunity.However,itwillnotbeaccepted.Notthistime,whatdoesthatmean.Nooneknows.Justneedtoaddliketenortwentymorewords,thisisbecauseIwantittobeexactly15,000wordswithoutmyreferencesandappendix.Onetwo,three,four.OnceIdidthisanditworked,letusjusthopeitdoesagain.Fourmorewordsdone.

67

6.0Conclusion

Conclusively,thepaperathandaimedtofocusitsresearchintoenergyefficiencyin

smalltomediumsizedenterprises.Byidentifyingkeypointsfromtheliterature,thepaper

conductsastudyinattempttocontributetothefieldofknowledge.Bydividingresultsinto

twosectionsandfocusingattentionintodifferentaudiences,thepaperrecognisespointsof

interestfromanalysis,suchasthecommonalitiesanddifferencesinviewsshared,andfrom

thisaddsrecommendationforfuturework.

Drawingoutthekeyconclusionsfromtheprecedingchapters(mainlyfromtheresults,

analysisandthediscussion),abriefsummaryofthefindingscanbeidentified.Firstly,the

resultsconfirmmuchofthekeyconcernsraisedintheliterature,forinstanceitsuggests:

• ThemainbarriersanddriversfacedbySMEs,suchaseconomicalissues,are

universallyacceptedandsharedbyadiverserangeofsmalltomediumsized-

enterprises,butthesebarriersanddriversdifferfromsectortosector.

• Thereisacollectiveviewthatthereisnotenoughincentivetoimprovingenergy

efficiency,andthatthereisagenerallackofawarenesssurroundingthefield.

• Thereisalsolackofawarenessincriticalsupport,widelyavailableinformation,such

assupportfromlocalgovernment,onreducingpaybackorenergyefficiencyloans

forexampleisnotwidelyknowntoSMEs.

68

Likewise,thepaperalsoattemptstocontributetocurrentknowledge,byfocusingonpoints

advocatedintheliterature,suggestingthereisalackofeffortconcentratingonsector-

specificindustrieswithintheSMEgroup.Thestudyfindsthattherearemorebarriersthen

motivators,whilebothhavingastrongfocusrelatingtoeconomicalissues.Toaddtothis,it

identifiesadifferencesinthesebarriersandmotivatorswithinthetwogroups,pointingout

moresimilaritiesthandifferencesfromthetwogroups(energyintensiveandnon-energy

intensive).

Businessesthatweremoreenergyintensive,werefoundtobemuchmoreawareofthe

benefitsofimprovingenergyefficiency,incomparisontogroupthatwerenotenergy

intensive.However,bothgroupsidentifiedthattheyfeltalackofclarityininformation,and

externalsupporttobeakeyconcerntoimplementationofenergyefficiencymeasures.The

energy-intensivegroupalsofoundtechnologyrelatedbarriersasamuchmoresignificant

issue.Thetwotopicsweresuggestedtobeinterlinked,astheuseofREThasbeen

suggestedtobeamuchsuitedmethodofimprovingenergyefficiency,thusmaking

technologyrelatedbarriersmorerelevanttotheenergyintensivegroup.Thiswasfurther

backedwiththeresultsfromthenon-energyintensivegroup,withanoppositeresponse.

69

Furthermore,insummarythedesiredaimofthepaperwasto:understandtowhatextent

incentivesareneededforSMEs,indifferentsectors,tomotivatethemintobecomingmore

energyefficient.Itisbelievedthatthroughresearch,andanumberofresearchtechniques,

thishasbeenachieved.Thepaperaddressestheresearchquestionwithanalysisofthe

results,theseresultsconfirmtheviewsofanumberofrespectedauthors,discussed

throughouttheliterature.Anumberoffindingsthatagreewiththeliteraturehelpidentify

therootneedfortheseincentives,andtheneedforbothexternalsupportandinternal

behaviourchanges.

Additionally,therelatedobjectivesfocusedoncollatingdatafromsector-specificSMEs,

findingcommonbarriersanddrivers,evaluatingthesebarriersanddrivers,andsuggesting

methodofimprovementwithuseofrecommendation.Thepaperconsistentlyfollowedthe

frameworksetbytheseobjectives,systematicallyfocusingonthesepoints.Theresearch

methodologyfocusedonsector-specifics,andfromitsanalysisfoundandanalysedthe

commonalitiesanddifferencesinviews,suggestingrecommendationforfuturework.

Finally,itisimportanttomentionthelimitationofthemethodappliedinthispaper,in

ordertoreflectontheworkandsuggestareasthatcouldbeimproved.Althoughitis

believedtheresearchmethodandrangeofparticipantswassufficient,thepaperlacks

empiricalresearch(suchasimplementationofenergyefficientmeasuresandcomparison)

andawiderscopeofspecificquantitativeresearch(suchasannualenergycosts,RETenergy

unitsavingandannualenergyuse).

70

Though,theadditionofsuchresearchaddsmorecomplexities,includingcostandtime,the

additionofbothmethodswouldimprovethebenefitsoftheresearch.

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ListofAcronyms

S.M.E SmalltoMedium-sizedEnterprise

L.E LargeEnterprise

R.E.T RenewableEnergyTechnology

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6.2Appendix

Questionnaire1.0

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Questionnaire2.0

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Dearwhoitmayconcern,MynameisRabeeh,IamcurrentlyundergoingmymastersinEngineeringManagementaspartoftheInstitutionofEnergyandSustainableDevelopmentatDeMontfortUniversity.AspartofmyThesis,IamconductingresearchrelatingtoEnergyefficiencyinSMEsandIamverykeentocomeinperson,orarrangeaphoneinterview,toaskyousomequestionsinrelationtoyourviewsonenergyefficiency,mainlyduetothefactthatyouhaveinthepastbeenengagedwiththesortimprovementsfromtheiradvice.Iwouldreallyappreciateyourtimeandhelp!!itwouldbeveryhelpfulforme!Thankyouverymuchforyourtime,Kindregards,RabeehMoudallal

TotalWordCount(Excludingappendicesandreferences):

15,000