Achieving the EU’s climate neutrality target requires each Member State to reduce
its energy consumption. Member States, including Hungary, are paying particular attention
to encouraging businesses to modernise their energy consumption. Our research focuses
on the results of energy efficiency measures implemented by large companies with more
than 1,000 employees, based on the company energy efficiency reports available online
between 2017 and 2021. Our research also incorporates results from four interviews
conducted with companies and two interviews conducted with energy efficiency experts.
The sample of 24 companies obtained through data reduction is not representative,
but the analysis shows that the most commonly implemented measures in the 5 years
analysed were raising employee awareness and lighting upgrades. The four company and
two expert interviews confirmed that companies prefer energy efficiency investments
that pay off in the short to medium term. By ownership structure, there were differences
in the type of measures implemented. The main driver for energy efficiency measures
is cost reduction, complemented by sustainability considerations such as reducing
carbon emissions.
