The 400th energy efficiency and climate protection network
Berlin, Germany, 4 April 2024. Investments in energy and resource efficiency are a key lever for strategically strengthening Germany as a business location. Only if measures, expertise and financial resources are focused accordingly can the goals of the German energy transition and climate policy be realised and the economy and society be made fit for the future. There are now a total of 400 networks in the Energy Efficiency and Climate Protection Networks initiative, which sends an important signal. It shows that more and more companies are implementing energy-efficiency and climate protection measures, jointly expanding their energy transition expertise and sharing best practice experiences.
According to Dr Philipp Nimmermann, State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, ‘the initiative makes an effective contribution to achieving Germany’s energy saving and climate protection targets. In this regard, Germany is playing a pioneering role in corporate networks on the international stage and demonstrating that voluntary commitment on the part of companies can have a considerable impact. The savings through the networks bring the goal of a comprehensive decarbonisation of the German economy one step closer. This transformation is supported by the funding package “Federal funding for energy and resource efficiency in the economy”.’
The German government and 21 business associations support the Energy Efficiency and Climate Protection Networks initiative, promoting dialogue between companies and the concrete implementation of measures in companies. With great and continuous success: According to the initiative’s 7th monitoring report, the networks that have already been evaluated together save around 7,432 GWh of final energy, 9,350 GWh of primary energy and 2.69 megatonnes of carbon equivalents per year. The annual savings in an average network are 28.8 GWh of final energy and 10.4 kilotonnes of carbon equivalents.
The companies in the initiative’s 400th network, the InfraLab Energy Efficiency 3.0, which was recently registered, were even able to achieve a total of 104.4 GWh in annual final energy savings and 22.2 kilotonnes of carbon equivalents with their predecessor network. They have therefore more than quadrupled their network target of saving 24.6 GWh of final energy per year.
Companies that are active in the initiative have been given additional consideration since an amendment to the ‘Federal funding for energy and resource efficiency in the economy’ funding package came into force in May 2023. They are subject to a higher funding rate of ten percentage points in Module 5 – Transformation plans. For companies in the networks, the maximum possible subsidy for ambitious future planning, possibly even greenhouse gas neutrality, increases to €90,000.
This government support helps companies in their endeavours to improve energy efficiency and climate protection. However, something that is much more important than the financial incentive is the exchange of experience often mentioned by participating companies and the easier access to important information in the initiative’s networks. They enable companies in the networks to significantly improve their energy and resource efficiency and in turn contribute to achieving energy and climate protection targets. Around 100 networks are currently active in the initiative throughout Germany, and around ten networks are still looking for participating companies.
What is an energy efficiency and climate protection network?
An energy efficiency and climate protection network is a grouping of several companies that work together in order to increase their energy efficiency and drive forward climate protection measures. The networks’ main elements are a moderated exchange of ideas and information between participants as well as commonly agreed on savings targets and implementation of measures. This enables companies to expand their expertise more quickly in order to reduce their energy consumption and make a contribution to climate protection.
About the Energy Efficiency and Climate Protection Networks initiative
The Energy Efficiency and Climate Protection Networks initiative helps companies from all industries without regard to the company size exchange information and implement energy efficiency and climate protection measures in networks between industries, within industries, or within companies. The initiative was launched in 2014 as an initiative for energy efficiency networks. Since 2021, it has been supported by 21 business associations and organisations together with the German government and numerous other project partners. It was also expanded to include the topics of climate protection, energy transition and sustainability. In this manner, 9 to 11 TWh of final energy, or 5 to 6 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions, are to be saved. The initiative wants to make an important contribution to climate protection and the increase of energy efficiency in industry, skilled trades, business, commerce, and the energy industry. Please visit www.effizienznetzwerke.org further information on the networks, the initiative and points of contact.
