Industrial production processes require not only material resources but also considerable amounts of energy, which contribute significantly to the environmental impact of products and their use. To align with sustainability principles, it is essential to reduce avoidable energy demand (sufficiency), favor energy systems with reduced life-cycle environmental burdens (consistency), improve the input-output-ratio of energy use (productivity) and employ current technologies (efficiency). In industrial settings, efforts to improve energy efficiency often focus on reducing costs and, more rarely, environmental impacts connected to energy use. While efforts to improve industrial energy efficiency often center on cost savings, a more comprehensive approach, comparable to the R-strategies used for materials, can systematically guide energy-related decisions. This paper presents the concept of “E-strategies”, which transfers established sustainability principles to industrial energy use. A practice-oriented framework is developed to help operational actors translate sustainability strategies into concrete measures by prioritization. The applicability and impact of the E-strategies are demonstrated using two case studies at different operational levels. The proposed framework supports companies in implementing holistic, sustainable and resource-efficient energy use in an industrial context.
Juraschek et al. (Thu,) studied this question.