The Energy Efficiency Investment Survey 2022, commissioned by ABB, addressed 2,294 companies in 13 countries, ranging in size from 500 to 5,000 employees or more.
It was found that the industry installed in Brazil is intensifying investments in energy efficiency mainly in search of cost reduction and compliance with the companies’ sustainability commitments.
The survey, conducted by Sapio Research, provides the latest picture of how industries worldwide are planning to invest in energy efficiency measures to achieve Net Zero.
In the case of Brazil, just under half are already investing in increasing energy efficiency (48%), and more than half plan to do so (51%), with 63% of these investments to be made this year, the highest rate among the countries surveyed.
Globally, 54% of all companies surveyed are already investing, and 43% intend to invest in the area, with 40% stating that this plan will be carried out this year.
In addition, 89% of Brazil’s respondents expect their energy efficiency investment to increase in the next five years. Considering all companies, this rate was 90%, reaching 99% in China.
“This acceleration of investment in Brazil, in line with the global result, is positive news. With demographic and economic growth, climate change may reach a critical point. Moreover, the scenario becomes even more complex with advancing urbanization and geopolitical tension.
“This requires governments and industry to intensify initiatives to reduce emissions and, in this context, improving energy efficiency is an essential strategy,” said Marcelo Palavani, director of ABB’s Motion business area in Brazil.
Independent studies indicate that if the world’s 300 million industrial motor-driven systems were replaced by optimized and highly efficient equipment, global electricity consumption could be reduced by 10%.
This reduction is equivalent to more than 90% of the annual consumption of the entire European Union.
According to the survey, of the companies already investing in Brazil, 3 out of 5 (60%) are upgrading their equipment to obtain the best efficiency indexes, such as high-efficiency electric motors controlled by variable speed drives.
This percentage is higher than in Argentina (48%) but lower than in China (83%). However, among Brazilian respondents, half are implementing energy management systems in buildings (51%).
However, 47% of the country’s companies cited cost as the main obstacle to improving their energy efficiency. Despite this, cost savings was the most important reason for investing (71%), followed by corporate sustainability commitments (69%).
“This means that upfront investment acts as a barrier to long-term gains. Governments and industries must understand that adopting energy efficiency technology offers a rapid return on investment while reducing CO₂ emissions. Energy efficiency ultimately brings great benefits to the company, the corporate image, and the environment,” says Palavani.
NET ZERO IN 5 YEARS
The survey also shows that just over half of Brazilian companies plan to reach net zero in 5 years (51%); only 1% are not trying to achieve it, while 6% say they are already carbon neutral.
Chinese respondents are the most likely to achieve carbon neutrality in 5 years (71%), while those in the US (39%) and UK (35%) are less likely. Of the survey participants, 52% indicated they intended to reach Net Zero in 5 years.
ENERGY EFFICIENCY MOVEMENT
The survey was conducted as part of the #energyefficiencymovement, a cross-sector initiative launched by ABB in 2021.
The Movement is consistent with the company’s Sustainability 2030 strategy, which commits to helping ABB customers reduce their CO2 footprint by 2030 by 100 megatonnes per year, the equivalent of taking 30 million combustion cars off the road each year.
With information from CLA