Survey Finds Indian Companies Committed To Clean Energy

Indian industries have, by and large, committed themselves to clean energy. According to the Energy Efficiency Investment Survey 2022 commissioned by ABB, 98% of the companies are either already investing or planning to invest in energy efficiency, while one-third of them plan to make improvements this year.

The Survey was commissioned in the wake of a recent UN report calling for concerted action from countries to cut greenhouse emissions at a faster rate. Half of the respondents cited cost savings as the major reason for adopting energy-efficient technologies. 32% of the companies are planning to make energy efficiency improvements this year, and 7 in 10 companies are upgrading their equipment to best-in-class energy efficiency ratings. Half of those investing or planning their investments in energy efficiency cited production as their high-priority area for investment, followed by facilities, including building management, HVAC, and lighting.

A few takeaways from the survey are below:

• 63% plan to achieve their respective Net Zero targets within 5 years
• 90% say rising energy costs are at least a minor threat to their profitability, highlighting the need for energy efficiency
• Approximately 23% of annual operating costs are attributable to energy usage
• Major driving factors for energy efficiency investment were cost savings, corporate sustainability commitments, and increased competitiveness
• Just under a third plan to make energy efficiency improvements this year (32%), with a further 61% planning to make them within the next 2 to 3 years
• Production was the priority area of investment for half of those investing or planning to invest, in making their energy usage more efficient
• 72% are upgrading equipment to best-in-class energy efficiency ratings to be more energy efficient
• 94% expect their investment in energy efficiency to increase over the next 5 years.

It should cheer up the protagonists of the green brigade as Sanjeev Arora, President, Motion Business Area, ABB India said, “The results show that a large percentage of companies are confident of investing in energy-efficient technologies, setting India on the right track to fulfill its ‘Panchamrit’ promise around the five key commitments to fight climate change. This is excellent news for our environment, people, and industries. We are committed to making this a reality for our customers and partners in India and will continue to accelerate decarbonization by developing smart, energy-efficient solutions tailored to specific customer needs,”.