Investments in energy efficiency in 2016

As shown by the data of the seventh edition of the Energy Efficiency Report [ 13464 kb ] by the Politecnico di Milano, investments in energy efficiency in Italy have recorded a double-digit growth over the last few years. This positive trend means that the continued development of this segment can contribute to a sustainable economic growth of our Country, creating qualified employment and reducing the environmental impact.

The report further reveals that approx. 50% of the investments are aimed at interventions on residential buildings.

Still not sufficient is the effort of the industrial sector. Here - more than in the private sector - investments have the twofold purpose of reducing pollutant emissions and manufacturing costs, thus making domestic companies more competitive on the markets.

As highlighted in exemplarily by the Breakthrough Energy Coalition – a venture capitalist fund that includes among its investors both companies and individuals, such as Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, George Soros and whose mission is that of “providing reliable and affordable power without contributing to climate change” – there are five key areas we need to address.

Namely: electricity, transportation, agriculture, manufacturing and buildings.

On the last three, in addition to Travel & Leisure, will be focused this year’s edition of the Good Energy Award.

The applications for the ninth edition are now open. In the previous years, more than 300 companies took part in it and we like to think that our award brought luck to many of them.

As usual, the final ceremony, which will be held in September, will be provide a chance for companies to share experiences and discuss the future of the industry.

Winners will be selected by an independent panel of experts chaired, once again, by Maurizio Fauri, Professor at the University of Trento.

In addition to helping create a network of virtuous companies, we hope to contribute to raise awareness on environmental sustainability and feed into a debate that cannot be postponed any longer, nor limited to a few insiders.

After the Industry 4.0 plan, our dream would be that of launching an Energy 4.0 plan, i.e. an incentive scheme allowing businesses, local communities and private individuals - each with their own goals and instruments - to invest in energy efficiency and environmental sustainability.

With considerably less resources than those allocated by the government to incentives for the production of energy from renewable sources, a huge driver would thus be created, which would help strengthen the economic growth and allow Italy to take on a leadership role in this sector.