India to invest in energy efficiency to achieve net-zero targets

Half of the respondents cited cost savings as the major reason for adopting energy-efficient technologies

According to the Energy Efficiency Investment Survey 2022 commissioned by ABB, 32 percent 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.

The Energy Efficiency Investment Survey 2022 comes in the wake of a recent UN report calling for concerted action from countries to cut greenhouse emissions at a faster rate. India announced its commitments to fight climate change at the Glasgow COP26 conference last year, pledging to cut its emissions to net-zero by 2070 while targeting to meet 50 percent of its energy needs from renewable sources by 2030. In alignment with this, one of the key findings of the survey reveals that Indian industries are increasing investments in energy efficiency in the next five years, as the crucial race towards Net Zero intensifies.

“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 decarbonisation by developing smart, energy-efficient solutions tailored to specific customer needs,” said Sanjeev Arora, President, Motion Business Area, ABB India.

More key findings from India:

• 63 percent plan to achieve their respective Net Zero targets within 5 years
• 90 percent say rising energy costs are at least a minor threat to their profitability, highlighting the need for energy efficiency
• Approximately 23 percent 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 percent), with a further 61 percent 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 percent are upgrading equipment to best-in-class energy efficiency ratings to be more energy efficient.
• 94 percent expect their investment in energy efficiency to increase over the next 5 years

The global survey was carried out as a part of the #energyefficiencymovement, a multi-stakeholder initiative launched by ABB in 2021. The interviews were conducted online by Sapio Research in February 2022, targeting 2,294 companies in 13 countries including India, ranging in size from 500 to 5,000 or more employees. 254 companies from India participated in the survey, out of which, 71 percent belonged to the manufacturing sector, 9 percent constituted the transportation and heavy industries, and the remaining belonged to the energy generation and light industries.

Energy Efficiency Movement

ABB’s ‘Energy Efficiency Movement’ is consistent with the company’s Sustainability 2030 strategy, which commits to supporting ABB’s customers in decreasing their 2030 CO2 footprint by a collective 100 megatons annually, the equivalent of removing 30 million combustion cars from the roads each year.

ABB India is playing an active role in leading this movement, by bringing stakeholders together and on boarding channel partners and customers. Companies are invited to join the movement and make a public pledge as a way of inspiring others to act.

For more information: https://join.energyefficiencymovement.com