Since 2013, the EEP at the University of Stuttgart has been collaborating with the German Energy Agency (dena) , the Federation of German Industries (BDI) , the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA and other partners to ascertain companies’ attitudes to the efficient use of heat and electricity and their current and planned activities in this area every six months. The findings are compiled to generate the energy efficiency index (EEI) .

With 2.24 points, the EEI for the second half of 2018 rose to a record high. This shows that energy-saving is increasingly becoming part and parcel of companies’ corporate culture. For instance, over 80% of the companies surveyed see saving energy as an important decision-making criterion, and around two thirds advocate that energy procurement and energy-saving measures should go hand in hand. “Reliable energy policy framework conditions are now required that enable consistent implementation of measures identified by industry,” says Professor Sauer, Director of the EEP. He goes on to describe this as an opportunity for Germany to position itself as an important driver and pillar of the energy transition once again.