There is no question that energy is costly. Costs for this resource havequadrupled since 2000, with the planned energy transition also contributing to this trend. This development hits business particularly hard. Industry, trade and services account for some 45 percent of total energy consumption in Germany.

So efficient use of this resource makes economic sense, as well as being an environmental imperative. The German Energy Agency estimates that companies could reduce their energy needs by 30 percent using standard efficiency measures.

Decreasing energy and resource costs within the company will become a key success factor for business competitiveness in the coming years. And the experts say that industry, trade and services are far from taking full advantage of this potential.