Industry could be more fired up to save energy

Research commissioned by ABB Group, the power and automation technology company headquartered in Switzerland, confirms that energy efficiency remains a high priority for industrial executives.

Of more than 300 in manufacturing and power sectors surveyed by the Economist Intelligence Unit, almost all said energy efficiency will be a crucial success factor for their companies over the next two decades. But three-quarters of them also said they face barriers in improving energy efficiency and data.

This could be a problem not only for reasons of industrial competitiveness - energy costs are high and rising - but because energy efficiency is the most effective way to limit our impact on the environment.