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  • Projects and activities | Last updated: 26 Mar 2025
Behavioural factors driving firms’ investment in energy efficiency
Behavioural Insights

Context

Financial incentives and support for investments in energy-efficiency projects is provided to firms through different programs at the European and/or Member State levels.

Even though these programs help to remove financial/structural barriers, firms' adoption of clean energy is also constrained by behavioural factors, often overlooked, that affect the decision-making process of firm executives.

Goals

The main objective is to gain insight into the behavioural factors shaping firms’ decision-making processes concerning clean energy technology adoption. We also want to compare how these factors could be a barrier relative to other factors influencing firm decisions, such as organisational, financial, and economic considerations.

Methods

A survey to managers of approximately 1,000 firms across different EU Member States (with a variety of sectors, sizes, and geographical locations). The survey will feature questions designed to reveal to what extent specific behavioural aspects (e.g. giving more importance to the present than the future, being averse to risk, being influenced by other firms’ decisions, etc.) influence investment decisions among firm executives.  

Expected outcomes

A report will inform the design of i) “soft” incentives (e.g. social norms, positive public recognition) to augment “hard” incentives (e.g. grants, tax rebate) and ii) energy certificates, audits and communication campaigns that aim at increasing firms’ investment in energy efficiency.