http://www.euractiv.com/en/energy-efficiency/businesses-cashing-energy-savings/article-186848

Businesses are looking to a new climate deal in Copenhagen to ensure a level playing field for industry, but in the meantime they are pledging to continue improving their energy efficiency and boosting investment in low-carbon technologies.
Companies are already cutting emissions by using energy more efficiently even without regulation or external funding, a BusinessEurope conference heard last week (28 October).
Saving energy makes sense as a business strategy and such investments pay themselves back within a few years, many companies pointed out.
At the same time, the business community is anticipating the inevitable transition to a low-carbon economy by hedging its bets on innovative technologies. Whirlpool, for example, is developing appliances that will function with smart grids, while Dow is actively working on making new alternative energy technologies readily available, such as bendable solar shingles, company representatives said.
Energy efficiency was identified as the one area where investment is often self-financing. But where markets cannot deliver, smart regulation is needed to create the right incentives.
Energy standards, for example, are particularly relevant for promoting energy-efficient products, said Henk de Bruin, senior vice-president for sustainability at Philips. He pointed out that efficiency levels are now a subconscious factor in many consumers' buying decisions.
But small businesses are often worried that dealing with matters at EU level makes things too complicated, said Maude Olofsson, Swedish minister for enterprise and energy. For instance, the current revision of a directive setting energy performance standards for buildings is in danger of producing too much red tape, she warned.
"I want these rules and regulations, but I also see the risk that we're making this too complicated for small businesses," she said.
If markets were to shoulder some of the responsibility for saving energy and developing low-carbon technologies, then politicians would not have to go into so much detail, Olofsson argued.
"I think it's crucial that politicians and business sit at the same table and talk about these things," she said.
Global deal buffering competitiveness losses
Businesses in Europe and the US alike are eyeing the conclusion of a global climate treaty at the UN climate conference in Copenhagen in December to ensure that their efforts to cut emissions do not give their Asian competitors a competitive advantage.
Implementing a new deal will require the industry to pour massive amounts of money into new technologies. According to the International Energy Agency, most technologies to reduce industrial carbon emissions will cost between €34 and €68 per tonne of CO2, while some are as much as €135.
"This underlines the magnitude of the challenge that industry faces," said Jürgen Thumann, president of BusinessEurope.
BusinessEurope is urging the EU to ensure that any deal in Copenhagen commits all developed countries to equally strong emission reduction targets and sets either binding targets or policies for developing countries by 2020. They believe that subjecting companies that produce internationally-traded goods to similar conditions worldwide will help to create a level playing field.
But border tariffs floated by France and Germany and inscribed into draft climate legislation in the US (EurActiv 14/09/09) found little favour among business representatives, who want to avoid green trade wars at all costs.
Rather than slapping an extra tax onto products that come from countries where carbon prices are not a factor, many industries would prefer to remove tariffs on clean energy goods to stimulate demand.
Representatives of American businesses operating in Europe expressed clear support for the EU's opposition to border tariffs, an AmCham EU debate heard last week.
"We should rather open up markets in low-carbon goods, technologies and services," said Richard Folland, senior climate change and energy adviser at JP Morgan and chair of AmCham EU's climate group.