Coping with the crisis: Increasing resilience in small businesses in Europe through energy efficiency

This high-level event, organised jointly by the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the European Commission, will discuss how governments and small businesses can work together to increase energy efficiency, reduce energy bills and secure a sustainable energy supply. It aims to increase awareness among governments, businesses and related stakeholders (e.g., energy agencies) on measures they can take to help empower and protect small businesses.

The event will focus on the need to support small businesses, so that they become more energy efficient and resilient, and the EU support measures currently available to them. Panellists will draw on recent experiences and local good practice examples in their own countries to illustrate the support for small businesses at national, regional and local level.

The IEA and the European Commission will present a brief guideline on concrete actions small businesses can carry out and what supporting measures, specifically tailored to their needs, are available to them. The publication will provide advice on immediately actionable steps enterprises can take to reduce energy consumption and improve energy efficiency.

The event will be webstreamed by IEA and available on DG Energy’s YouTube channel.

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Background

Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) represent 99% of all businesses in the EU and employ over 80 million people, and have a value added of approximately EUR 3.9 trillion to the European economy. Of this figure, more than 60 million people are employed in micro and small enterprises – those with fewer than 50 employees accounting for just over 1/3 of the value added of SMEs.