Energy Audit as an Instrument to Tackle Internal Barriers to Energy Efficiency: Lessons from Moroccan Industrial Firms

Due to climate change, firms are encouraged to introduce various measures to enhance both their competitiveness and sustainability, particularly energy efficiency measures (EEMs). Energy efficiency is particularly important in energy-intensive sectors such as the industrial sector. However, EEMs within industrial firms are hindered by several internal barriers such as competing interests within firms, lack of information regarding energy efficiency opportunities, and low technical competence. In this regard, energy audits aim to improve energy efficiency in facilities and to tackle internal barriers to energy efficiency. We developed a model that seeks to investigate the significance of energy audits in the implementation of EEMs and to reduce the intensity of internal barriers to energy efficiency. Our research model was empirically tested via data collected from a survey conducted with 193 industrial firms in the Kingdom of Morocco. Results show that competing interests, lack of information, and low technical competence hinder the adoption of EEMs within industrial firms, which aligns with findings from previous studies. In addition, our findings indicate that energy audits enhance EEMs and mitigate the negative effect of lack of information and low technical competence on the adoption of EEMs, which is consistent with findings from prior studies. However, our results demonstrate that energy audits do not attenuate the negative effect of competing interests on EEMs; this contrasts with findings from several previous studies. Therefore, our study builds upon prior research and contributes new insights regarding the importance of energy audits in tackling internal barriers to energy efficiency.