“Much of today’s energy efficiency discourse is narrowly focused on investments in new technology,” says Professor Patrik Thollander, lead author of the study. “But our research shows that this alone is not enough. Real emissions reductions require rethinking how companies approach energy management from within structurally and culturally.”
The research team, comprising scholars from Linköping University, Lund University, Uppsala University, Stockholm Resilience Centre, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, and the University of Gävle, identifies nine social constructions that shape how energy efficiency is understood and practiced in industry. These range from internal knowledge-sharing and cross-disciplinary collaboration to management commitment and cultural readiness for change.
The concept of energy efficiency emerged during the oil crisis of the 1970s as a cost-saving measure. Today, it is recognised by institutions like the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the European Commission as a critical pathway for climate mitigation. Yet, according to the authors, much of the efficiency potential remains unexploited especially due to an over-reliance on technological fixes.
The paper emphasises that addressing industrial emissions effectively requires a cultural shift within organisations, supported by strategic knowledge dissemination and an emphasis on whole-systems thinking. The authors argue that interdisciplinary collaboration bridging engineering, behavioural science, and social science perspectives is essential to unlock the full potential of energy efficiency.
If widely adopted, the approach could yield global emissions reductions equivalent to the annual output of ten countries the size of Sweden.
The article “Advances in the social construction of energy management and energy efficiency in industry” is available open access in Nature Communications (DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-59284-2).
