Energy Management Maturity Model: An organizational tool to foster the continuous reduction of energy consumption in companies

Energy has recently become one of the key aspects that companies should improve and keep monitoring, due to the related economic costs and the significant environmental impacts, to which today’s society is paying more and more attention. An Energy Management System could offer many advantages, such as energy consumption and cost reductions, improvement of corporate image, environmental impact reduction. Organizations have therefore developed more comprehensive approaches to Energy Management, aiming at reducing energy waste, but also at managing energy use by applying specific focused programs. Maturity Models are tools used to assess the level of maturity of an organization, providing a systematic framework for carrying out benchmarking and performance improvement. With regards to Energy Management, existing tools are still not well-structured and do not allow a deep analysis of the level of maturity of an organization and of how this maturity develops along with its dimensions. In this article the described general Maturity Model tools are implemented, providing an innovative method in order to apply those concepts to the Energy Management field, aiming at bridging the aforementioned gaps. A user-friendly tool, focused on the company and its organization, is provided to allow practitioners to easily and autonomously assess their company’s maturity level, drawing a first growth plan draft. This method represents a new way to lead the organization to a proper management of its energy needs, and is alternative or complementary to the certification of the Energy Management System of the organization, being consistent with the ISO 50001 standard.