Across sectors, the evidence consistently shows that the value of energy efficiency extends far beyond energy savings, often matching or even exceeding them.

A key challenge is that much of this value is not systematically captured in investment decisions. Business cases are often built on energy savings alone, overlooking gains in productivity, resource efficiency, product quality, brand reputation and workforce health. Reflecting these wider benefits can significantly strengthen investment cases and improve how efficiency projects compete for capital.

This report draws on available evidence to highlight these broader benefits and why they matter in practice. The steps below show how to reflect them in investment decisions:

1.    Start with information

Energy audits and energy management systems provide the foundation for well-informed decisions. They help identify measures with the strongest operational relevance for a given site or process. IEA analysis shows that establishing a culture of energy management alone can yield savings of 10 to 18% in lighter industries in the early years, rising to as much as 60% over a longer period.

2.    Establish the core business case

A simple payback analysis, based on investment costs and energy savings, offers a clear starting point. Many measures already perform well on this basis, with payback periods of around three years for motor upgrades and within months for LED lighting.

3.    Expand the analysis to capture multiple benefits

Incorporating the additional benefits highlighted in this report can further enhance the business case. These benefits include productivity gains, reduced material and water use, lower maintenance costs, improved product quality and stronger brand positioning, as well as health and well-being impacts. Analysis tools, such as the interactive JUSTIFI tool developed by the National Laboratory of the Rockies and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, can help identify, quantify and link these benefits to key performance indicators, often showing how they shorten payback periods.

4.    Position energy efficiency as a strategic investment

Energy efficiency often competes for capital with other core business investments. Strategic objectives within companies often take precedence over simple payback calculations to determine investment decisions, as argued by the ’salience approach’ in multiple benefits research. They can be grouped in three dimensions: the value proposition (e.g. product quality and reliability), cost reduction (e.g. maintenance or defective products) and reduced risk (e.g. workplace safety).

To position efficiency projects effectively, practitioners can map expected results against these dimensions and frame proposals in terms of core business priorities. This means converting technical outcomes into metrics such as improved productivity, reduced downtime, lower defect rates or enhanced safety performance, and clearly showing alignment with corporate objectives.

For example, decision makers at a 3M plant in the United States initially rejected an energy efficiency project proposal despite a payback time of less than one year for energy savings alone due to concerns over the two-day downtime needed for implementation. The decision was ultimately reversed when the broader benefits were recognised: notably a reduction in the risk of accidents, unplanned downtime and raw material losses.

5.    Leverage targeted financing opportunities

Access to capital remains a key constraint for many companies, especially SMEs. Energy efficiency can help address this by improving credit conditions and opening access to dedicated instruments. For example, private banks in France have offered loans at more favourable interest rates for efficiency-related renovation projects compared to other types of renovation.

Efficiency investments can also unlock access to green financing mechanisms not always available to other projects, such as special credit lines or sustainability-linked loans tied to specific measures or performance outcomes, often supported by public subsidies. In parallel, alternative models such as green leasing and Energy Service Company (ESCO) models can reduce upfront costs by spreading payments over time or linking them to realised energy savings. Recognising and leveraging these options can ease access to capital and strengthen the overall investment case.

6.    Measure, verify and communicate results

Business operations evolve over time, and so do opportunities for energy efficiency. Measuring and demonstrating realised benefits across all relevant dimensions, drawing on established measurement and verification frameworks, helps build a stronger evidence base for future investments.

Documenting outcomes such as reduced downtime, improved product quality or lower maintenance costs can strengthen internal confidence, support replication across sites and make subsequent investment cases more compelling. Communicating these results reinforces the strategic value of efficiency.

There is significant – and often untapped – value for companies in enhancing energy efficiency. These steps offer a practical foundation for integrating the multiple benefits of energy efficiency into business investment decisions. This helps strengthen competitiveness and contribute to wider policy targets such as the doubling of energy efficiency improvements by 2030.