© BMWi/Maria Parussel

People training as locksmiths will soon not only make locks, but unlock their company’s energy efficiency potential. Apprentices in the German skilled crafts sector – such as budding bakers, plumbers and carpenters – will be trained on how to save energy. They will become ‘energy scouts’, identify the areas where their company can save energy and make recommendations on how energy efficiency can be improved. This will mainstream energy efficiency in German SMEs.

Teaming up with SMEs and the skilled crafts sector to drive forward the energy transition

The SME Initiative for Energy Reforms and Climate Change Mitigation was launched by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety, the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK) and the German Confederation of Skilled Crafts (ZDH) in 2013. The energy scouts initiative is one of several campaigns these organisations are funding in the context of the SME initiative, the second phase of which was officially started yesterday.

The SME initiative was launched to get the German Mittelstand and the skilled crafts sector on board for putting the energy transition into practice. The initiative is to encourage specially-trained employees to raise the level of energy efficiency in their company.

State Secretary Uwe Beckmeyer said: “The SME Initiative for Energy Reforms and Climate Change Mitigation targets companies and firms – in particular SMEs – and helps to make them more aware of the issue of energy efficiency. During the first phase of the project, we reached out to a large number of companies and were able to gain valuable experience. This is a good basis upon which to roll out this initiative to the vast majority of skilled crafts businesses and companies and tell them about the wide range of measures the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy is offering to support them as they go about implementing the energy transition”.

Taking action to save energy

There is huge untapped potential for energy saving in the business sector. The SME Initiative for Energy Reforms and Climate Change Mitigation therefore offers a wide range of measures that help companies save energy and mitigate climate change. Let’s take a look at some of these measures:

• The ‘Innovation Assistants for Energy Efficiency’ initiative will help partner SMEs with students who are writing a dissertation about energy efficiency.
• New concepts for providing advice on how to save energy are being put to the test in ‘model workshops’ for butchers, hairdressers, mechanics and carpenters.
• Mobility management is one priority – transport within and between companies and logistics are to be optimised and alternative drive systems are to be boosted.
• A new ‘Energy Manual’ will be drawn up, which will help companies to opt for the right consulting services and efficiency measures.

Using the network of chambers of commerce for implementing the National Action Plan on Energy Efficiency

The new, second phase of the SME initiative will run until 2018. The initiative is part of the Federal Government’s National Action Plan on Energy Efficiency (NAPE). The goal of this plan is to reduce primary energy consumption in Germany by 20 per cent by 2020, compared to 2008, and cut it by half by 2050. The potential for reducing energy consumption that exists within the Mittelstand is huge. The network of chambers of commerce is to serve as a mediator and multiplier in this context.