An energy management maturity model for multi-site industrial organisations with a global presence

Literature reviewed suggests energy maturity models are in their infancy in the energy management sector, with little practical guidance for their implementation in multi-site organisations. In addressing this gap, this paper presents the development and implementation of an Energy Management Maturity Model for multi-site industrial organisations with a global presence, considered as a fundamental step towards continuous improvement and optimal energy efficiency. The developed maturity model provides a global view of the overall network readiness for engaging in energy efficiency by adapting and enhancing existing ‘site focused’ maturity models to cater for a multi-site industrial organisation. The model enables two-way communication between global and local energy management teams; not only are the individual sites benchmarked but the global energy management team receives feedback and a gap analysis on their performance from the network of sites perspective. The evaluation framework created around the maturity model supports automated prioritization of elements with larger deviations from the site and network median score. In parallel it provides the global energy management team with direction on where the organisation needs to focus central efforts to support the individual sites. The maturity model enables the evaluation of key non-technical aspects of energy management required for continuous improvement on a multi-site and global scale.