H2020 INDUCE Project: Towards a Sustainable Agri-Food Industry: Capacity Building Programs in Energy Efficiency
- Type Project
- Status Filled
- Execution 2018 -2020
- Assigned Budget 1.997.191,25 €
- Scope Europeo
- Main source of financing H2020
- Project website INDUCE
INDUCE has applied the methodology developed in the project to 14 pilot companies in Spain, France, the Netherlands, and Germany. The INDUCE methodology consists of four distinct phases: inspiration, ideation, implementation, and monitoring. During the first phase of the project, both the inspiration and ideation phases were designed, and during the second phase, implementation and monitoring with the pilot companies were carried out.
The first activity in the implementation phase was training, delivered by CIRCE in Spain, KWA in the Netherlands, ÖKOTEC in Germany, and CRITT in France. Following the training, several follow-up activities were conducted over several months to evaluate the training's effects on the pilot companies.
Once the activities with the pilot companies were completed, the final step of the project was the replication of the INDUCE methodology. To this end, external trainers were trained in the four countries to present the INDUCE methodology and all the experiences gathered from the pilot companies to facilitate the implementation of the methodology in new food and beverage companies.
Energy audits and the implementation of energy management systems allow companies to identify energy saving opportunities and, consequently, improve their energy efficiency ratio. However, the effectiveness of these tools depends on the behavior of the board of directors and employees, which is influenced by organizational, structural, and cultural aspects. Since these aspects are not fully considered in current procedures, it is necessary to ensure that their recommendations translate into the effective implementation of energy efficiency measures. INDUCE responds to this need by developing a methodology and various resources to motivate key company stakeholders toward more energy-efficient behavior and culture through targeted training and interventions.
The INDUCE methodology was designed to be easily adaptable to different companies and sectors, based on a Human-Centered Design approach and different behavioral and organizational models. However, for its development, the INDUCE project focuses on a specific sector to demonstrate the solution, lay the groundwork for its implementation, validate the results in companies, and replicate them in other sectors. For this reason, the INDUCE methodology has been validated in the food and beverage sector, which has the greatest expected reduction in energy intensity by 2050.
The INDUCE methodology has been tested in Spain, France, the Netherlands, and Germany, which represent 46% of companies in the sector in Europe.
The food and beverage sector is the largest manufacturing sector in the EU in terms of turnover, value added, and employment. It is also a significant energy consumer, meaning the amount of energy required to grow, process, package, and deliver food to European citizens in 2013 represented approximately 26% of the EU's final energy consumption. However, although the EU has made significant progress in incorporating renewable energy and improving energy efficiency in other sectors, the share of renewables, as well as energy efficiency, in the food sector remains relatively small. For this reason, this sector has the largest expected reduction in its energy intensity ratio by 2050 (from 0.023 ktoe/€ million in 2015 to 0.007 ktoe/€ million in 2050). At the same time, with the global population projected to reach 9 billion by 2050, numerous challenges will arise, including the need for a 60% global increase in food supply and a 45% increase in global energy demand.
In this sense, INDUCE seeks to empower companies to achieve organizational change and create a community of trainers with the support of National Associations.
The agri-food sector is characterized by its conservative approach to change and the implementation of new solutions. However, it's worth noting that, ultimately, it's people who make decisions in companies, so their awareness of sustainability has a direct influence. Economic viability is often the main factor influencing decision-making. However, it's worth noting that civil society plays an important role in addressing the challenge of climate change. Individual behavior shapes the economy, and it appears it will become greener over time. Therefore, sustainability awareness is key to continuing to drive a global mindset shift that will influence future scenarios, something INDUCE has researched.
To support and facilitate the implementation of the methodology, the INDUCE project has developed an open-access platform with training materials, online lessons, guidelines, and tools available to companies and experts seeking to increase their energy efficiency.
In summary, the project objectives include:
1. Develop an adaptable methodology using a human-centered design approach for the design of capacity development programs.
2. Identify the general needs, requirements, and motivations in the food and beverage sector.
3. Define interventions, tools, and guidelines to increase capacity in implementing energy efficiency.
4. Promote the implementation of more than 400 energy efficiency measures.
5. Generate changes in the mindset of all company stakeholders to include energy efficiency.
6. Create the INDUCE community.
7. Make capacity building programs available.
8. Influence national programs and address existing barriers to the implementation of INDUCE interventions and training in the food and beverage sector.
The INDUCE project will develop an open-access platform (INDUCE Toolkit) where training materials, online lessons, guidelines, and tools will be available for companies wishing to increase their energy efficiency. Furthermore, the INDUCE methodology will be integrated into the platform with the aim of designing a specific capacity-building program for each company accessing the INDUCE Toolkit, resulting in ad-hoc training tailored to the company's needs and opportunities. The INDUCE methodology will link energy efficiency knowledge transfer with organizational and behavioral change models, establishing an energy culture and an enabling environment for change within the company, while motivating employees to act more sustainably. What is unique about this methodology is that it will follow a human-centered design approach, with each phase carried out in close cooperation with the end-users of the capacity-building program. This will allow INDUCE to interact and test with companies the best interventions, measures, etc. to implement. The INDUCE methodology and toolkit will be tested and validated in 15 pilot companies in the food and beverage sector in four countries representing more than 45% of EU companies in this sector: Spain, France, the Netherlands, and Germany. In a second replication step, a community of INDUCE trainers will be established through the certification of 60 INDUCE trainers. They will be responsible for implementing the INDUCE methodology in another 300 companies, thereby increasing INDUCE's impact to 106 GWh/year of energy savings. The INDUCE Consortium includes three renowned research centers with expertise in energy efficiency, behavioral sciences, and decision-making processes. In addition, a national training partner and an association as a multiplier organization have participated in each pilot country. Finally, this competitive consortium is completed by a research-oriented SME focused on exploitation and dissemination.
Within the INDUCE project, before its closure, actions had not been replicated in 300 companies in the sector, in addition to the 15 pilot companies involved since the project's inception. Therefore, to evaluate the project's impacts, a methodology was developed to estimate the energy, environmental, and economic impacts. Among the pilot companies that participated in the project, 11 submitted the complete set of data necessary to estimate the project's impact.
The overall impact of the project was then calculated assuming that 315 companies would have achieved the same results as those observed on average in the pilot companies. In this sense, the INDUCE methodology has the potential to unlock a total of 490 energy efficiency measures in the pilot and replica companies. This would mean that INDUCE training enabled companies to unlock 22% more measures than originally planned.
The project's goal was to save 106 GWh/year of primary energy. Assuming that 315 companies achieved the same energy savings observed in the pilot companies, the INDUCE project would achieve 554 GWh/year, almost 5.2 times higher than the project target. Furthermore, the savings would be €20 million/year, 15% higher than the project target, with investments 17% lower than the target and 95 ktCO2/year of avoided emissions (7 times higher than the project target).
Regarding trainers, 61 external trainers were trained during the project. Finally, in terms of social impact, 2,500 people were informed about the project, with 8,000 website visits, 80,000 social media impressions, and 21 events.
- FUNDACION CIRCE CENTRO DE INVESTIGACION DE RECURSOS Y CONSUMOS ENERGETICOS (CIRCE)
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