M-Benefits · Project

Tools That Help Companies Justify Energy-Efficiency Investments Beyond Just Savings

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Most companies treat energy efficiency like changing a lightbulb — you save a bit on the electricity bill, end of story. But what if that same upgrade also cut your defect rate, sped up your production line, and reduced your insurance risk? This project built tools and training to help companies see and calculate all those hidden benefits — the ones that actually convince the CFO to sign the check. They collected real case studies from factories and service companies across Europe to prove the numbers work.

By the numbers

40%

Share of EU final energy consumption from industrial and service sectors

Consortium partners across Europe

Countries represented in the consortium

EUR 1,866,490

EU contribution to the project

Total deliverables completed

The business problem

What needed solving

Companies consistently under-invest in energy efficiency — not because the savings aren't real, but because they only count the energy bill reduction. Benefits like better product quality, faster production, lower risk, and higher safety are ignored in the investment case, making efficiency projects lose out to other capital requests.

The solution

What was built

The project delivered evaluation tools to identify and quantify multiple benefits of energy efficiency, communication tools to present these benefits in business language, training webinars (publicly available and recorded), best-practice case studies from industrial and service companies, and a structured approach for including these benefits in corporate investment decisions. 31 deliverables in total.

Audience

Who needs this

Industrial energy managers struggling to get efficiency projects approved by financeESCOs and energy consultants who need stronger business cases to close dealsCFOs and investment committees evaluating capital allocation for efficiency upgradesFacility managers in commercial real estate pitching building upgrades to ownersCorporate sustainability officers tasked with cutting emissions cost-effectively

Business applications

Who can put this to work

Industrial Manufacturing

enterprise

Target: Mid-to-large manufacturers with energy-intensive production lines

If you are a manufacturer struggling to get capital approved for energy-efficiency upgrades because the payback period looks too long — this project developed evaluation tools that quantify hidden benefits like reduced production downtime, improved product quality, and lower maintenance costs. These additional benefits can cut the perceived payback period dramatically, making the CFO say yes. The tools were validated with real industrial case studies across the EU.

Commercial Real Estate & Facility Management

mid-size

Target: Property managers and facility operators of large commercial buildings

If you are a facility manager who can only pitch energy savings in euros-per-kilowatt-hour to building owners — this project created communication tools that translate efficiency upgrades into business language: higher tenant satisfaction, reduced operational risk, and improved asset value. The approach covers the service sector, which together with industry accounts for 40% of final energy consumption in the EU.

Energy Services & ESCOs

any

Target: Energy service companies selling efficiency solutions to industrial clients

If you are an energy service company losing deals because clients see efficiency as a cost center rather than a competitive advantage — this project built a structured method to identify and present multiple benefits like increased safety, higher production flexibility, and reduced climate-change risk. The training webinars and best-practice examples give your sales team a ready-made toolkit to close bigger contracts.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What does this cost to implement?

The project outputs — evaluation tools, communication templates, and training webinars — were developed as publicly available resources. The webinars are recorded and published on the M-BENEFITS website. Implementation cost for a company would primarily be staff time to learn and apply the methodology.

Does this work at industrial scale?

Yes. The project specifically targeted the industrial and service sectors, which account for 40% of final energy consumption in the EU. Case studies were collected throughout industrial and service sectors across 11 countries with 16 consortium partners, including 4 industry organizations.

What about intellectual property and licensing?

This was a Coordination and Support Action (CSA) funded with EUR 1,866,490 in EU contribution. The tools and training materials were designed for broad dissemination and are publicly available. Based on available project data, there are no licensing restrictions on the methodology.

How mature are these tools — can we use them today?

The project ran from 2018 to 2021 and is now closed. The webinar courses were made publicly available and cover an overview of multiple benefits, how to assess them, and how to use the project's tools. With 31 deliverables completed, the toolkit is comprehensive and ready for use.

Can this integrate with our existing energy management systems?

The M-BENEFITS tools focus on the investment-decision layer — they help you evaluate and communicate efficiency projects, not replace your energy monitoring. They complement existing energy audits and ISO 50001 processes by adding the business-benefit dimension that standard energy analysis misses.

Who built this and can they support us?

The consortium was led by Fraunhofer (Germany), one of Europe's largest applied research organizations, with 16 partners across 11 countries including 7 universities, 3 research institutes, and 4 industry partners. Fraunhofer has deep expertise in industrial energy efficiency and could provide follow-up consulting.

Consortium

Who built it

The M-BENEFITS consortium brings together 16 partners from 11 countries, led by Fraunhofer — Germany's premier applied research organization. The mix of 7 universities and 3 research institutes provides strong analytical depth, while 4 industry partners (25% industry ratio) and 3 SMEs ensure the tools were built with real business needs in mind. The broad geographic spread across AT, BE, CH, DE, EL, IT, NL, PL, PT, SE, and UK means the methodology was tested across diverse industrial cultures and regulatory environments, making it broadly applicable across European markets.

FEDERAZIONE ITALIANA PER L'USO RAZIONALE DELL'ENERGIAparticipant · IT
IREES GMBH - INSTITUT FUR RESSOURCENEFFIZIENZ UND ENERGIESTRATEGIENparticipant · DE
UNIVERSITE DE LAUSANNEparticipant · CH
INSTITUTO DE SISTEMAS E ROBOTICA-ASSOCIACAOparticipant · PT
BUILDINGS PERFORMANCE INSTITUTE EUROPE ASBLparticipant · BE
ETHNICON METSOVION POLYTECHNIONparticipant · EL
GRAZER ENERGIEAGENTUR GMBHparticipant · AT
BORG & CO ABparticipant · SE
EUROPEAN COUNCIL FOR AN ENERGY EFFICIENT ECONOMY FORENING - ECEEEthirdparty · SE
UNIVERSIDADE DE COIMBRAthirdparty · PT
THE CHANCELLOR, MASTERS AND SCHOLARS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORDparticipant · UK
UNIVERSITEIT UTRECHTparticipant · NL
HAUTE ECOLE SPECIALISEE DE SUISSE OCCIDENTALEparticipant · CH
FACHHOCHSCHULE ZENTRALSCHWEIZ - HOCHSCHULE LUZERNparticipant · CH
KRAJOWA AGENCJA POSZANOWANIA ENERGII SPOLKA AKCYJNAparticipant · PL

How to reach the team

Fraunhofer Gesellschaft (DE) — search for the M-Benefits project lead at Fraunhofer ISI or contact via the project website

Order a report on this consortium

Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

Want to apply the M-BENEFITS methodology to build stronger business cases for your energy-efficiency investments? SciTransfer can connect you with the project team and help tailor the tools to your sector.

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