Green and energy-saving industry

Over the last two decades, Lithuanian industry has made a significant progress in increasing energy efficiency. Despite its leading position for gains of energy efficiency compared to other largest final energy consumers (e.g., transport, buildings), Lithuanian industry today remains one of the most energy-intensive sectors. In 2018, the industry sector represented one fifth of the final energy consumption in Lithuania thus facing major challenges in reducing its impact on climate.

Lithuanian enterprises also encounter difficulties in competing in EU’s and global markets as energy costs constitute a significant part of the company's total costs. Especially in the context of energy crises.

In order to reduce energy costs and to improve company’s competitiveness, while at the same time aiming to reach ambitious climate goals, it is necessary to implement more efficient and advanced technologies as well as enhance energy management.

However, there are still some obstacles for green transformation of Lithuanian industry:

• The potential of climate change mitigation technologies of the circular economy is almost not used.
• Workplaces/jobs are mainly focused on increasing the amount of production, but not on the efficient use of resources and energy.
• Focus on low value-added outsourced production and limited/insufficient extent of high value-added jobs.
• Energy savings target is not integrated into strategic plans of companies.
• Lack of knowledge and skills in installing eco-innovations and low awareness of consumers in climate friendly products and services.
• Energy saving investments are capital-intensive.
• Weak ecosystem links provide no possibility to increase the competitiveness using the potential of cross-sectoral cooperation.

LIFE IP EnerLIT aims at facilitating Lithuanian industry to achieve its GHG reduction and energy efficiency goals by overcoming current shortcomings that hinder the uptake of energy efficiency measures in companies.

Project activities in this area include measures following:

• Mobilising administrative and financial resources for the implementation, coordination, and progress monitoring of the energy efficiency related measures in Lithuanian industry sector, including the set-up of financial and economic incentives.
• Harmonization of cross-sectoral and sectoral legal frameworks for green and energy-saving industry.
• Introduction and promotion of technological eco-innovation by increasing the access to funding for deploying technological eco-innovations and building the capacities of the SMEs about the benefits of eco-innovations.
• Development of favorable ecosystem for business investment and innovation in targeted areas (such as nanotechnology, microelectronics and nanoelectronics, new materials, biotechnology and photonics, etc.) and the promotion of the circular economy solutions through regulatory simplification and financial or other economic incentives, also capacity building and awareness raising activities.
• Education of farmers on energy efficiency and on the selection of specific measures for climate-friendly activities at farm level.
• Enhancing capacities of companies in the field of energy management through a training program based on business needs and assistance in the preparation of their strategic plans.

PARTNERS INVOLVED

	Ministry of Economy and Innovation is responsible for the implementation of activities under its policy area, regulatory simplification and financial incentives, providing relevant information on policy updates and financial support for business
	Ministry of Environment is responsible for the political activities (regulation) that fall within its policy area, takes care of mobilisation of funding of the Climate Change Programme and Lithuanian Environment Investment Fund as well as provides additional platform for communication on climate change.
	Ministry of Energy is responsible for synergies with energy policy and other policy-related activities (regulation) that fall within its area.
	Ministry of Agriculture is responsible for the integration of climate friendly farming with other sectors.
	Lithuanian Confederation of Industrialists represents main stakeholder and provide insights, recommendations and follow-up on legal basis and its updates, financial and economic incentives in policy group, takes care of dissemination of relevant information within business ecosystem, implements capacity building measures to improve energy efficiency in enterprises.
	Lithuanian Energy Institute is involved in strategic planning of industry transformation and participates in developing indicators for monitoring and strategic modelling for improvement of policy measures.

The project “Improving energy efficiency in Lithuania” (No. LIFE20 IPC/LT/000002) has received funding from the European Union LIFE programme and the Republic of Lithuania. The content of this website is the sole responsibility of its authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the European Union.