“Energy management” is planned, monitored, controlled, and executed actions to ensure maximum energy output using minimum energy resources for a predetermined performance by an organization to gain competitive advantage, serve national interests, and adhere to stringent environment standards. Energy management is thus the strategic approach of a company toward its energy usage. The academic literature indicates that energy-intensive organizations that adopt a strategic approach to energy management may reduce energy usage as much as 40%. According to Sivill et al. (2013) and Mulder and Hagens (2008), energy management is below raw materials optimization and production commitment as a priority in energy-intensive industries. Cooremans and Schönenberger (2019) and Schulze et al. (2016) confirm this and argue that considering energy in strategic planning, implementation, and the control, organization, and culture of an organization can exploit a company’s energy efficiency potential. Without long-term strategy and the allocation of energy costs, companies will not realise the benefits of energy management. Thollander and Ottosson (2010) suggest senior management be involved in developing their company’s energy policy, in managing energy-saving projects, and in creating an environment that thus motivates and trains their employees. Schulze et. al. (2016) demonstrated a comprehensive framework for incorporating strategic planning, implementation, control of energy use, reorganizing the organization structure, and modifying an organization’s culture to effectively tap its energy efficiency potential. Gopalakrishnan et al. (2014) also suggested a framework of energy management to effectively implement ISO 50001 to reduce the energy costs and losses from minimizing greenhouse gas emissions.

Some 21 articles investigated planning, implementation, and innovation through qualitative and quantitative studies, or a combination of both. Three studies elaborated the process, requirements, and benefits of energy audits and certifications. As illustrated in Figure 2, only three studies investigated the importance of using energy management as a strategic objective; just one article examined the impact of policies on energy management.

Planning and implementation are core to energy management and require a gradual and structured approach that starts from the unit process to the factory facility and multi-facility units, incorporating entire supply chain in the process if possible (Duflou et al. 2012). Alternately, Sivill et al. (2013) focused on incorporating proper change management tools and rewards to make energy management successful. There are many ways to effectively implement energy management in an organization which may differ based on geographic locations, sectors, or the scale of operations. Backlund et al. (2012), using the multiple case study model for Sweden, found energy-intensive firms to be more enthusiastic and successful in adopting energy management.

Energy optimization can be achieved through the appropriate channelling of technological interventions and processes by upgrading existing systems or replacing existing systems to achieve energy-efficient systems, depending on the situation. The chemical process industry has a natural scope of energy optimization as it can consume and create energy through various means or can integrate the available energy to achieve higher potential or reduce energy consumption. Lipiäinen et al. (2022) suggest use of bio-alternatives to replace fossil fuels, thus decreasing the carbon intensity of processes.

Exothermic processes release energy into the environment; this can be efficiently trapped for useful energy on-site. Pinch technology and heat exchanger networks (HENs) to integrate process streams are used frequently. Geldermann et al. (2006) took the automobile industry as a case study to demonstrate that blending process integration engineering with operations research can provide economic and environmentally friendly solutions. Waste heat recovery is a big challenge for process industries as it entirely depends on amount, quality, and source of waste heat. Many studies exploit this challenging area of design for recovering low-grade waste heat in the process industry; Law et al. (2016) demonstrated this through a case study, using knowledge-based programs and available plant data. The case study of Oluleye et al. (2016) also investigates different models of on-site waste heat utilization by recording the temperature and duties at the heat source. In a literature review, Chan et al. (2013) illustrated the possibility of recovering low-grade heat using technologies like “Chemical heat pumps, organic Rankine cycles, [and] thermal energy storage…”. Ammar et al. (2012) evaluated the technical and economic feasibility of extracting low-grade thermal energy using CFD (computational fluid dynamics) for process industries in the United Kingdom, provided that strong government regulations and policies are in place; similar approaches may be applied in other countries.

Even some economical modifications to existing equipment or replacing the energy-intensive with energy-efficient parts can help reduce the energy requirement of the plant. Enhancing awareness and identifying action areas to improve the energy use of processes can be effective if energy analysis is conducted at manufacturing level (Andrei et al.,2022). Saidur et al. (2010) reviewed and further identified energy-saving techniques—such as variable speed drives, energy efficient motors, recovery of waste heat, leakage avoidance, and pressure-drop reduction—for energy-intensive motor-driven process industry equipment. The speed and scale at which technology develops and diffuses across industries, the cost of technology, energy prices, the intensity of chemical industrial activities, and national and international policies will determine the potential effects of mitigation on climate change (Worrell et al., 2009). Xuezhi et al. (2011) emphasised the need for energy saving as a low-cost option with a high potential to benefit the present scenario. Outsourcing energy optimization activities to energy service companies (ESCOs), with the latest know-how required for energy efficiency, and funds to operationalise it, is seen as the latest trend by Benedetti et al. (2015).

According to Lindberg et al. (2015), key performance indicators, used for monitoring operations in industries, need to be benchmarked to similar processes or equipment to classify areas of improvement and necessary actions to be developed and implemented to bridge gaps. Worrell et al. (2003) illustrated the importance of incorporating the productivity benefits associated with energy efficient technologies in terms of cost savings related to conserved energy.

Drivers of energy management, as defined by Cagno and Trianni (2013), are “…factors facilitating the adoption of both energy-efficient technologies and practices, thus going beyond the view of investments and including the promotion of an energy-efficient culture and awareness.” Stringent environment requirement, government regulations, incentives, and awareness have driven Sweden's iron and steel industries to adopting energy management (Brunke et al.,2014). Trianni et al. (2016) and Singh et al. (2008) listed organizations’ policies, long-term strategies, top management commitment, and realizing low-energy benefits as positive influencers for SMEs in the manufacturing industry. Rudberg et al. (2013) described the recognition of non-energy benefits for process industries.

Sorrell et al. (2011) defined a barrier to energy efficiency as a hypothesised mechanism that deters an energy-efficient and cost-effective decision or behaviour. They also suggested that barriers to energy efficiency are multidimensional, varied, and diverse, and are specific to the industry type and the technologies they used. Smith et al. (2022) and Lee KH (2015), emphasised that understanding the barriers and drivers to energy conservation and optimization from frontline workers is also important. As found by Singh et al. (2008) for Indian SMEs, the challenge lies in cost, quality, deliverables, and human resources development. Minciuc et al. (2017) considered limited access to capital and knowledge about energy-efficient technologies alongside poor awareness amongst employees and top management as essential barriers for energy conservation and optimization. These are internal factors within organizations that prevent them shifting toward energy-efficient management. Various myths that are negative influencers were identified by Ammar et al. (2012) and Thollander and Ottosson (2010): perceptions that energy-efficient technologies require higher investment and have a negative impact on production. Factors outside the organization can also hinder their effective energy management, such as support from financial institutions for promoting energy-efficient technologies (Worrell et al.,2009), absence of incentives, limited availability of public information, and lower energy prices in developing countries (Bhattacharya and Cropper, 2010; Alcorta et al.,2014). It is imperative to weaken the barriers to and strengthen the drivers for successfully implementing energy management and mitigate climate change. Parekh et al. (2022) categorize drivers and barriers to energy optimization in the Indian context, using literature and a preliminary survey, into internal and external factors and further analysed them using PESTEL analysis for external factors and SWOT analysis for internal factors. The conclusion from the analysis is the importance to designing energy optimum solutions of evaluating internal and external factors based on the situation and industry type.