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Evaluating the impact of technological renovation and competition on energy consumption in the workplace

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  • Fanghella, Valeria
  • D'Adda, Giovanna
  • Tavoni, Massimo

Abstract

This study investigates the effect of two interventions aimed at reducing electricity consumption among branches of a large Italian bank. The first intervention consists in the technological renovation of 70 branch buildings through the installation of an automated energy management system. The second is an energy-saving competition that involved more than 500 branches for a year. Using two separate difference-in-differences estimations, we find that the technological renovation curbs electricity consumption by 15.8 percent overall, and by more than 25 percent outside the main work schedule. The behavioral intervention reduces electricity consumption, by around 6 percent outside the main work schedule, and by 2.4 percent overall, although not significantly so. The estimated cost-effectiveness ranges between 3.4 and 8.8 € cents per kWh saved for the technological intervention, and 9.8 and 17.8 € cents per kWh saved for the behavioral intervention. Our findings suggest that for both interventions, energy savings in the workplace are more easily obtained by reducing passive energy waste than through behavioral change during working hours.

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  • Fanghella, Valeria & D'Adda, Giovanna & Tavoni, Massimo, 2022. "Evaluating the impact of technological renovation and competition on energy consumption in the workplace," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jeeman:v:114:y:2022:i:c:s0095069622000390
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jeem.2022.102662
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    1. Ahsanuzzaman, & Eskander, Shaikh & Islam, Asad & Wang, Liang Choon, 2024. "Non-price energy conservation information and household energy consumption in a developing country: Evidence from an RCT," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
    2. Johannes Gessner & Wolfgang Habla & Ulrich J. Wagner, 2023. "Can Social Comparisons and Moral Appeals Induce a Modal Shift Towards Low-Emission Transport Modes?," CRC TR 224 Discussion Paper Series crctr224_2023_451, University of Bonn and University of Mannheim, Germany.
    3. Johannes Gessner & Wolfgang Habla & Ulrich J. Wagner, 2023. "Can Social Comparisons and Moral Appeals Induce a Modal Shift Towards Low-Emission Transport Modes?," CRC TR 224 Discussion Paper Series crctr224_2023_451v2, University of Bonn and University of Mannheim, Germany.
    4. Yanyong Hu & Zhixiao Zou & Jiaxi Wu & Zheng Meng, 2024. "Double-edged sword: China’s free trade agreements reinforces embodied greenhouse gas transfers in agricultural products," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-13, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Behavioral intervention; Energy conservation; Workplace; Difference-in-difference; Energy efficiency;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C93 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Field Experiments
    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
    • H32 - Public Economics - - Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents - - - Firm
    • Q41 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Demand and Supply; Prices

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