Energy efficiency: Italy ranks fifth in Europe, but growth is slow

Italy ranks fifth in Europe for energy efficiency , with an Energy Intensity Index , or the ratio between gross energy consumption and GDP, which in 2024 is 16% better than the EU average and residential consumption per capita reduced by 8% compared to the previous year. A good performance, but one that is proceeding at an insufficient pace: compared to 2022, in fact, we have dropped one position, while other countries such as Germany, France and, in part, Spain have climbed the rankings between 2014 and 2023, reducing the gap.

As for investments, in 2024 they are estimated between 58 and 66 billion euros , significantly less than the 75-85 of 2023 and still half concentrated in the residential sector despite the drop due to the changes to the Superbonus. Instead, to fully align ourselves with the energy objectives of the European Union, in the most ambitious scenario, we should reduce final energy consumption to 93 Mtoe by 2030 and bring investments to 308 billion euros in 2030. These are some of the data that emerge from the Energy Efficiency Report 2025 , drawn up by the Energy&Strategy of the School of Management of the Politecnico di Milano and presented in a fruitful debate with the research partner companies.

Energy Intensity Index, 2023

“According to our estimates, between 2024 and 2030 cumulative investments in energy efficiency should exceed 240 billion euros in the scenarios set by the PNIEC and EU objectives: especially in the residential sector, but also in the tertiary sector, which reflects the strategic weight of the building stock in reducing energy consumption” commented Federico Frattini , Deputy Director of Energy&Strategy and Scientific Director of the Report. “This, however, if the incentive measures, which have proven to be decisive in guiding interventions, are strengthened and made stable: regulatory uncertainty has so far represented an obstacle to long-term planning, while it is essential to have a lasting and coherent framework, capable of mobilizing capital and accompanying the energy transition in the various sectors”.

Cumulative investment trend in the period 2024-2030 according to the EU target scenario

Analyzing the 2024 investments in energy efficiency, we note the sharp decline that characterized the residential sector , from 44-49 billion euros in 2023 to 29-32 billion. The other sectors are a bit more stable : the industrial sector has allocated between 2.3 and 2.7 billion, in particular for photovoltaics, with an increase of 26%, heat pumps, lighting and sensors, while there is a slowdown in interventions on production processes and compressed air systems (-68% and -57% respectively).

Medium-sized companies stand out for their dynamism and diversification. The PA and tertiary sectors also showed a slight decline, with the latter allocating approximately 70% of resources to interventions to reduce and optimize thermal needs, instead of integrating advanced digital systems or smart technologies for the active management of consumption. Interventions that have not proven to be adequately efficient: despite an increase in investments of 14% compared to 2023, savings stopped at 13%.

Interest in energy efficiency in Italy is widespread, but fragmented. In the Energy Efficiency Report 2025, a survey was conducted between April and June 2025 together with Doxa on 2,500 citizens, 87% of whom live in owned accommodation , of which 60% in apartments, 30% in independent houses. 85% of the sample has carried out at least one intervention in the last five years, preferring simple solutions such as efficient or smart lighting systems, intelligent appliances and condensing boilers.

More complex technologies such as photovoltaics, storage systems and micro-cogeneration have a much more limited diffusion. Despite a general satisfaction (65%) for the interventions carried out and a clear interest in practical and accessible solutions, obstacles remain that slow down more substantial investments, in particular high costs, bureaucratic complexities and difficulties in accessing incentives and credit.

A similar survey was conducted between April and June 2025 in collaboration with Doxa on 250 companies which, according to the responses, 70% have invested in hardware technologies , mainly orienting themselves towards accessible, consolidated and rapidly implementable solutions, such as lighting efficiency and self-production of energy, often from photovoltaic, while technologies with a high initial investment or more complex management remain less explored. Proportionally, those who spent the most were small ( +22.5%) and medium ( +21.5% ) companies, which individually invested double that of large companies (even very large companies show more contained growth), a paradox that could indicate greater reactivity or trust on the part of the intermediate market segment compared to more structured companies.

Over the next 5 years, increased interest is expected in photovoltaics , storage systems , efficient lighting , heat pumps and energy management software , with different priorities based on company size. Among the obstacles to implementation, long return on investment times and regulatory uncertainty stand out, followed by the lack of technical skills and difficulty in accessing capital. Coming to the diffusion of organizational-behavioral efficiency practices, most companies (53%) have already adopted them and 41% plan to do so: these are training and awareness activities (40%), followed by consumption optimization (16%) and system regulation (15%). Unfortunately, 65% do not monitor the progress of the initiatives and only 15% plan reward systems for staff.

The regulatory framework supporting energy efficiency has expanded significantly in recent years. At European level, the Fit for 55 package and the revision of the Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) introduce new obligations, while the Clean Industrial Deal , published on 26 February 2025 by the European Commission, proposes a concrete action plan to transform decarbonisation into an opportunity for economic growth, through measures such as reducing energy costs.

The revision of the EPBD (Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, better known as Case Green) accelerates the requalification of the building stock, while the extension of the ETS (Emission Trading System) to the civil and transport sectors (ETS2) introduces a price signal on _CO2 emissions (this means that emitting greenhouse gases will have a direct economic cost for families and businesses) with potentially significant repercussions on consumer behavior.

In Italy, the National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC), revised in 2024, strengthens the role of energy efficiency, but confirms a dynamic that is still too slow in reducing consumption. The incentive tools are many but fragmented: White Certificates, Thermal Account (which focuses on building efficiency), tax deductions for construction (Superbonus, Ecobonus, Home Bonus) and the new Transition Plan 5.0 , which has allocated 13.5 billion euros to reduce industrial energy consumption by 5%, are heterogeneous in terms of logic, scope and timing. In particular, the lack of structured coordination between these mechanisms risks reducing the overall effectiveness of the measures, with overlaps, sector gaps and uncertainties for operators.

Building automation systems, or Building Automation and Control Systems (BACS), represent one of the most promising technological levers for reducing energy consumption, especially in the non-residential sector, where, for large buildings, the payback times are more favorable. However, adoption remains modest, held back by cultural barriers, lack of awareness and poor diffusion of technical skills.

The update of the EPBD, which introduces obligations to install BACS systems for thermal plants above 290 kW (and from 2029 also above 70 kW), could represent a turning point, stimulating the diffusion of this technology that proves to be essential for monitoring, regulating and optimising consumption. The challenge will be to accompany these obligations with effective training, technical support and financing.

Alongside technological investments, effective organizational management and the spread of conscious behaviors are also taking on an increasingly important role in the field of energy efficiency. From the European Union to the International Energy Agency (IEA), institutions recognize the transformative potential of daily habits and organizational models, estimating that it could produce 20-25% of global savings by 2050. Virtuous behaviors can include both the more efficient use of existing technologies and a profound change in consumption habits: it has been calculated that by 2030 targeted interventions could contribute to avoiding approximately 2 gigatons of CO₂.

However, the survey carried out by Energy&Strategy showed that just over half of Italian companies have already adopted these measures , only a minority monitors their impacts and less than 15% provide staff bonuses linked to the achievement of energy objectives. This scenario highlights a cultural gap that must be filled by integrating psychological, social and environmental knowledge, so as to fully exploit the savings potential offered by often low-cost and highly replicable solutions.

The report concludes by outlining three possible scenarios for the evolution of investments in energy efficiency by 2030, constructed taking into account regulatory, economic and social variables: a conservative one, one consistent with the objectives of the PNIEC and a more ambitious one, oriented towards European objectives.

The conservative scenario, based only on current policies, foresees a limited reduction in final energy consumption, with -0.5 Mtoe compared to 2022, and investments of approximately 137 billion euros in the period 2024-2030, insufficient to reach the European targets.

The PNIEC scenario, intermediate, but which still requires stable and well-structured policies, proposes to reduce consumption to 102 Mtoe by 2030, thanks to measures already implemented or planned, and to increase investments up to approximately 243 billion euros between 2024 and 2030, with a central role for the residential and tertiary sectors.

Finally, the scenario with EU objectives, the most ambitious, aims at 93 Mtoe of final consumption by 2030, a goal that the PNIEC itself deems unattainable with current measures alone. Investments should rise to around 308 billion, driven mainly by the residential sector, also in response to the European EPBD directive, and this is unachievable without adequate incentives. A stable and coherent framework, characterized by continuity of support measures, is essential to mobilize capital and guide interventions.