The Energy Efficiency Financial Institutions Group (EEFIG) completed its new “Energy Efficiency – 
the first fuel for the EU Economy: How to drive new finance for energy efficiency investments” report. The EEFIG report identifies the critical success factors, policies, market instruments and financing solutions to increase energy efficiency investments in Europe in the buildings, industry and SME sectors. The international landmark study is the result of 16 months of work of more than 120 active participants representing finance, policy makers, the buildings sector, industry, SMEs and energy efficiency market participants.
The Energy Efficiency Financial Institutions Group (“EEFIG”) was established as a specialist expert working group by the European Commission and United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (“UNEP FI”), in late 2013, as a result of the dialogue between Directorate-General for Energy (“DG Energy”) and UNEP FI, as both institutions were engaging with financial institutions to determine how to overcome the well documented challenges inherent to obtaining long-term financing for energy efficiency. EEFIG resulted from the joining of these forces to engage with the sector’s stakeholders and financial institutions to create an open dialogue and work platform with the European Commission; and with UNEP FI helping to convene meetings and bring in a variety of active and interested players, among its members and beyond, as per its mission statement of “changing finance, financing change”.
CECIMO was invited to join the EEFIG in the second half of 2014 to contribute to the work on energy efficiency investments in ‘industry’. The group addressed this question by identifying and discussing the main drivers that would enable the development of a vibrant market for energy efficiency investments, covering large energy intensive and non-energy intensive companies and SMEs.
