A survey study of energy saving activities of industrial companies in the Republic of Korea

This study measures industrial energy saving activities (ESAs) in the Republic of Korea and identifies their determinant factors by a questionnaire survey to the energy-intensive companies. More than 90% of the samples have practiced the institutional and managerial ESAs, requiring relatively lower costs and efforts. Although the companies have felt strong pressures from the governmental regulations and recognized the importance of industrial associations, the externally coercive, normative and mimetic factors still indicate no significant influence on their ESAs at present. As internal factors, the willingness for energy saving, support from top management and internal training specific for energy saving determine a company's practice level of ESAs. Economic incentives, like financial subsidies, are useful for encouraging the company's involvement in ESAs. Korean government shall also provide more technical support to the companies, particularly the small and medium-sized ones, for enhancing their capacities in promptly reacting to the newly initiated mandatory regulations on industrial energy efficiency.