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Energy intensity in the service sector (ENER 024) - Assessment published Sep 2011
Generic metadata
Tags:
Typology: Efficiency indicator (Type C – Are we improving?)
- ENER 024
- Contents
-
Key policy question: Is the energy intensity decreasing in the service sector?
Key messages
Rationale
The energy consumption in the service sector consists mainly of energy consumption in buildings. The indicator tracks progress made in reducing the energy consumption per unit of activity (measured in terms of value added or number of employees) in the service sector in EU-27. Reducing the energy intensity of the service sector (as defined above), will have a positive impact on the environment due to reduced environmental pressures associated with the production of the energy input. The indicator is complementary to ENER 21.
Electricity intensity and electricity consumption per employee in services
Note: Unit consumption per employee is the ratio between the energy consumption (total or electricity) and the number of employees (salaries employed in full time). The energy (or electricity) intensity is the ratio between the energy (electricity) consumption and the value added expressed in constant Euros (M€2000)
ODYSSEE. Energy consumption, number of employees, electricity consumption and the value added expressed in constant Euros (M€2000).
The Odyssee database is available at http://www.odyssee-indicators.org/
The access is restricted to project partners or subscribers
Electricity intensity in the service sector
Note: Unit consumption per employee is the ratio between the energy consumption (total or electricity) and the number of employees (salaries employed in full time). The energy (or electricity) intensity is the ratio between the energy (electricity) consumption and the value added expressed in constant Euros (M€2000)
ODYSSEE database. Electricity intensity of tertiary (MWh/M€2005ppp). The Odyssee database is available at http://www.odyssee-indicators.org/ The access is restricted to project partners or subscribers
Energy consumption per employee and energy intensity in services
Note: Unit consumption per employee is the ratio between the energy consumption (total or electricity) and the number of employees (salaries employed in full time). The energy (or electricity) intensity is the ratio between the energy (electricity) consumption and the value added expressed in constant Euros (M€2000)
ODYSSEE database (last update : October 2010). The Odyssee database is available at http://www.odyssee-indicators.org/ The access is restricted to project partners or subscribers
EFor all the EU countries, data are extracted from the ODYSSEE database (last update in October 2010) and are provided by national energy agencies or their representatives. For EU, the data sources are the following:
- Electricity consumption : source ODYSSEE data base sum of 27 countries as there is a discontinuity in Eurostat in 2006
- Number of employees : sum of data of the 27 countries, from ODYSSEE database
Key assessment
- Over the period 1997-2008, the final energy intensity of the service sector has decreased in the EU-27, at an annual average rate of 1.2%. The development was stronger over the period 1997-2000 when the energy intensity decreased by 2%/year, compared to 1.1%/year between 2000 and 2007 and an increase by 0.3% in 2008. Such a trend shows a relative decoupling between energy consumption and economic growth: the value added of the service sector increased by 2.8%/year while its energy consumption only increased by 0.9%/year between 1997 and 2007 (and +1.1% in 2008). (Figure 1).
- Over the period 1997 – 2008, the energy consumption per employee decreased by around 0.5%, and especially between 1997 and 2000 (-1.1%/year). From 2000 to 2007, there is a slowdown in the decrease of the unit consumption (-0.4%/year) and an increase in 2008 (+0.4%) (Figure 1)
- From 1997 to 2008, the electricity consumption per employee increased by around 1%/year, due to increased use of air conditioning in southern countries and IT and other electric equipment. The progression was much faster before 2000 than after (1.6%/year compared to 0.7%/year). In 2008, the unit consumption increased by 1.3%, due to a rapid increase of the electricity consumption of 2.7%. The electricity intensity per value added also increased but slower (0.3%/year over 1997-2008). The progression was mainly observed from 1997 to 2000 (+0.7%/year) and rather stable between 2000 and 2007; in 2008 the electricity intensity increased by 1.2%. The different trends in electricity intensity, one measured per employee and one per value added, reflects the fact that the growth in value added was stronger than growth in employment in the service sector (productivity gains) (Figure 2).
- The electricity intensity per unit of value added decreased however in about half of the countries since 1997, showing a decoupling between electricity consumption and activity. This lower growth of electricity use is somehow explained by energy efficiency improvements and structural changes in the sector that are unfortunately difficult to capture due to data limitations in that sector. In southern countries, the electricity intensity tends to increase rapidly due to air conditioning (Figure 3).
Specific policy question: What are the trends concerning the energy consumption per employee and per capita in the service sector?
% change in services final energy consumption per person, 1990-2008
Note: Based on the ratio : energy consumption / population (%/year calculated on the period 1990-2008)
EUROSTAT Energy consumption: Final energy consumption – Services. Reference of the table : nrg_100a. Code of the dataserie : 102035. Website: http://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/show.do?dataset=nrg_100a&lang=en
EUROSTAT Data on population (by sex and age on 1st January of each year). Reference of the table : populat. Code of the dataserie : demo_pjan
Website: http://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/setupModifyTableLayout.do
Population
Specific assessment
- From 1990 to 2008, the energy consumption per capita in the service sector has increased by 19% in EEA countries and 16% in EU-27, at an annual average rate of 1% for EEA and 0.8% for EU-27. The progression was much faster since 2000 (2.2%/year for EEA and 1.9%/year for EU-27) (Figure 4).
- Large differences can be observed in the variation of the energy consumption per capita among EEA member countries. In countries like Denmark, Sweden or UK, there was almost no increase compared to 1990, while in others, mainly southern countries, the increase exceeds 150% compared to 1990 levels (e.g. Slovenia, Portugal, Romania, Greece, Spain or Turkey). In few countries, there was an actual decrease in energy consumption per capita in the sector compared to 1990 (e.g. Germany, Switzerland, UK or some new member countries as Estonia, Bulgaria, Latvia, Slovakia and Lithuania) that may be explained partly by structural changes in the sector and energy savings (Figure 4).
Data sources
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Population and GDP evolution (Eurostat)
provided by Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat) -
Total population on 1 January each year (Eurostat)
provided by Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat) -
Basic energy statistics
provided by -
ODYSSEE
provided by Earth Observation - Environment (ACRI-ST)
More information about this indicator
See this indicator specification for more details.
Contacts and ownership
EEA Contact Info
Cinzia PastorelloOwnership
EEA Management Plan
2010 2.8.1 (note: EEA internal system)Dates
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