This project, starting in October 2025, aims to identify practical and locally relevant ways to engage industrial SMEs (Small and Medium-sised Enterprises) in energy demand reduction as part of wider decarbonisation efforts. Building on prior research, it will examine existing engagement routes, governance actors, and context-specific opportunities and challenges, focusing on sectors that face high technical complexity and limited policy support. Through a rapid evidence assessment, targeted interviews, and stakeholder workshops, the project will map feasible pathways for action, informed by collaboration with five local industrial decarbonisation initiatives. The findings will provide the first UK-specific framework for engaging industrial SMEs in energy efficiency, offering insights for both governance and place-based strategies to reduce emissions while overcoming resource and infrastructure barriers.
Mapping Engagement Routes for Industrial Transition (MERIT)
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Project overview
Key objectives
The project aims to:
- Map existing routes for engaging industrial SMEs in decarbonisation, with a focus on energy demand reduction.
- Identify key governance actors and their roles across national, regional, and local levels.
- Explore context-specific challenges and opportunities for SME engagement.
- Develop practical, locally relevant pathways for action.
Methods and approaches
The project will use a Rapid Evidence Assessment to review literature, policy, and case studies on SME decarbonisation engagement routes. This will be followed by interviews with SMEs, government officials, and local industrial decarbonisation plan representatives to identify governance actors, challenges, and opportunities. Two stakeholder workshops will then refine findings, extract lessons from other SME contexts, and co-develop a visual output to support industrial SME engagement in energy demand reduction.
