It is difficult at lower hierarchical levels to have a significative influence upon top management. SME with energy consumptions below 1000 toe normally lack an energetic culture which normally hinders the triggering of energy efficiency projects. Technical development within SME is most of the times triggered by what other competing SME are doing. The influence of external partners has a fundamental impact in fostering energy efficiency projects. This normally has an impact on SME that implement most of the energy saving measures presented in the energy audit report.
Care is taken in setting implementation priorities for the different energy efficiency measures.
This is supported by a simplified economical evaluation of the projects where the simple payback of the investment is supplied. This indicator is most of the times sufficient to convince decision makers of the importance of implementing some of the measures. Only now some SME start to be more aware of environmental issues, since they realize that being enviromentally concerned will have a very positive impact upon end-user, thus leading to an increase of the market share. Portugal still has a very long way to go and the main focal point of the Ministry of Environent is, for the time being, legislation enforcement on industrial effluents. The impact of a global market creates the need for product development and creation of new market niches, which primarily leads to SME's investment in these areas, disregarding energy efficiency.