The SET project has delivered its results in 12 languages. The SET scheme is based on a new software for companies to monitor their energy consumption, learn best practices, and benchmark their own energy performance with their competitors or similar companies. The brochure "Time for Energy efficiency in Textile SMEs", published at the closure of the project, provides insight in the achievements and in what will be pursued by companies in the near future. SET offers a package for companies to quantify their energy consumption and the opportunities for improving their energy efficiency based on a technical tool (the SET excel), know-how and a working methodology. Save Energy in Textile SME’s project is launched to enable the European textile SMEs to improve their energy efficiency, achieving tangible and countable economic and resource-efficiency benefits. This project is a part of EURATEX’ Energy Made-to-Measure campaign – initiative running until 2016 to empower over 300 textile & clothing companies, notably SMEs, to become more energy efficient. Movie released at the closure of the SET project. Energy Made-to-Measure platform

Time for energy efficiency

Energy efficiency is becoming an urgent issue in the European textile sector for several reasons:

  • Regulation for energy efficiency is becoming stricter: some countries are starting to implement new rules, others are updating (and tightening) the existing ones.
  • Energy prices are increasing: energy prices have already gone up substantially but there is also an uncertainty of how the prices will evolve in the future (e.g. due to renewable energy or augmenting instability in oil producing countries).
  • Staying competitive requires controlling and optimising energy cost: European textile companies already strongly rationalized human resources. To further increases competitiveness, other sources need to be dealt with. Energy is a crucial one with still large potential.

Targeted Solution

During the SET project a unique Energy Saving and Efficiency Tool will be developed for the European textile industry. We will support energy efficiency for 150 companies across Europe applying this scheme at companies’ premises, providing training and assistance. Also 350 of European Textiles SMEs will receive all necessary elements (both technical and non-technical) to evaluate their options and to make well-informed decisions. Prior to modifying the company’s production processes and making investments to increase energy efficiency, textile companies need to get different types of information, including legal context, economic and technical peculiarities. The SET project targets the whole European textile industry, an important sector for employment and industrial manufacturing. During its initial phase SET will focus its actions on seven selected countries: Belgium, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Portugal and Romania which counts for 55% of the whole EU textile companies. In a second phase the project will also promote its results to other European regions with significant amounts of textile SMEs.

Project partners:
EURATEX