By Jennifer Shine, Principal Solution Engineer at Imubit
A Shift in Priorities
Around the world, energy volatility and market dynamics are forcing a recalibration across the industry. Projects once labeled as “green transformations” are being scaled back or postponed due to market volatility, political uncertainty, and tighter capital budgets. Yet beneath the headlines, one reality remains: energy continues to be one of the largest operating expenses. That point was echo’d at LATAM’s LARTC this year, where it accounted for nearly 50% of OPEX.
Energy and emissions reduction is not a luxury ESG initiative or a branding exercise. It is a core business imperative that determines competitiveness and profitability.
The Economics of Energy
Energy costs dominate production across refining, petrochemicals, and cement. Every percentage point of improvement translates directly into margin protection.
In Latin America, volatile energy markets magnify operational risk.
In Europe, rising carbon costs and regulations demand efficiency.
In North America, investor scrutiny ties performance to proof. Proof of safety, reliability and sustainability.
Despite regional differences, the conclusion is universal: energy efficiency remains a very powerful lever executives can pull simultaneously reducing cost and emissions and strengthening the bottom line.
Drowning in Promises
Executives today are inundated with solutions, each promising “2–3x returns” or “double-digit efficiency gains” without transparency on how. The sheer volume of competing claims breeds fatigue and skepticism, often leading to indecision.
The market’s missing link isn’t more technology, it’s clarity. Leaders need straightforward, verifiable insights into which projects truly deliver sustained energy and emissions reductions at low cost.
The differentiator for high-performing organizations is the ability to cut through the noise and focus on fundamentals that drive measurable outcomes.
What Actually Works
At LARTC, a recurring theme emerged across speakers, and in hallway conversations: success depends not on how many projects you run, but on how wisely you choose them.
A simple lens can guide that decision:
Scale of Impact: Does the initiative target high-energy-use assets and large emission sources rather than peripheral systems?
Capital Efficiency: Can improvements be achieved leveraging a single platform across multiple use cases to minimize CapEx and maximize return on investment?
Verifiable Results: Are savings measured with transparent, auditable data, and not vendor PowerPoints?
Proactive, Not Just Predictive: Does the solution act on insights automatically (closed-loop optimization) rather than stopping at forecasting or dashboarding? Real transformation happens when systems continuously drive performance in real time, not when users are left reacting to alerts.
With emissions calculated and tracked 24/7, every autonomous adjustment matters. Closed-loop systems can make thousands of micro-optimizations a day, each one contributing measurable energy and emissions reductions that add up to major operational impact.
Projects that pass all four filters deliver real, defensible change and often achieve faster payback and greater sustainability value than large-scale hardware transformations.
Regional Differences, Universal Truths
Every market brings its own context. Subsidies in one region, carbon pricing in another, political turbulence somewhere else. But none of these alter the core economics: reducing energy use is the fastest, most dependable way to cut both costs and emissions.
Whether in Brazil, Texas, or Rotterdam, the math holds. A refinery that optimizes energy consumption gains immediate cost relief and long-term emissions credibility. Leaders cannot afford to treat this as a “regional initiative” ; it’s a universal business truth.
The Executive Imperative
Across sectors, executives are confronting the same reality: capital markets and competition are moving faster than policy or frameworks. The question is no longer whether to invest in energy reduction, but how to embed it into every decision.
The most forward-looking leaders are reframing the conversation and asking how to capture incremental energy gains in every project, or how to make one investment deliver efficiency across many initiatives.
Those who treat energy and emissions reductions as a design principle, backed with clear economics, disciplined execution and verifiable impact, will define the next decade of industrial performance.
Beyond Green
Sustainability was once a choice, something industry leaders could lean into or not. Moving forward, sustainability is a survival skill and the future belongs to those leaders who treat energy as a lever in transformation.
