The result will be an approach that takes into account the special situation of many SMEs. For example: low share of electricity costs in total operating costs, no in-house energy specialists, investments outside the core business difficult, rental of buildings.

Many organizations already provide energy and power efficiency advice to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), delivering measures to reduce energy consumption. However, two problems are apparent:

• The programs implemented to date have reached less than 1% of the approximately 300,000 SMEs in Switzerland.
• After analysis and consulting, SMEs only implement a small portion of the proposed measures. The implementation rates of the measures and thus their impact are low.
   

It is estimated that Swiss companies could reduce their energy consumption by 30%. There is therefore considerable potential for energy savings. Despite intensive efforts by business and environmental associations, energy supply companies and energy agencies at the cantonal and municipal level, this potential has not yet been sufficiently exploited.

The «Negawatt instead of Megawatt» project focuses on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with an annual electricity consumption between 10 and 500 MWh. The technical potential for electricity savings in these SMEs is estimated at 5.7 TWh per year (approx. 10% of Switzerland's electricity consumption). At today's electricity prices, around two-thirds of this (3.8 TWh per year) could be economically implemented.
 

• The interdisciplinary approach (psychology, sociology, marketing, sales, economics, engineering) is intended to incorporate findings from related fields.
• The focus is on the 250,000 SMEs with an electricity consumption between 10 and 500 MWh per year. This target group, with a savings potential of up to 10% of Swiss electricity consumption, has hardly been reached so far.
• For the first time, SMEs in a region are being targeted comprehensively.
• The project will provide additional scientific foundations in the area of energy efficiency, the most important element of the federal government's Energy Strategy 2050.
• Many of the findings should be applicable to the entire energy sector.