E+E Leader Team
Rising inflation, energy market volatility, and infrastructure strain are converging into an urgent operational challenge—especially for energy-intensive sectors like manufacturing, healthcare, and data-driven industries. Across the globe, organizations are now contending with the financial consequences of deferred maintenance, high input costs, and unreliable grid performance.
Energy inefficiency has become more than a sustainability issue—it is now a critical financial exposure.
Energy Volatility Reaches the Bottom Line
A convergence of factors is tightening margins across sectors:
- UK industrial production in energy-intensive sectors has reached a 35-year low, a direct result of sustained energy price pressures. Despite government attempts to provide price relief, only a narrow band of companies currently receive subsidies, prompting calls to widen eligibility.
- In the U.S., commercial and industrial energy bills continue to rise at rates exceeding core inflation. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, utility costs for commercial entities increased over 4.5% year-over-year, placing new burdens on operational budgets already stretched by wage inflation and supply chain fluctuations.
- Healthcare systems are now navigating infrastructure risk as a financial liability. A 2025 study from the American Society for Health Care Engineering revealed that 38% of hospitals experienced operational disruptions due to deferred maintenance—a factor directly tied to energy inefficiency, unplanned capital outlays, and patient care risks.
Infrastructure Risk and the Deferred Maintenance Gap
For decades, companies have managed energy through cost control or outsourced contracts. But as asset degradation accelerates, deferred upgrades are beginning to affect uptime, tenant satisfaction, and insurance risk profiles.
Recent developments have shown:
- In the chemical and steel sectors, firms are delaying low-carbon infrastructure projects due to uncertain returns and lack of supportive policy signals. ArcelorMittal recently canceled decarbonization projects in Germany despite previously secured public financing, citing unstable energy markets.
- Hospitals and large campuses are increasingly shifting to performance-based energy contracting or Energy-as-a-Service models to resolve backlogs without draining capital budgets. These arrangements are being used not just for LEDs and HVAC, but for microgrids, data optimization, and asset lifecycle planning.
Energy Strategy as Risk Mitigation
As CFOs face mounting pressure to preserve capital while meeting emissions goals, energy efficiency is being reframed as a risk mitigation tool:
- Predictive analytics and energy intelligence platforms are helping facilities teams preempt system failures, benchmark building performance, and prioritize upgrades by ROI and operational impact.
- Integrated energy strategies—combining procurement, asset monitoring, and project financing—are becoming essential to navigating cost fluctuations and resilience mandates.
- Capital-light infrastructure investments such as modular retrofits and outcome-based service models are gaining traction among enterprises with geographically dispersed assets.
Industry is Recalibrating—And Time Is Short
The macroeconomic climate shows no signs of stabilizing in the near term. With central banks warning of prolonged inflation cycles and utility regulators greenlighting rate hikes for grid improvements, the window to act proactively on energy cost exposure is narrowing.
That’s why upcoming forums are focusing not just on sustainability, but on energy as a financial and operational discipline.
Join the Conversation: June 26
One such discussion will take place on June 26 in the form of an insight-rich webinar titled Energy Cost Management Strategies in an Uncertain Macro Climate, hosted by experts from Redaptive and PwC. While not the sole solution, the session offers timely guidance for companies navigating the intersection of inflation, infrastructure risk, and energy volatility.
Participants will explore:
- How to quantify energy-related risk in financial terms
- Practical cost-reduction strategies without capital strain
- Tactics to turn real-time energy data into business intelligence
Final Word
As cost pressure mounts and volatility becomes the norm, organizations that treat energy strategy as a core operational lever—not a compliance exercise—will be better equipped to protect assets, preserve budgets, and build resilience.
The shift is already happening. The question is whether your organization is ready.
