All policies / Industry / CAPMF_EE_AUDITS
Mandatory energy audits for large enterprises — industrial scope
Instrument affecting the Industry sector, using a obligations mechanism; in force since 2014.
About this policy
Large enterprises must carry out an energy audit at least every four years, under the EU Energy Efficiency Directive as transposed by S.I. 426/2014.
Key milestones
- 2014S.I. 426/2014 requires large enterprises to carry out energy audits at least every four years; first deadline December 2015.
Contextual milestones compiled from official sources. They are not used in the index.
About this type of instrument: market-based obligations
Obligations combine a regulatory target with market flexibility. The obligated party finds the least-cost way to meet it, which is useful where many small, dispersed actions are needed, for example household energy savings.
- Quantified, verifiable targets
- Flexible and often low-cost delivery
- Does not require public expenditure
- Additionality of reported savings can be uncertain
- Compliance costs are passed through to consumers
- For biofuels, life-cycle and land-use emissions may offset gains
Measurement in this dataset. Most obligation rows are unmatched in the OECD framework and use assumed timing; audits use the OECD energy-efficiency mandate indicator. Bindingness is scored 0.75 for statutory obligations and 1.0 where the duty is a directly mandatory rule.
Year by year
Filled markers use a matched OECD score; hollow markers use assumed timing. Shaded bands show the policy's status. Select a year on the chart or the slider to see how its intensity is built up.
Data-quality notes
Methodological notes recorded for this series, grouped by theme.
OECD match quality
- Missing OECD values are left missing and never filled from other years.
- Uses an industry-wide OECD category as a proxy.
Policy-specific notes
- ETS exemption rules changed in 2019.
- The first compliance deadline fell in 2015.
Scoring conventions
- The unweighted equal-weight index remains positive before the policy starts; use the gated version for timing analysis.
- Bindingness is a normative score from the study rubric, not a measure of observed compliance.
- Coverage is an ordinal scope score, not a measured share of activity or emissions.
Timing assumptions
- The policy has no reported end date; its status after the reporting date is reconstructed as continuing.
Selection context
- Policies were selected using recent (2024–2030) assessments, which can introduce retrospective selection bias.
Sources
- OECD. Climate Actions and Policies Measurement Framework (CAPMF) database, Ireland, 1990–2023. https://data-explorer.oecd.org/vis?df[ag]=OECD.ENV.EPI&df[id]=DSD_CAPMF@DF_CAPMF (accessed 25 September 2026)
- Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland. Energy Auditing Compliance Scheme. https://www.seai.ie/plan-your-energy-journey/public-sector/energy-auditing (accessed 25 September 2026)