Energy Efficiency: The Most Effective Path to Reducing Waste and Rebuilding Infrastructure from the Bottom Up
In a world increasingly strained by resource extraction and environmental degradation, energy efficiency stands out as the most powerful and underutilized tool for systemic change. It is the only intervention that simultaneously reduces emissions, lowers costs, and minimizes waste—while improving quality of life and economic resilience.
As global economies intensify their pursuit of critical minerals, rare earths, and energy resources, the inefficiencies embedded in our infrastructure become glaring. The systems we rely on to deliver energy—from generation to consumption—are largely linear, centralized, and wasteful. To reverse this trend, we must start at the edge of the system: with the end users. And nowhere is this more urgent than in buildings.
Why Energy Efficiency Matters Most
Michael Liebreich, in his essay Energy Efficiency: Key to Covid Recovery (BloombergNEF, 2020), describes energy efficiency as the “Swiss Army Knife of stimulus spending.” It is fast, scalable, and economically sound. By reducing energy demand, efficiency eliminates the need for additional generation capacity, thereby conserving resources and reducing emissions at the source.
David Sykes, in The Energy Onion: A Simple Conceptual Model for a Smart System (Medium, 2020), offers a compelling framework for rethinking energy systems. His “onion model” begins with energy efficiency at the core—because the most sustainable energy is the energy never consumed. From this foundation, layers of self-consumption, local balancing, and system-level optimization build outward, each reducing pressure on infrastructure and maximizing renewable energy use.
Efficiency is not just good physics—it’s good policy. It works across all layers of the energy system, from households to grid operators. It reduces peak demand, improves grid stability, and enables deeper integration of renewables.
Buildings: The End-Use Epicenter
Buildings account for nearly 40% of global energy-related greenhouse gas emissions (Liebreich, 2020). They are the final destination for most of the energy we produce—used for heating, cooling, lighting, and powering appliances. This makes them the most strategic and impactful starting point for systemic change.
Retrofitting buildings for energy efficiency—through insulation, smart controls, heat pumps, and efficient lighting—can dramatically reduce energy demand. These upgrades
also improve indoor air quality, reduce energy poverty, and create local jobs. Yet, despite their potential, energy efficiency investments in buildings remain underfunded and fragmented.
The Infrastructure Gap
The current energy system is still designed top-down, with centralized generation and passive demand. This model is increasingly incompatible with the needs of a decentralized, renewable-powered future. As Sykes argues, we need a bottom-up approach that starts with the consumer and optimizes energy use locally before relying on central systems.
Unfortunately, public infrastructure investment—where efficiency gains could be transformative—is often left to under-resourced municipalities. Meanwhile, capital flows to aggregators, traders, and service providers who operate near the end consumer but do not address the root inefficiencies in the system.
To truly reduce waste and regenerate our infrastructure, we must:
Prioritize energy efficiency as the first step in every infrastructure investment.
Start with buildings, the largest and most accessible energy consumers.
Redesign energy systems to reward local optimization and self-consumption.
Empower public institutions with capital and mandates to lead efficiency retrofits.
Integrate flexibility and digital tools to unlock deeper savings and smarter operations.
Energy efficiency is not a side project—it is the foundation of a resilient, low-waste economy. It is the only intervention that reduces demand, emissions, and costs simultaneously. And it starts where energy ends: in our buildings.
References:
- Liebreich, M. (2020). Energy Efficiency: Key to Covid Recovery. BloombergNEF. https://about.bnef.com/blog/liebreich-energy-efficiency-key-to-covid-recovery/
- Sykes, D. (2020). The Energy Onion: A Simple Conceptual Model for a Smart System. Medium. https://medium.com/@david-sykes/the-energy-onion-a-simple-conceptual-model-for-a-smart-system-3c1f2c5cbd1a