Driving Decarbonization Value Creation Through Energy Efficiency

Mexico’s pursuit of industrial competitiveness is now inseparable from its decarbonization strategy. Over the past five years, following the pandemic and as global supply chains recalibrated toward nearshoring, Mexican manufacturers and energy-intensive sectors have faced a new imperative: to grow production while sharply reducing emissions and energy waste. The shift has pushed corporate leaders to integrate electricity procurement, renewable generation, and energy efficiency programs into core business planning rather than treating them as separate compliance exercises.

According to José González, Vice President of AMENEER, even if global sustainability messaging appears to have quieted down, Mexico’s private sector continues to see decarbonization as a critical driver for competitiveness. “Although sustainability has globally entered a bit of a recession, we must keep working,” he said. “For Mexico, an export-oriented country, decarbonization is not just about selling more, it is about staying in business. Even if national regulation has not been as strong, market trends are pushing companies to decarbonize.”

In Mexico's industrial sector, the adoption of energy efficiency technologies and digital tools is gaining momentum. Energy management systems (EMS), artificial intelligence (AI), and the Internet of Things (IoT) are being employed for real-time monitoring and performance optimization. For instance, METRON's Energy Management and Optimization System (EMOS) is utilized across various industries, including pulp and paper, glass, iron and steel, food and beverage, and electronics, to enhance energy efficiency and reduce carbon impact.

Francisco Villarreal, Founder of Kinenergy, highlighted the growing importance of integrating monitoring, measurement, and verification tools from the early design stages of projects. “It’s essential to start adopting digital twins and BIM models to track energy performance from the beginning,” he said. “That allows companies to establish baselines and compare real-world behavior against expectations without waiting a year for data. These digital tools also help evaluate energy availability and infrastructure early on, reducing uncertainty and improving project efficiency.”

These technologies enable businesses to identify inefficiencies, predict maintenance needs, and optimize energy consumption without compromising production levels. The return on investment (ROI) from these solutions is often realized through cost savings, improved operational reliability, and alignment with decarbonization and ESG disclosure strategies.

Andrés Friedman, Co-Founder and CEO of Solfium, noted that despite political back-and-forths around sustainability on the global stage, Mexico’s corporate leaders continue advancing their renewable and efficiency goals, though with less fanfare. “We’re seeing two realities,” he said. “Globally, sustainability discourse may have retreated, but in Mexico, many leading companies, in banking, consumer goods, and automotive sectors, are still pushing forward. They’ve moved from greenwashing to ‘green hushing,’ but the strategies continue. They do so because it’s the right long-term decision for their stakeholders and because it’s profitable. Solar energy is now the cheapest energy source in Mexico and globally, and investing in renewables and efficiency directly improves operational savings while boosting competitiveness.”

Private financing models and innovative investment strategies are essential to drive the adoption of sustainable electricity and comprehensive energy efficiency solutions in Mexico. Businesses are leveraging internal capital allocation, market-driven incentives, and external private funds to scale these initiatives, like Mexico's Development Bank’s Eco Crédito Sustentable program to support the financing of energy efficiency projects for SMEs nationwide. Similarly, the Climate Investment Funds' US$1 billion initiative aims to reduce industrial emissions in Mexico by providing access to low-cost financing, with each dollar from the fund expected to leverage an additional US$12 from development banks and private investors. These financial mechanisms are crucial for overcoming capital constraints and accelerating the transition to a low-carbon economy.

However, Aquiles López, President of CANAME, pointed out that many industrial players still face significant financial and structural challenges in deploying renewable solutions at scale. “At the industrial level, the financial structure remains a challenge to make full use of alternatives such as solar energy,” he said. “Although distributed generation limits were increased to 750 kW, that is still not enough. Companies face additional challenges not only with distributed generation but also with electromobility. The opportunity lies in allowing closed-loop solar generation systems to feed these emerging charging needs, producing a strong impact in reducing carbon footprints.”

Beyond direct operational shifts, companies are deploying market-driven strategies and commercial models to scale sustainable electricity and energy efficiency solutions in Mexico. These strategies include creating new demand, leveraging carbon credits, and utilizing international reporting requirements to finance green projects. Mexico is preparing to relaunch its national carbon market with an ambitious plan that combines unlimited use of carbon offsets under its emissions trading system (ETS) and the creation of a new national registry to strengthen transparency and supply.

This development provides companies with opportunities to generate revenue from carbon credits, which can be reinvested into further sustainability initiatives. Additionally, international corporations are entering into agreements to purchase carbon credits from Latin American forestry projects, demonstrating the growing demand for high-quality offsets in the region.