FEED 2025: Powering India’s Sustainable Energy Future with Energy Efficiency

New Delhi, January 31 2025: The Alliance for an Energy Efficient Economy (AEEE) successfully concluded the fifth edition of its flagship event, the Forum on Energy Efficiency and Decarbonisation (FEED) 2025, on 30-31 January in New Delhi. 
Bringing together policymakers, industry leaders, and global experts, FEED 2025 reinforced energy efficiency as a central pillar of India’s energy transition and a key driver for economic growth and resilience.

The event featured over 70 speakers across 15 sessions, in collaboration with 14 partners and industry associations, and witnessed over 850 registrations. The sessions engaged in riveting discourse on the future of energy efficiency and why it holds the key to a sustainable future.

On Day 2, the session titled ‘India's Power Play: Demand Flexibility Aggregators Reshape the Grid’ discussed the role of aggregators in India’s power sector. It emphasised the need for an “aggregator of aggregators” to make a significant impact on the discoms.

In a special session, Scott Tew, Vice President, Sustainability and Managing Director, Center for Energy Efficiency and Sustainability, Trane Technologies, remarked that energy efficiency is the “low-hanging fruit of the energy transition.”

“Of all the opportunities we have to realise, energy efficiency remains number one. Doubling energy efficiency can generate 40% of emission reductions required by the Paris Agreement,” Tew noted, suggesting the benefits of energy efficiency.
Tew also added that behavioural changes such as adjusting temperatures, turning off unused equipment and monitoring energy consumption can reduce building energy intensity by 15%.

Speaking about the prospects and opportunities of integrating energy efficiency, he further commented: “Businesses can reduce energy by 31% without reducing output, saving $2 trillion a year by applying available technologies and measures.”

FEED 2025: A Success Story
The event featured thought-provoking keynote addresses, high-level dialogues, and expert-led discussions. Sanjiv Aggarwal, CEO & MD, National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), in his keynote address, underscored the need for bold policies, green public procurement, and strong business models to scale up energy efficiency investments. 
Brian Motherway, Head of Energy Efficiency and Inclusive Transitions Office, International Energy Agency (IEA), highlighted the growing momentum behind global energy efficiency efforts, stating:

“India is ahead of the pack. Its global progress (on energy efficiency) in 2024 was more than double the global average. Many countries had perturbed years during the COVID period, and only now are numbers stabilising again. But it's pleasing to see India in that leadership position, making faster progress. I don’t need to tell you about some of the key policies that India leads on — whether it’s standards and labelling, the great work on building codes, the success of EESL’s flagship programs, or the introduction of carbon trading. These measures are not only helping India domestically but also creating business opportunities in international markets.”

Reflecting on the success of the event, Dr Satish Kumar, President and Executive Director, AEEE, remarked: “FEED 2025 has demonstrated that energy efficiency is not just about technology — it is about ambition, collaboration, and action. The discussions over the past two days reaffirm the urgent need to position energy efficiency as India’s ‘first fuel ’— the fastest, cleanest, and cheapest resource for economic and climate resilience. India has the expertise and innovation potential to lead the global energy transition, and AEEE is committed to driving this momentum forward.”

About FEED 2025

FEED 2025 brought together industry leaders, policymakers, and experts to explore energy efficiency as a key driver of India’s decarbonisation. A high-level fireside chat featuring Dr Satish Kumar (President & Executive Director, AEEE), Alok Kumar (Director, The Lantau Group; Former Secretary, Government of India), Saurabh Kumar (Vice President, India, GEAPP), and Padu S Padmanabhan (International Expert on Energy and Water Productivity) examined strategies to integrate energy efficiency into policies and investment frameworks. Sessions on scaling finance explored funding mechanisms, investment gaps, and private sector participation, while technology discussions focused on AI, IoT, and analytics in boosting energy productivity. Sector-specific deep dives explored district cooling, MSME resilience, retrofitting buildings for net zero, and leveraging carbon credits for cold-chain.

The event also launched a critical pilot initiative. AEEE, in collaboration with BSES Yamuna Power Limited and Schneider Electric, launched a report on the Automated Demand Response (Auto-DR) Pilot in Delhi, exploring how Auto-DR can enhance grid reliability and efficiency in heat-stressed regions.

AEEE and Trane Technologies launched a joint study on enhancing resource efficiency in data centres. The study will analyse energy and water usage in India’s rapidly expanding data centre market and offer recommendations for optimising sustainability.

As FEED 2025 concludes, AEEE remains committed to driving India’s energy efficiency agenda by supporting policy implementation, market transformation, and strategic partnerships.

About AEEE
Alliance for an Energy Efficient Economy (AEEE) is India’s leading policy support and implementation organisation, enabling the energy efficiency market with a not-for-profit motive. With an industry-led approach, it drives all-inclusive policy research, innovation, and on-ground impact, targeting national and state-level energy and emission reductions while improving the quality of life of the most vulnerable. AEEE brings together government, industry, civil society organisations and key stakeholders to promote energy efficiency as a resource and transform the market for energy-efficient products and services, thereby contributing to meeting India’s energy security goals, clean energy, and climate change. Learn more at https://aeee.in/