ENHANCING ENERGY POLICY ADOPTION WITHIN THE SOUTH AFRICAN FINANCIAL SERVICES SECTOR.

In the wake of increasing global emphasis on sustainable environmental practices, South African organisations strive to integrate green business principles into their strategies. The paper's objective was to evaluate the importance and implementation of an energy policy within the financial services sector in line with ISO50001. The paper presents findings from a quantitative non-experimental study within the South African financial services sector through a structured questionnaire. The findings showed that although the implementation of an energy policy is important, there is still a gap in the adoption of an energy policy within the financial services sector. The study further found that a notable percentage (29.5%) of respondents indicated that the energy policy did not provide sufficient guidance on energy targets and objectives. Setting an energy policy is the starting point and driving force for implementing energy management. It should be the priority of managers who have not yet done so. Further research on how energy policies are structured through content analysis could add value to organisations that have not yet implemented such policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]