What are the strategies and instruments that may generate better results to improve energy efficiency in the manufacturing industries?These questions were investigated in this study by means of the opinions and expectations of the main stakeholders (associations and representative firms in Germany and Colombia) through a questionnaire and analysis of literature.This chapter is structured as follows.In section 2, examines energy efficiency policy in both countries.Section 3 shows the methodology used in this study.Section 4 analyses changes in energy efficiency in German and Colombian manufacturing industries.Results and discussion appear in section 5 while the section 6 shows different strategies and recommendations for an effective energy efficiency policy in the Colombian manufacturing industry.The main conclusions of the study are presented in section 7. General characteristics of energy efficiency policy in Germany and Colombia The German energy efficiency policyThe German energy policy is based in the commitment to the "3 Es": energy security, economic efficiency and environmental sustainability.In this context, Germany emphasises environment and climate change objectives, and energy efficiency assumes increased importance in the country's overall energy policy.Moreover, in the last decade, the key German energy policies have been based on the expansion of the use of renewable energy and the establishment of new energy efficiency targets and an energy research program (IEA, 2007).From the mid-1990s, the dominant instruments employed to improve energy efficiency in the German manufacturing industries were voluntary agreements.Since its introduction in 2004, however, the emissions trading system has become the most important policy measure in the manufacturing industrial sector, and it has also provided a key incentive to raise energy efficiency (Eichhammer, et al., 2006).Regarding cross-cutting measures to improve energy efficiency in Germany, the main policy is the Ecological Tax Reform, i.e., the introduction of a so-called Eco Tax on oil, gas and electricity 1 .Additionally, the Renewable Energy Sources Act provides digressive compensation rates for new installations for all renewable energies 2 .The German energy efficiency policies for the manufacturing industries have worked mainly with the following strategies:  Voluntary agreements: the improvements in the efficiency of on-site electricity generation, particularly combined heat and power (CHP). Eco-tax: Germany's red-green coalition government introduced a set of ecotaxes on 1 April 1999 designed to make energy and resource consumption more expensive while lowering the cost of labour.Taxes on petrol and diesel, electricity, heating oil and natural gas had 1 The tax was introduced in two stages: a first tax increase from 1 April 1999 and a further four-step increase in taxation from 2000 to 2003.There are tax reductions for some consumers, chiefly within the manufacturing industry, agriculture and the railways.The revenue from this tax is used for a reduction of the non-wage labour costs and the promotion of renewable energies (Eichhammer, et al. 2006).