This paper provides an insight into energy efficiency interventions studies, focusing on issues arising in UK higher education institutions (HEIs) in particular Based on a review of the context for energy efficiency and carbon reduction programmes in the UK and the trends in higher education sector, existing external and internal policies and initiatives and their relevant issues are extensively discussed To explore the efficacy of some internal intervention strategies, such as technical, non-technical and management interventions, a survey was conducted among UK higher education institutions between February and April 2008 Consultation responses show that there are a relatively high percentage of institutions (83%) that have embarked on both technical and non-technical initiatives, which is a demonstration to the joined-up approach in such area Major barriers for intervention studies are also identified, including lack of methodology, non-clarity of energy demand and consumption issues, difficulty in establishing assessment boundaries, problems with regards to indices and their effectiveness and so on Besides establishing clear targets for carbon reductions within the sector, it is concluded that it is important to develop systems for effectively measuring and evaluating the Impact of different policies, regulations and schemes in the future as the first step to explore (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved