ISO 50001

Overview

Energy is critical to organizational operations and can be a major cost to organizations, whatever their activities. An idea can be gained by considering the use of energy through the supply chain of a business, from raw materials through to recycling.

In addition to the economic costs of energy to an organization, energy can impose environmental and societal costs by depleting resources and contributing to problems such as climate change.

ISO 50001 STANDARD

ISO 50001:2011 is an international standard for Energy Management Systems (EnMS). It specifies requirements for establishing, implementing, maintaining and improving an energy management system, whose purpose is to enable organizations to follow a systematic approach in achieving continual improvement of energy performance, including energy efficiency, energy use and consumption.

The ISO 50001 Standard is based on the methodology known as Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA). PDCA can be briefly described as follows:

• Plan: conduct the energy review and establish the baseline, energy performance indicators (EnPIs), objectives, targets and action plans necessary to deliver results in accordance with opportunities to improve energy performance and the organization’s energy policy.
• Do: implement the energy management action plans.
• Check: monitor and measure processes and the key characteristics of its operations that determine energy performance against the energy policy and objectives and report the results.
• Act: take actions to continually improve energy performance and the EnMS.

The PDCA process is widely known to more than a million organizations worldwide who implement standards such as ISO9001, ISO14001, ISO22000. These characteristics enable organizations to integrate energy management now with their overall efforts to improve quality, environmental management and other challenges addressed by their management systems.

The key elements of an ISO5001 are:

1. 1. Energy policy – top management’s official statement of the organization’s commitment to managing energy
2. 2. Cross-divisional management team – led by a representative who reports directly to management and is responsible for overseeing the implementation of the energy management system
3. 3. Energy review – to assess current and planned energy use, energy sources and consumption and identify opportunities for improvement
4. 4. Baseline(s) – of the organization’s energy use
5. 5. Energy performance indicators (EnPIs) – that are unique to the company and are tracked against the baseline to measure progress
6. 6. Energy objectives and targets – for energy performance improvement at relevant functions, levels, processes or facilities within an organization
7. 7. Action plans – to meet those targets and objectives
8. 8. Operating controls and procedures – for significant energy uses
9. 9. Measurement, management, and documentation – for continuous improvement for energy efficiency
10. 10. Internal audit of progress – reported to management based on these measurements.

WHY CHOOSE ISO 50001 – KEY BENEFITS

ISO 50001 identifies energy management as business management and provides the framework to encourage suppliers and customers to better control their energy, and thus promoting energy efficiency through the supply chain.

Implementation of an energy management plan assists a company to:

• Reduce energy costs;
• Improve business performance;
• Reduce greenhouse-gas emmissions;
• Ensure compliance with legal and regulatory requirements;
• Develop of a baseline of energy use;
• Improve corporate image and credibility among stake holders, regulators, customers, prospective clients and the public;
• Seamlessly integrate with quality, environmental and other sector specific management systems.