Saving energy is a big deal right now. It’s crucial for the environment and fighting climate change. When we manage energy well, organizations can cut down on their carbon footprint, making a positive impact. This not only helps the planet but also ensures a better future for all.
What is ISO 50001?
ISO 50001:2018 is the international standard for Energy Management Systems created by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). It has specifications for establishing, implementing, maintaining, and improving an energy management system (EnMS). The objective of this standard is to enable an organization to follow a systematic approach to energy performance improvement, inclusive of energy efficiency, energy security, energy use, and consumption. The standard targets to help organizations continually reduce their energy consumption leading to energy cost reductions and reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
Who can benefit from ISO 50001?
- ISO 50001:2018 can be used in any organization, whatever its size, sector, or location. This standard provides a robust framework for optimizing energy efficiency in the public and private sectors. It offers guidance on benchmarking, measuring, documenting, and reporting energy improvements and projected greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions. ISO 50001:2018 also supports the evaluation and prioritization of the implementation of new energy-efficient technologies. ISO has stated that the standard could influence up to 60 percent of the world’s energy use.
What are the key benefits of ISO 50001:2018?
- Significant financial savings from increased energy efficiency
- Business gets a leading edge through enhanced marketing capabilities
- Enables continual improvements on energy performance
- Ensures compliance with legal and regulatory requirements
- Reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and carbon footprint
- System compatibility enables ISO 50001 to be easily integrated with existing management systems such as ISO 9001 and ISO 14001
- Ensures best practice energy management systems are implemented
- ISO 50001 framework facilitates the management of energy bills and expenditure
- Reduction in costs leads to competitive advantage
- Improved environmental performance, productivity, and compliance
- Creates transparency and facilitates communication on the management of energy resources
- Reduces risk and increases energy security
- Creates a framework for promoting energy efficiency throughout the supply chain
- Increases stakeholder confidence through organizational commitment to integrated climate change emissions reduction strategy
- Certification to international standards demonstrates a public commitment to energy management.
Developing An Energy Management System
ISO 50001 is based on the management system model of continual improvement also used for other well-known standards such as ISO 9001 or ISO 14001. This makes it easier for organizations to integrate energy management into their overall efforts to improve quality and environmental management. ISO 50001 provides a framework of requirements for organizations to:
- Develop a policy for more efficient use of energy
- Fix targets and objectives to meet the policy
- Use data to better understand and make decisions about energy use
- Measure the results
- Review how well the policy works, and
- Continually improve energy management.
ISO 50001 Framework
- Compliance to legal requirement
- Availability of resources to achieve targets Procurement & design for performance
- Define scope and boundaries
- Commitment of top management
- Continual improvement
ISO 50001 Energy Management System Certification
- Develop a policy for more efficient use of energy
- Fix targets and objectives in line with the policy
- Use data to make informed decisions about energy use
- Measure the results to Identify areas of energy efficiency improvements
- Review the policy’s effectiveness and results of improvements
- Continually Improve energy management practices
