ISO 50001 - Energy Management System

There are many good reasons to pay attention to the energy efficiency of your organisation. From a global point of view, it helps with the urgently necessary reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. But an energy management system certified according to ISO 50001 also offers economic benefits. 

A certified energy management system according to ISO 50001 can support you in the continuous improvement of your energy performance, i.e. in the improvement of energy efficiency, energy use and energy consumption. This leads to ongoing and sustainable reduction in your energy costs, which in turn increases your competitiveness. Your image towards the outside world is also enhanced.

• Your company considers its energy performance systematically, and identifies and utilises energy saving potentials
• You raise the awareness of your employees and suppliers for sustainable use of energy resources
• You save costs through lower energy consumption
• You support general climate protection goals through reduction of CO2 emissions and help to conserve resources
• You present yourself to the outside world in a more positive way
• Industrial production companies can make use of tax reliefs initiatives specified by the local authorities.
• Eventually, your competitiveness increases

ISO 50001 is based on the Plan-Do-Check-Act model. This is divided into four phases and can be understood as a continuous process of improvement. This continuous process of improvement is intended to prevent downtimes and ensure that organisations adapt to changing situations in good time and achieve new potential savings.

Plan: First there is an energy review: the energy starting position is determined, energy performance indicators (EnPIs) are laid down, energy objectives and policy are established and action plans are designed.

Do: In the Do phase, the energy management system (EnMS) is introduced and there are first steps towards implementation. Alongside creation of the necessary structures, this can mean establishment of communication and documentation processes and also training of employees. These must be able to demonstrate skills and competence on both the technical and the awareness level.  

Check: In the Check phase, the emphasis is on monitoring, measurement and analysis of the energy performance. A management review takes place at the end of this phase, and actions are either terminated, modified or permanently implemented.

Act: In the Act phase, new actions are taken to continously improve the energy performance and the EnMS. It may also be necessary to make corrections, e.g. to the energy objectives, the EnPIs, the baselines or the energy policy.

Calculation of the audit time

• Changed complexity values lead to small changes in the audit time required
• Pareto approach when determining the types of energy (≥ 80% of total consumption)
• Some specific rules regarding sampling for multi-site organizations

 Customer questionnaire

• Query of points of consumption and unmanned locations for calculation purposes (the certificate and, if applicable, the annex to the certificate remain unchanged)

 Audit planning

• Audit plan requires specified time slots for checking the primary data sources (e.g. electricity bills)

 Audit documentation

• Information about the organization
• Total energy consumption
• Breakdown of consumption by energy source and location
• Total number of personnel
• Number of EnMS-relevant personnel
• Distribution of consumption and employees across locations

 Results from the inspection

• Plants
• Measuring devices
• Measuring systems
• Cross-shift auditing
• Results of site audits
• Well-founded statement on improvement of energy performance:
• In the case of surveillance audits, at least the implementation of measures to improve the energy-related performance must be verified.
• In the case of certification and re-certification audits, evidence must be provided that the energy-related performance has been improved.

What is ISO 50001 and is certification mandatory?

ISO 50001 is an internationally valid standard which specifies the requirements for an energy management system for an organisation or company. It is intended to support the establishment of a useful and systematic energy management system with the aim of achieving more efficient use of energy.  

There is basically no obligation to undertake certification, and the establishment of an energy management system is voluntary However, certification according to ISO 50001 can be an enabler for important tax reliefs, such as the tax cap or a limitation of the energy surcharge.

What has been changed by the revision of ISO 50001?

As was already the case with ISO 9001 and ISO 14001, the High Level Structure was used as a basis for ISO 50001. This ensures standardised headings and numbering of the individual clauses and also standardised terms and definitions.

The organisation has to determine external and internal issues that can affect the energy management system either positively or negatively.

The organisation has to determine and specify the interested parties that will be relevant to their energy management system and also their relevant requirements and expectations.   

Organisations have to address existing risks and opportunities in relation to their energy management system and plan their activities accordingly.

ISO 50001 emphasises the responsibility of the top management more strongly than before with regard to the development and operation of the energy management system.

The requirements as to methods used for monitoring, measurement and analysis of energy performance are more stringent.

What is the role of ISO 50003, valid since 2017?

On 14 October 2017, accreditation standard ISO 50003 became the new basis for certification of management systems according to ISO 50001. This also has an impact on organisations who are already certified according to ISO 50001 or who wish to achieve certification. Seen as a whole, there is now a greater focus on energy efficiency. Further information on ISO 50003 can be found here.

TUV India is recognised as a well-established and reliable provider of inspection and certification services, assessing fulfilment of legal regulations and voluntary standards all over the world. We employ experienced specialists in all our areas of activity. As a matter of principle, aur auditors are trained to a very high level and use standardised methods. This means we can guarantee neutrality and continuity in all our services to you.

• Inquiry and offer preparation
• Commissioning of TUV India
• Audit Stage 1 : Determination of certification maturity
• Audit Stage 2 : Certification Audit
• Certification decision by TUV India
• Certificate is issued