Member Article

Inprova Energy publishes guide to ISO 50001

Inprova Energy has published a free guide to the ISO 50001 international energy management standard, which for certified organisations can provide full compliance with the audit requirements of the Energy Services Opportunities Scheme (ESOS).

ISO 50001 enables organisations of all sizes to establish policies and processes to track, analyse and use energy more efficiently. Evidence shows that ISO 50001 accredited businesses are achieving energy performance improvements of 10 percent or more, often through low and no-cost measures.

The guide provides a high-level explanation of the four key steps to obtaining ISO 50001 certification, and its Plan-Do-Check-Act continuous improvement process. This involves reviewing energy usage, and agreeing actions and objectives (Plan); followed by implementing the action plan (Do); then monitoring and measuring progress against targets (Check); and finally, developing actions to achieve continuous improvement (Act).

“ISO 50001 can be a direct route to compliance with ESOS if used to cover an organisation’s entire energy consumption, but it offers much broader benefits,” said Rob Leak, ISO 50001 Lead Auditor at Inprova Energy. “It’s the backbone of a successful energy and carbon management strategy, and is certainly not just a box ticking exercise.”

He continued: “ISO 50001 can be easily integrated with other management systems such as ISO 9001 and 14001. As well as demonstrating environmental leadership, it helps organisations to identify energy wastage and focus energy efficiency improvements for most impact, which can lead to significant cost savings and CO2 emissions reductions.

“Organisations can apply and work towards ISO 50001 themselves, or they can use a qualified Lead Auditor to help them through each step of the assessment and accreditation process. If they are thinking of implementing ISO 50001 as a route to ESOS compliance, it’s advisable to get started early as it can take 6 to 12 months to get certified.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Inprova Energy .