ISO 50001 builds foundation for compliance, energy saving and net zero carbon
Regulatory pressures to achieve energy and carbon reductions are increasing for all types of business. Fulfilling the requirements of multiple mandatory schemes – including ESOS, SECR, CCA and UK ETS – can be onerous.
At the heart of the compliance requirements for every scheme is data. To comply, businesses must gather and monitor data on energy consumption, asset performance, savings achieved and a host of other metrics.
Given the raft of compliance demands and the likely tightening of regulations over the coming years – businesses need to find more efficient and manageable ways to gather data, manage energy consumption and reduce carbon emissions. One of the most effective ways is to gain accreditation to ISO 50001 – the internationally recognised standard for energy management systems (EnMS). This also provides a great framework for creating a net zero roadmap and achieving net zero targets.
Accreditation means instant compliance
If your organisation is fully covered by ISO 50001, it will comply with ESOS. As well as enabling ESOS compliance, ISO 50001 is a long-term cost and resource-efficient way to meet the requirements of many other regulations, including SECR, MGHGR and CCA – without the need to appoint separate specialists to comply with each scheme.
What does ISO 50001 accreditation involve?
ISO 50001 provides a framework to help you establish best practices for energy management. It involves implementing or updating policies on everything from purchasing and energy efficiency to staff training and data reporting. It will help you manage, monitor and improve energy performance by controlling your energy consumption and enhancing your operational efficiency. It enables you to embed processes, measurements, behaviours and responsibilities within your organisation that help to achieve your energy and carbon-saving objectives.
Once achieved, the accreditation is initially awarded for three years. Certified businesses will have to go through an annual audit each year, to ensure they are maintaining the IS0 50001 requirements.
What are the benefits of ISO 50001 accreditation?
As well as enabling easy compliance with ESOS and other regulations, accreditation to ISO 50001 offers many other benefits. Through continuous energy savings and cost reductions, it improves profitability and operational efficiency. It builds robust operational and energy management processes and behaviours into your business, creating a leaner and more agile operation.
Importantly, fulfilling the requirements of ISO 50001 enables your business to focus on reducing its carbon emissions and provides a strong foundation for creating a net zero carbon roadmap and for delivering your net zero strategy. In fact, Clean Energy Ministerial research has shown that the potential cumulative global savings achieved by applying ISO 50001 in industrial and commercial sectors up to 2030 could be 6,500 million tonnes (6.5 gigatons) of CO2. That equates to almost a quarter of the annual global carbon savings required to limit global warming to 1.5°C.
By instilling best practice energy management into your business, ISO 50001 also helps you stay ahead of regulatory changes and new compliance requirements. By engaging employees in the process of energy management, it raises awareness and improves motivation in the drive towards better environmental performance. And by demonstrating your commitment to environmental protection, it enhances your brand reputation and supports wider sustainable initiatives.
How can Equans help?
Equans has the expertise to guide you every step of the way to achieving ISO 50001. We start with a gap analysis to assess your current processes and policies, and identify the actions required to meet ISO 50001 standards. We help to develop your policies and set appropriate targets and objectives for your business. We identify energy consumption hotspots and associated energy-saving opportunities, as well as introducing monitoring and measurement processes to evaluate your performance and identify areas for improvement.
ISO 50001 is an accreditation that grows and adapts with your business. Our specialists will work in partnership with you to ensure that you continue to maintain the certification, and achieve cost, energy and carbon savings over the long term.
Get in touch
Contact our ISO 50001 Compliance Team to discuss any of your compliance requirements