Better Energy Management: An Introduction To ISO 50001:2018

Climate change affects every country and impacts public health, food and water security, and migration, as well as peace and security, disrupting economies and affecting lives. We explore ISO 50001 and its evolution.

The impacts of climate change threaten to undo decades of progress on economic development – growth driven by energy to provide mobility, heat, and light. However, with two-thirds of the world’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions related to the consumption of fossil fuels, sustainable energy is essential to sustainable development.

To address this, the United Nations has set 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) covering a broad range of sustainable development issues as a global call to action to help end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity. Two are of particular relevance:

GOAL 7:

Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all

GOAL 13:

Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts

Investments in sustainable development will help address climate change by reducing GHG and building climate resilience. At the same time, action on climate change will drive sustainable development.

Energy is integral to achieving most SDGs. Reducing the amount of energy the world wastes is the first and best step toward fighting global warming. Improving energy efficiency also has a clear impact on saving money, improving business results and fostering economic growth. The International Energy Agency estimates that almost half of the necessary climate mitigation will need to come from improved energy efficiency.

ENERGY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

The ISO 50001 Energy Management Systems standard, first published in 2011, enables an organization to follow a systematic approach to achieving continual improvements in energy performance, including better energy efficiency, use and consumption. This proven framework helps industrial facilities, commercial facilities, and entire organizations to improve energy management.

A new edition of ISO 50001 was published in 2018. It incorporates the same high-level structure and common text utilized in the Annex SL High Level Structure.

ISO 50001:2018 INCLUDES:

• Strategic energy management
• Leadership
• Risk-based thinking
• Identification of, and actions to address, risks and opportunities
• Energy review has been clarification
• Better energy understanding/identification of further opportunities
• Clarification on the energy data collection plan and related requirements (previously energy measurement plan)
• Energy performance indicator (EnPI) and energy baselines (EnB) text clarified to provide a better understanding of these concepts
• Documentation

PLAN, DO, CHECK, ACT

Energy management is based on the Plan Do Check Act (PDCA) continual improvement framework and incorporates energy management into existing organizational practices.

BENEFITS OF ISO 50001

ISO 50001 transforms an organization’s energy management, offering a systematic approach with sustainable results. Effective energy management will reduce energy costs through improved energy performance and optimized use of energy sources and energy-related assets.

ISO 50001 is a key step towards:

• Cutting operational costs
• Achieving continual operational improvements
• Improving risk management
• Staying competitive in the marketplace

According to ISO, organizations adopting ISO 50001 benefit from initial energy improvements of at least 10% and achieve net cost savings, mostly through low cost or no cost changes to operations.

WHAT’S NEXT

With the revision of ISO 50001 complete and the 2018 edition now published, stakeholders are advised to consider the benefits of complying with this dynamic energy management standard.

SGS has developed a range of training and consultancy services to help organizations of all sizes review and improve their energy management system to ensure compliance with ISO 50001.