ISO 50001 (energy management systems)

ISO 50001 is the international standard that sets out the requirements for establishing, implementing, maintaining and improving an energy management system in an organisation. It is published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and helps organisations manage how they use and consume energy in an orderly way, with energy efficiency at its core.

How it works

The standard follows the continual improvement cycle of plan, do, check and act. The organisation defines its energy policy, plans actions, carries them out, measures the results and corrects what is needed, so that energy management is reviewed on a regular basis. The standard can be applied by organisations of any size and sector. It is compatible with ISO 14001, the environmental management standard, so both systems can be integrated within a single management structure.

Key elements

• Energy review: an analysis of energy uses and consumption to identify where energy is used and where there is room for improvement.
• Energy baseline: the reference point against which changes in consumption are compared.
• Energy performance indicators: metrics that show whether performance improves over time.
• Continual improvement: regular review of objectives, targets and action plans.

Links with regulation and the carbon footprint

The Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) mentions energy management systems as one way to meet the audit obligation for large companies with high energy consumption, and ISO 50001 is a common reference in this area. The data the system produces, such as consumption by site and by type of energy, also feeds the calculation of Scope 2 emissions and of the carbon footprint, and supports the organisation's decarbonisation plans.

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