What is ISO 50001: 2011, Energy Management Systems?
Among the standards that the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has issued, a recent one in particular stands out for casting a wide shadow: ISO 50001: 2011, Energy management systems — requirements with guidance for use, for its focus on energy in all forms, whether consumption, conservation or management. Energy, or more specifically, its consumption, is a key subject in today’s global society. An additional focus to ISO 50001 is that the standard is grounded in third-party certification, which provides an additional layer of credibility to its currency as a viable business management tool. Certification also allows for validation and verification of an organization’s business model with respect to energy use and consumption, and its means to capture increased energy efficiency and resultant savings as described in the tenets of an energy management system (EnMS).
As a validation of the huge success so far for ISO 50001, there are already a number of organizations reporting significant benefits and energy cost savings from early ISO 50001 implementation. There are also an increasing number of organizations rushing to jump on the PR bandwagon to proclaim they are the first to have adopted ISO 50001 in their country or industry.
ISO Focus+ case histories describe large drops in power consumption, along with ancillary energy costs, with subsequent benefits to manufacturing plants, their communities and the environment including reduced carbon emissions.
An Overview of ISO 50001
ISO 50001, designed in a similar format to its sibling ISO 14001, describes, rather than prescribes, energy management system (EnMS) requirements to allow organizations a “blueprint” for how to design and implement an EnMS that meets their goals and objectives to reduce energy consumption and increase efficiency.
Components required for an effective EnMS include the energy policy (key) and setting of objectives, targets and action plans (second nature for developers of an ISO 14001 EMS program). ISO 50001 is designed to allow organizations to meet their energy policy commitments, and take whatever action necessary to improve upon their energy performance. In turn, such actions will allow organizations to validate their EnMS as adhering to the requirements of ISO 50001, and ultimately be verified by accredited registrars for certification.
