ISO 50001 Certification Energy Management System

Author: Abhishek Bediskar

ISO 50001 outlines for the consumption of energy and efficiently using the energy resources by reducing the impact on the environment and approaching the right technique and method for energy management.

ISO 50001 Certification is an International Organization for Standardization also known as EnMS helps in establishing the process for effective use of energy resources by increasing the process performance of energy. The ISO 50001 standard establishment's main aim is reducing the energy cost of greenhouse gases carbon footprint and other environmental issues. The High-Level-Structure of ISO 50001 standard helps in coming up with new techniques to use energy for maximum optimization at reducing cost with increased profitability.

Implementation of ISO 50001 helps in sustainable usage of resources and sees to it that your organization aims in continual improvement in the energy management system. Thus this standard is for finding specific renewable energy resources for the process, implementing it as per standard, and maintaining the equivalent quality of the product with continual improvement. Its compliance with Energy Saving Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) in UK Legislation and the EU Energy Efficiency Directive.

EnMS 50001 is for all businesses whether private sector or public sector. According to ISO survey, almost 12000 organizations have gained the certification. Mainly 84% of the organization from Europe France, UK, and Germany have holdings of ISO 50001 certification.

Also, Check ---->> ISO 50001 Certification

Reason to use EnMS certification

The main aim of this standard is to implement the sustainable usage of energy and improve energy performance and also identify ways to the reduction in energy consumption. Continual improvement in energy management systems helps in the improvement and discovering the usage of energy efficiently and leads to energy saving. This will help in cost-saving and environmental protection. Setting new goals and new policies help in the permanent reduction of CO2 and other emissions of harmful gases.

By implementing the standard in an organization helps in creating awareness among the workforce about energy saving and its importance. However, an organization can commit to sustainability towards their parties i.e. customers, partners, stakeholders, employees, etc. An organization can gain long term benefits by increased credibility and competitive advantage from their competitors in the market globally. An organization that adopts ISO 50001 will develop and gain other benefits other than their EnMS benefits. Typically, ISO 50001 is an energy awareness system along with project management and improving energy performance. This facilitates progress towards the environment and helps an organization to be better prepared for any government policies and programs or international climatic agreements. Emphasizing this standard also helps an organization to better understand the demand and supply of energy approximately.

The number of certified companies is increasing rapidly because nowadays there is more awareness about environmental balance and use of resources which are renewed easily by nature causing no impact to the environment. This helps an organization to stand out from others in the market and gain financial benefits and a benchmark in the market.

Structure of ISO 50001

ISO 50001 is linked with ISO 9001-Quality Management System(QMS) and ISO 14001-Environmental Management System(EMS). The structure of ISO 50001 is similar to other management standards by ISO. These ISO standards are High-Level Structure based on the method of PDCA Plan Do Check Act method.

  • Scope
  • Normative references
  • Terms and definitions
  • Context of the organization
  • Leadership
  • Planning
  • Support
  • Operation
  • Performance Evaluation
  • Improvement

These are the main requirements to fulfill the criteria of standard ISO 50001.

History about ISO 50001

Energy management systems EN 16001:2009 was developed by the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) in July 2009. This is the first international energy management standard requirements for guidance for use are stated. This was suppressed in April 2012 by ISO 50001:2011. Later, 50001:2011 with certain amendments in it got replaced by a newer version ISO 50001:2018. Foremost change is the 'High-Level Structure', Competence through training, updated documented information Energy performance indicator were eliminated in 2011 version.ISO 50001 is raising the bars because nowadays people are more aware to save energy for future.

Apart from this main change, there are certainly more changes emphasized like in the 2018 version usage of language is clear with common terms and definitions. It also includes clarification in the needs of the parties and according to adopting the context of an organization. Enrolling the top management strategic management in the process and better defines the type of energy. Providing a better understanding of EnPI (Energy Performance Indicators) and EnB (Energy Baseline) concept.

How to achieve ISO certification 50001 for an organization?

Now getting ISO certifications is not hard to digest. The ISO 50001 is just a two-step certification process.

Step 1 Internal audit Stage- (Verification of legal requirements and the conformity of the standard with an organization)

Step 2 External audit- (Review of internal audit report & Certificate issuance)

ISO 50001 certification validity is for three years and requires to undertake a yearly surveillance audit and re-certification after the expiry of certification. Obtaining the certificate clearly states that you value the resources and environment closely.