How to get more from your ESOS Audit in 2016
14 December 2015
The ESOS compliance deadline of 5th December has been and gone and some of the organisations who were able to submit their applications to the Environment Agency on time might now be left wondering what’s next.
Those certified to ISO 50001 – the international standard for energy management systems – are now in a position whereby they will be actively working towards the continual improvement of their energy performance, however organisations who chose to comply with ESOS via the standard energy audit route will have been left with an audit report and a list of energy saving opportunities, but this doesn’t mean they will improve their energy performance at all.
Whilst it is anticipated that when presented with energy saving opportunities any organisation would look to implement them in order to save money, this isn’t necessarily the case.
On a more positive note, the outputs of the ESOS energy audit can be used as inputs into developing an ISO 50001-based energy management system. An in-depth energy audit will hopefully have covered a fair proportion of the Energy Review clause of the standard – the primary clause for planning of an EnMS – including the requirement to “identify, prioritize and record opportunities for improving energy performance”.
In addition, the processes required under the Monitoring, Measurement and Analysis clause can be largely based on the process that the organisation will have gone through to compile their energy data as part of the energy audit.
Securing top management commitment (a key requirement for any management system) will also likely be easier once the energy audit has identified just how the organisation uses energy and how efficiently it is using it.
ISO 50001 provides a framework for managing energy efficiently and realising energy saving opportunities in real time, as the operations of the business continue or change. Basic ESOS audits will not.
The next ESOS compliance deadline will be 5th December 2019, which seems like a long time away, but it will soon come around. Implementing steps towards ISO 50001 now, will mean companies can not only begin to realize cost saving opportunities sooner than round two of ESOS, but that they will see a greater return on their investment in compliance moving forwards.
Register your interest in a step by step guide on how to utilise your ESOS audit report to build the foundations of an ISO 50001 Energy Management System here.
Whilst it is anticipated that when presented with energy saving opportunities any organisation would look to implement them in order to save money, this isn’t necessarily the case.
On a more positive note, the outputs of the ESOS energy audit can be used as inputs into developing an ISO 50001-based energy management system. An in-depth energy audit will hopefully have covered a fair proportion of the Energy Review clause of the standard – the primary clause for planning of an EnMS – including the requirement to “identify, prioritize and record opportunities for improving energy performance”.
In addition, the processes required under the Monitoring, Measurement and Analysis clause can be largely based on the process that the organisation will have gone through to compile their energy data as part of the energy audit.
Securing top management commitment (a key requirement for any management system) will also likely be easier once the energy audit has identified just how the organisation uses energy and how efficiently it is using it.
ISO 50001 provides a framework for managing energy efficiently and realising energy saving opportunities in real time, as the operations of the business continue or change. Basic ESOS audits will not.
The next ESOS compliance deadline will be 5th December 2019, which seems like a long time away, but it will soon come around. Implementing steps towards ISO 50001 now, will mean companies can not only begin to realize cost saving opportunities sooner than round two of ESOS, but that they will see a greater return on their investment in compliance moving forwards.
Register your interest in a step by step guide on how to utilise your ESOS audit report to build the foundations of an ISO 50001 Energy Management System here.