Eric A. Woodroof,

Ph.D., is the Chairman of the Board for the

Certified Carbon Reduction Manager

12/06/2011

Should You Implement ISO 50001?

By Eric Woodroof

I recently attended a three-day seminar about ISO 50001 and

I am also serving on committees of some organizations that

plan to train people/companies on how to apply this new

standard. This article explains the new standard as well as

implementation/application barriers that I can see at this

time.

For the record, I do think that it is important for companies to

have a written energy management policy, and for the US

government to establish a more robust energy/environmental

plan. However, the state of the economy is a big influence on

the implementation of any new programs, requiring

management commitment, money and a long-term focus.

Unfortunately, many companies are constrained by a very

short-term planning horizon, which retards the

implementation of long-term strategic policies/programs.

What is ISO 50001?

50001 is a blueprint for an energy management policy within an organization. Basically, it is a universal process that

can be applied to many facilities to ensure that they are following the fundamental principles of an energy

management policy. It is very similar to other standards that ISO has developed regarding Quality (ISO 9001) and

Environmental Management Systems (ISO 14001).

Barriers and Concerns about ISO 50001 Application

Will ISO 50001 be widely adopted? I am not sure. 50001 is not a results-oriented program, which means that

implementing it does not mean that a company has saved any energy although savings would be likely. There are at

least two consequences of not being results-oriented:

1. Companies that implement 50001 will want a return on their investment (either in savings or marketing

advantage via improved image);

2. Consumers/Clients want simple evidence that a company is doing the right thing with respect to the

environment/energy/sustainability, etc.

Everyone understands the benefits when a company says that it is carbon neutral or net energy zero or

contributes zero waste to landfills. These benefits can be measured and validated as results toward a sustainability

goal (as opposed to efforts). Even the ENERGY STAR program allows companies to earn a label if their buildings

achieve performance in the top 25% against a group of similar buildings.

I am not sure consumers will care if a company is following an efforts-based standard, as consumers are already

overwhelmed with information. Consumers/clients know that companies will naturally respond to market forces and

(with or without a standard) will attempt to reduce energy costs to remain cost-competitive. So the question

becomes whether the marketing value of being ISO 50001 certified is important to an organizations clients.

Additional influence to implement 50001 can come from a variety of sources. For example, if Wal-Mart or a similar

big company demands that all suppliers have ISO 50001, then suppliers will follow. Alternatively, if a utility offers

funding to help companies implement the 50001 standard, then more companies will do it. Some utilities are

considering this approach as it is similar to the investments they make in demand side management programs.

Companies that have already implemented ISO 14001 may find it relatively easy to incrementally add the processes

needed to satisfy 50001 requirements. Also, companies that have implemented Six Sigma, Kaizen or other formal

quality-improvement processes will find 50001 relatively easy.

Implementing ISO 50001

Beyond publishing an official energy policy and committing personnel to implement it, 50001 is mostly about

determining which of a companys processes are the largest contributors to energy consumption, and then

documenting a process to optimize those variables. Specific implementation steps are summarized below:

1. Documenting an energy management policy with responsibilities delegated to individuals.

2. Finding the Significant Energy Users (SEUs) within

your company, and what variables (organized by

process/product or by equipment) your company

wants to manage with respect to energy

consumption.

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(CRM) program and he has been a board

member of the

Certified EnergyManager (CEM)

Program since 1999. His clients include government agencies,

airports, utilities, cities, universities and foreign governments. Private clients include IBM, Pepsi,

GM, Verizon, Hertz, Visteon, JP Morgan-Chase, and Lockheed Martin.

3. Establishing a baseline of the energy consumption

for specific variables as well as how inputs affect the

performance.

4. Developing an optimization plan and put it into

action.

5. Periodically measuring progress on your

optimization plan, and document any

changes/improvements to the plan.

6. Validating or certifying the application of ISO 50001

Standard within your facility. This can be done via

self-certification or accreditation via a 3rd

party

certification. Obviously, the 3rd

party accreditation will be more respected, but will also cost more to achieve.

Cost-Effective Implementation

Implementing ISO 50001 involves far more steps than are mentioned above. However if I were to advise clients on

how to achieve the standard, it seems clear that the key is to identify a few SEUs (what contributes most to energy

consumption) and then develop an action plan/documentation plan for those specific SEUs. Many companies may

already be doing this due to common sense or because it is already part of another management program/process

(14001 for example).

As mentioned previously, I do think that having a written energy policy is a good idea. ISO 50001 has a great

blueprint that requires that specific actions must be measured periodically and reported. In other words, the company

must actually follow through on the plan it develops and walk the talk. I think that principle of the program is good

because it means at least the policy is being developed and action is occurring.

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