ISO 50001 for energy management
A management system for measuring, controlling and reducing the energy a site uses.
- Standard
- ISO 50001:2018
- Starts with
- The energy review
- Measured by
- Energy performance indicators
- Gap analysis
- Two days on site, report within a week
- Pace
- You and your certification body
ISO 50001 asks an organisation to set an energy baseline, identify where energy is used most significantly, set objectives and targets, and measure progress with defined indicators. It does not set a target for you. It asks you to show, with data, that energy performance is improving against your own baseline.
- 01 Enquiry
- 02 Gap analysis
- 03 Plan
- 04 Build
- 05 Embed
- 06 Internal audit
- 07 Close out
- 08 Management review
- 09 Handover
ISO 50001 for energy management sits at step 4 of the readiness cycle. You receive the documented management system.
Where energy systems stall
Most sites know their energy bill. Few can say which equipment makes it.
The energy review needs data, and on many sites the only meter is the utility's, at the boundary. Without submetering or a documented estimate, the significant energy uses are guessed, and a baseline built on a guess cannot show improvement.
The second failure is the baseline itself. Energy use moves with production volume and, in the Gulf, with outside temperature. A baseline that ignores those variables shows savings in winter and losses in summer, and neither is real.
The third is an action plan that stays in the meeting room. Objectives set in a meeting and not turned into maintenance tasks with owners and dates stay objectives.
The system, element by element
| Element | What it means | What you hold |
|---|---|---|
| Energy review | Energy use and consumption analysed from measured data, by source and by use. | The energy review |
| Significant energy uses | The uses that account for substantial consumption or offer real room for improvement, with the variables that drive them and the people whose work affects them. | The significant energy use list |
| Energy baseline | A reference period to compare against, normalised where production, weather or another variable moves consumption. | The energy baseline |
| Energy performance indicators | Indicators you define: total consumption, energy per unit of output, or a modelled value. | The EnPI set |
| Objectives and action plans | Targets with the actions, owners, resources and dates that reach them, and how results will be verified. | Objectives and action plans |
| Data collection | What is measured, how often, by which meter, and how the data is kept. | The energy data collection plan |
| Operational control and purchasing | Operating and maintenance criteria for the significant uses, and energy performance weighed when equipment is bought. | Operating criteria |
Documents that stay with you
The energy review
Where the site's energy goes, by source and by use, with the significant uses identified and the reasoning written down.
The baseline and energy performance indicators
The reference period, the variables it is normalised for, and the indicators progress is measured by.
Objectives and action plans
Each target with its actions, owners and dates, written so the work can be scheduled.
The energy data collection plan
Which meters, which readings, how often, and where estimates stand in for a meter.
The internal audit report
The system audited against the standard, including whether the indicators are actually being measured.
How the build runs
- 01
Gap analysis
Your current energy data and controls set against the standard, clause by clause.
- 02
Walk the meters
Where energy enters the site, where it goes, and which meters exist. Metering gaps are listed with the options for closing them.
- 03
Energy review
Consumption analysed by use, significant uses identified, relevant variables named.
- 04
Baseline and indicators
The reference period chosen, normalised where it has to be, and the indicators defined.
- 05
Actions into the maintenance plan
Each action written as a task with an owner and a date, in the schedule where the work actually gets planned.
- 06
Internal audit and review
The system audited and management reviewing energy performance against the baseline.
Compressed air and cooling in Jubail
An industrial site in Jubail where compressed air and cooling dominate the energy bill.
The energy review identifies both as significant energy uses. Compressed air is measured at the compressor house. Cooling is tracked against outside temperature, a relevant variable the baseline has to account for.
The baseline is set from metered data. The action plan ties to maintenance tasks ITF FM can carry out: leak surveys on the compressed air network and condenser cleaning on the cooling plant, each with an owner and a date.
The site holds the energy review, the baseline and indicators, and an action plan whose tasks sit in the maintenance schedule rather than in a meeting file.
Questions energy managers bring
Do we need submeters before we start?
No. The energy review can start from utility bills and existing meters, with estimates stated as estimates. The data collection plan then says where metering is needed. A significant use usually justifies a meter; much of the rest can be estimated.
Does ISO 50001 require a specific percentage saving?
No. It requires you to show continual improvement in energy performance against your own baseline, using indicators you define. The size of the improvement is your objective, not the standard's.
How does ISO 50001 fit with ISO 14001?
Energy is usually an environmental aspect under ISO 14001. ISO 50001 goes further, with a baseline, indicators and measured improvement. The two share a structure and run well as one integrated system.
Can ITF FM carry out the maintenance actions?
Yes, where the action is maintenance work. ITF FM runs planned maintenance and HVAC work, and the action plan can name those tasks directly. The energy system stays yours either way.
Often paired with
Planned maintenance
The dated calendar where energy actions become tasks.
Read moreITF FMHVAC maintenance
Cooling plant kept to the condition a baseline assumes.
Read moreStandardISO 14001
Environment, where energy usually starts as an aspect.
Read moreServiceIntegrated management system
Energy and environment on one document set and one audit programme.
Read morePart of one system
Every division keeps records to the same standard, so the second one you need works the way the first one did.
Find the significant uses first
The gap analysis shows what data you have and what the energy review will need. You keep the report whatever you decide next.