WHAT IS THE ISO 50001 STANDARD FOR ENERGY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS?
ISO 50001 is an international standard that sets out requirements for businesses looking to implement an energy management system. To achieve full certification, an organisation’s efforts are formally assessed, and the system subsequently audited.
Accreditation is a form of third-party certification, showing that the assessed system meets a widely-accepted and independent benchmark. At the time of writing, the current version of the standard is ISO 50001:2018.
Like other forms of management system, it is possible to have an energy management system in place and not be certified to ISO 50001. However, much like the ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 standard, it can be useful for organisations to use the structural framework that ISO 50001 provides – even if they elect not to implement every aspect.
What is an energy management system?
Generally speaking, implementing an energy management system means having documented policies and processes in place – typically to support greater energy resilience within the business. That resilience might be desirable to save money, improve sustainability, comply with legislation, or all three.
Businesses of any size can choose to adopt the standard and integrate energy management into their operations. The framework of the standard is based around an approach of continuous improvement, whereby an organisation can track and analyse the progress of their system and its impact on operations.
Indeed, ISO 50001 adopts the same overarching structure as other ISO standards for management systems, helping organisations to align multiple systems where relevant.
Having an energy management system allows businesses to manage risks around future energy supply. It involves adopting a policy towards more efficient energy use, and then setting targets to meet the policy.
Actual energy use can then be measured and analysed against the policy objectives, allowing opportunities for further improvements to be identified.
How does ISO 50001 relate to ISO 14001?
Being related to energy and reduced energy use, there appears to be potential overlap between ISO 50001 and the standard for environmental management systems, ISO 14001.
Energy use is just one component of sustainability and environmental impact, so the two do complement on another. However, ISO 50001 should not be viewed as an environmental standard.
Because organisations can tailor their approach to management systems, they can chooses to obtain separate ISO 50001 certification, or enhance their ISO 14001 environmental management system to include energy.
As part of creating an energy management system, a business has to choose what energy use it wants to cover. It is a requirement to address the ‘significant’ energy uses of the business. After that, an organisation can choose which areas of use to focus on.
Polyfoam XPS and ISO 50001
Management systems, including energy management systems, are an important and familiar aspect of construction product manufacturing.
In addition to ISO 50001 certification, Polyfoam XPS has certification for quality, environmental, and energy management systems (ISO 9001, 14001 and 45001 respectively). All certificates can be downloaded from the technical support section of the Polyfoam XPS website, or you can contact us to find out more about our certification.