Overview

The certifiable energy management system standard. It requires organizations to establish an energy baseline, identify significant energy uses, track energy performance indicators and demonstrate continual improvement in energy performance. Current edition is ISO 50001:2018 with Amendment 1:2024.

ISO 50001:2018, Energy management systems — Requirements with guidance for use, is the second edition and replaces ISO 50001:2011. It applies to any organization regardless of type, size, complexity, geography or the energy sources it uses, and covers all variables affecting energy performance that the organization can control or influence.

What separates ISO 50001 from other management system standards is that it requires demonstrated improvement in an outcome, not only in the system. The organization must show continual improvement of energy performance — a defined term covering energy efficiency, energy use and energy consumption — and the standard provides the measurement machinery to make that claim auditable.

That machinery has four linked elements. The energy review analyses energy sources, past and present energy use and consumption, and identifies the areas of significant energy use (SEU) where most energy is consumed or where there is considerable potential for improvement. The energy baseline (EnB) establishes the reference against which change is measured, over a defined period. Energy performance indicators (EnPIs) are the measures used to track performance. Normalization adjusts for relevant variables such as production volume, occupancy or weather, so that improvement claims reflect management action rather than changes in activity level.

Around this sit the usual harmonized-structure requirements: context and interested parties, leadership including an energy policy and an energy management team, planning with risks and opportunities and energy objectives and energy targets, support covering competence, awareness, communication and documented information, operation, performance evaluation and improvement. Operational requirements extend beyond running plant: the standard requires energy considerations in design of new or modified facilities, equipment, systems and processes, and in procurement of energy-using products, equipment, services and energy itself.

Data collection is treated seriously. The organization must have an energy data collection plan covering the relevant characteristics of its significant energy uses, ensure that equipment used for measurement provides accurate and repeatable data, and retain records. This is what makes the energy performance improvement claim defensible at audit.

Amendment 1:2024 added climate action wording to the context and interested-parties clauses, in line with the change applied across ISO management system standards.

Certification is available through accredited certification bodies using the standard two-stage initial audit, surveillance and recertification cycle. Auditors examine not just the system but the energy performance evidence: the baseline, the normalization method, the EnPIs and whether improvement has actually been demonstrated. In several jurisdictions ISO 50001 certification is recognised in energy efficiency legislation or incentive schemes as an alternative to mandatory energy audits — organizations should check the current position for their own jurisdiction, as these arrangements are national and change over time.

ISO 50001 integrates naturally with ISO 14001, since energy is usually a significant environmental aspect, and the two are frequently certified together. The ISO 50000 family also includes supporting standards on energy baselines, energy performance indicators, measurement and verification of energy performance improvement, and energy audits.

Purpose

To specify requirements for establishing, implementing, maintaining and improving an energy management system, enabling an organization to follow a systematic approach in achieving continual improvement of energy performance, including energy efficiency, energy use and energy consumption.

Key Benefits

• Provides a certifiable framework focused on measurable energy performance improvement
• Establishes a defensible energy baseline and normalization method for improvement claims
• Identifies significant energy uses so effort is directed where it matters
• Builds energy considerations into design of new facilities, equipment and processes
• Extends control to procurement of energy, energy-using equipment and services
• Integrates readily with ISO 14001, where energy is usually a significant environmental aspect
• Supports greenhouse gas reduction reporting and wider decarbonisation programmes
• Recognised in some national energy efficiency schemes and regulatory regimes
• Improves the quality and reliability of energy metering and data

Key Requirements

• Determine the context of the organization and the needs and expectations of interested parties
• Define the scope and boundaries of the energy management system
• Demonstrate top management leadership, establish an energy policy and appoint an energy management team
• Determine risks and opportunities and plan actions to address them
• Conduct an energy review analysing energy sources, use and consumption
• Determine significant energy uses and the variables and personnel affecting them
• Establish the energy baseline over a defined period and maintain records of it
• Determine energy performance indicators appropriate for measuring and monitoring energy performance
• Establish energy objectives and energy targets and plan actions to achieve them
• Establish an energy data collection plan and ensure measuring equipment provides accurate, repeatable data
• Ensure competence and awareness of persons whose work affects energy performance
• Control operations and maintenance activities related to significant energy uses
• Consider energy performance improvement opportunities in design of facilities, equipment, systems and processes
• Include energy performance criteria in procurement of energy-using products, equipment and services, and specify energy purchasing
• Monitor, measure, analyse and evaluate energy performance and the energy management system, including normalization
• Conduct internal audits and management reviews at planned intervals
• Address nonconformities, take corrective action and demonstrate continual improvement of energy performance
• Address climate change as a context issue in accordance with Amendment 1:2024

Who Needs This Standard?

Energy-intensive and energy-conscious organizations of any size — manufacturers, chemical and process plants, data centres, food and cold chain operators, hospitals, hotels, retail estates, universities, water utilities, transport operators and public sector estates. It is used by energy managers, facilities and engineering teams, sustainability functions, and organizations responding to energy legislation, decarbonisation targets or customer requirements on energy and emissions.

Related Standards