by Brianna Crandall — March 7, 2011—The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has announced a third quarter 2011 target for publication of its ISO 50001 International Standard for Energy Management, which is intended to help organizations improve their energy performance, increase energy efficiency, and reduce climate change impacts.
ISO 50001 will establish a framework for industrial plants, commercial facilities or entire organizations to manage energy, with a strong focus on performance and continual improvement. Targeting broad applicability across national economic sectors, it is estimated that the standard could influence up to 60 percent of the world’s energy use.
Forty-three ISO member countries are participating in the development of ISO 50001, with another 12 as observers, as well as international liaison organizations. The document is based on the common elements found in all of ISO’s management system standards, assuring a high level of compatibility with ISO 9001 (quality management) and ISO 14001 (environmental management).
ISO says the standard will provide the following benefits:
- A framework for integrating energy efficiency into management practices
- Making better use of existing energy-consuming assets
- Benchmarking, measuring, documenting, and reporting energy intensity improvements and their projected impact on reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
- Transparency and communication on the management of energy resources
- Energy management best practices and good energy management behaviors
- Evaluating and prioritizing the implementation of new energy-efficient technologies
- A framework for promoting energy efficiency throughout the supply chain
- Energy management improvements in the context of GHG emission reduction projects.
- Making better use of existing energy-consuming assets
