BS EN 16001 launches
June 21st 2009

European and International Energy Management Standards – how can standards help UK business meet energy reduction targets and save you money at the same time?

Alot has happened in the last 12 months, the most obvious being the economic difficulties that are now being experienced worldwide.This has brought with it the need for companies to better understand their costs and budgets across all areas of their business. In line with this, the development of the first European standard for 'Energy management systems' comes at a time when it is more critical than ever to be able to evaluate and manage the energy being used within the everyday operations of a business or service.

In July, BS EN 16001 (Energy management systems - Requirements with guidance for use) will be published by BSI. This standard will be the first of a wide ranging portfolio of standards aimed at supporting the Energy Services Directive with an emphasis on improved energy efficiency. This 'best practice' publication has been developed by the 29 member countries of the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN) and the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardisation (CENELEC), and has been mirrored by BSI in the UK. The membership of the UK mirror committee is made up of trade associations, government departments and academic institutions so that experts from the energy management world lead the development of a document that is in line with practices and methods that are well established and have been shown to get the resulting energy saving results.

BS EN 16001: 'Energy management systems - Requirements with guidance for use' The introduction to the standard outlines its principal aims: "The overall aim of EN 16001 is to help organisations establish the systems and processes necessary to improve energy efficiency.This should lead to reductions in cost and greenhouse gas emissions through systematic management of energy. This standard specifies requirements for an energy management system to enable an organisation to develop and implement a policy and objectives which take into account legal requirements and information about significant energy aspects. It is intended to apply to all types and sizes of organisations irrespective of any geographical, cultural and social conditions. This standard applies to the activities under the control of an organisation.

This standard for energy management systems can be used independently or integrated with any other management system.To facilitate its use, the structure of this standard is similar to the structure of ISO 14001." As a first step to managing your energy use and taking steps to implement measures that help manage what energy you are using, BS EN 16001 has elements within it such as:

• Implementing an energy policy

• Identification and review of energy aspects

• Awareness, training and competence

• Review of the energy management system by top

management

There have in the past been few formal procedures or regulations in the UK to encourage energy management and efficiency. This was partly because saving energy means reducing cost, which organisations have been happy to achieve, and partly because ‘harmful’ emissions were largely not associated with energy use. That situation is now changing with the pressure to reduce CO2 emissions and we have seen the emergence of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, the Carbon Reduction Commitment,and so on.

While BS EN 16001 encourages the efficient use of energy, it also highlights the benefits of embedded renewable generation, i.e. purchased and owned by the organisation, thereby adding to national zero carbon capacity. A final key point is the expectation that implementation of the standard brings continuing improvements in energy efficiency performance.

Other Energy Management standards under development

A selection of the various Energy Management standards is summarised below. Some are in the early stages of development and others are about to begin the drafting process.

EN 15900 - 'Energy Efficiency Services (due to be published in 2010)

The scope of this draft standard is to specify the definitions and minimum requirements for an energy efficiency service. This standard may be used as a reference document for appropriate qualification, accreditation and/or certification schemes for providers of energy services, as mentioned in article 8 of the Energy Services Directive (ESD). This standard is written to provide guidance to both customers and providers of energy efficiency services and to contribute to the development of a market for energy efficiency services. Energy efficiency benchmarking methodologies There is a need for the development of an “overall”standard on the main principles and methodologies of benchmarking of energy use in industry, applicable at various levels. This is especially relevant for the energy intensive industry and its sub sectors. Developing a standard has the purpose to establish transparent requirements and recommendations which sets the framework for benchmarking activities like:

• determining boundaries

• (energy) conversion factors

• correction factors (e.g. location specific factors)

• coverage, representative participation

• data collection, validation, quality assurance

• securing confidentiality of data

• publication of results

Priority will be given to topics relevant to the main principles, definitions, requirements and procedures.

Reference will be made amongst others to the EU directive on Energy End-use Efficiency and Energy Services, EU Emission Trading Scheme, Benchmarking

code of conduct of the EFQM.

Transport logistics and services – Energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions of transport services

This work is likely to cover four main areas:

1- Terminology and definitions

2- Guidelines (general principles)

3- Calculation methods

4- Parameters and data

Energy managers and experts

Preparatory work is underway with regard to roles, professional requirements and qualification procedures.This standard could possibly define the real boundaries of the work, how the specifics can be dealt with, and collect any available information on existing national energy experts qualification systems, for example in Japan. A feasibility study is presently underway, led by Italy.

Energy Audits

The UK is leading development of a new European Standard on Energy Audits for industry, buildings and transport. This will address a range of audits from preliminary overviews through to investment grade recommendations, based on detailed surveys. A consultation exercise will be launched in the next few months aimed at establishing existing practices and documentation in all European countries. An early priority will be address terminology. It the UK the words audit and survey are used interchangeably, for example, often leading to some confusion.

The next steps......

In summary, the suite of European Energy Management standards is rapidly growing, and the view that standards in this area are important is demonstrated by the formation of a technical committee in ISO (International organisation for Standardisation). This group has initially set to work on development of an international 'Energy Management Systems' standard. Others are likely to follow.

Although these standards will not be mandatory there is no doubt that organisations will see the advantages of adherence to them, and it could be that conformance may become part of a tendering process.

Also, there are obvious long term benefits to organisations taking responsibility for their energy use and managing it in a more efficient way, both in terms of cost savings to their business and a potential reduction in their carbon footprint. It is therefore vital that there is involvement and support from UK industry to ensure that the standards make a significant impact after publication.

The formal launch events for BS EN 16001 will take place towards the end of September 2009, when various organisations who have been part of a 'trial' of the standard will give their feedback on the content and how it can be used to help reduce energy and costs in your business. BSI also intends to develop further tools to help organisations implement BS EN 16001, and will provide as much advice and training to businesses as possible with regard to the implementation and benefits of standards for energy management and energy efficiency.

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