Get ISO 50001 certification or perform energy audits?

The EU Energy Efficiency Directive (2012/27/EU) imposes since December 5, 2015 to perform mandatory energy audits every 4 years for companies with more than 250 employees, 50 million euros of turnover or 43 million euros of balance sheet. However, companies that are ISO 50001 certified or that have implemented an Energy Management System by then will be exempted.

So which strategy should the company choose if it is affected by these regulatory requirements?

In practice, the compulsory energy audit must be carried out by a qualified examiner who is independent of the activity concerned in order to carry out this process in accordance with the DIN EN 16247 standard for energy audits. The perimeter concerned must represent at least 80% of the energy bill of the establishment concerned (SIREN) with an exemption of 65% for the first audit. The sampling of a company's sites is only authorized for buildings, not for the process or transport. The Energy Performance Manager of a major French player in the retail sector estimated the cost of this linear and punctual approach on these 700 sites at more than 1.5 M€ every 4 years. However, an energy audit carried out after December 4, 2012 according to the AFNOR BP X 30-120 methodology or as part of a 14001 Environmental Management System may be sufficient to comply.

The process of commitment to the ISO 50001 Energy Management System standard can be conducted by a qualified or experienced person internally and on a free perimeter. The methodology is cyclic according to the PDCA loop (Plan > Do > Check > Act) well known from ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certifications, and values the continuous improvement of performance. Access to certification by an accredited organization also allows the company to double its Energy Savings Certificates (C2E). A printing company consuming more than 17 GWh of electricity per year was able to recover €34,000 of the €60,000 invested in a heat recovery system thanks to this C2E bonus scheme. Moreover, according to companies that have already been certified, the observation is generally unanimous: ISO 50001 is a flexible process that can be based on Energy Management Information System tools that constitute a sustainable asset for the company, enabling it to achieve at least 10% energy savings on its energy bill. By avoiding audit costs, it also limits other expenses due to lack of action in this direction.

Taking the road to ISO 50001 certification as soon as possible seems to be a winning strategy to control your total energy costs in the long term. And you, where are you?