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ISO 50001: International Energy Management Standard for Global Business Comes to Canada
Contributed by CSA
15 August 2011 - Many businesses today have global operations and require international standards applicable to their operations in various countries and jurisdictions. This trend is reflected in the Canadian market and, as such, Canada—along with 42 other countries—participated in the development of a new standard for energy management systems: the world’s first global energy management standard.
The CSA Energy Management Technical Committee approved the adoption of ISO 50001 Energy Management Systems standard as a National Standard of Canada in May 2011. CSA Standards (a not-for-profit, membership-based association serving business, industry, government and consumers in Canada and the global marketplace) represents the Standards Council of Canada (SCC) on various International Organization for Standardization (ISO) committees and, in many cases, has spearheaded the adoption of international standards in Canada.
August 16, 2011 By CSA
ISO 50001 is a voluntary, internationally accepted framework for the management of energy for businesses of all sizes. It lays out a clear path to the efficient management of energy by requiring compliant organizations to:
• conduct an energy review (analyze energy data, identify areas of significant energy use and select areas needing energy performance improvement);
• establish an energy baseline;
• ascertain energy objectives and targets that are measurable and set timelines for achievement;
• implement the action plan;
• check performance; and
• monitor, document and report all of the above.
This standard provides organizations and companies with the technical management tools to become highly efficient energy users. Conformity is acknowledged either by means of self-evaluation and self-declaration, or by certification to the energy management system by an external independent third party. The standard also helps businesses promote energy efficiency through suppliers.
ISO 50001 is based on the “Plan-Do-Check-Act” framework for continual improvement:
• PLAN: Establish the objectives and processes necessary to deliver results in accordance with opportunities to improve energy performance and policies.
• DO: Implement the processes.
• CHECK: Monitor and measure processes and product against policies, objectives and key operations characteristics, then report the results.
• ACT: Take actions to continually improve energy performance.
To get a sense of Canadian executives’ views, current activities and future objectives related to energy management, Leger Marketing conducted a survey on behalf of CSA. An overwhelming amount of those surveyed, more than 90%, believe that every organization has a responsibility to manage its energy use. In fact, 79% of Canadian executives say that energy efficiency is a key component to business success, and 20% believe that they would gain at least some competitive advantage by declaring their commitment to reducing energy consumption or improving environmental performance.
Businesses of all sizes that adopt the ISO 50001 standard and successfully reduce their energy consumption will not only enjoy decreased energy costs, but will also move forward in achieving their environmental goals and, ultimately, diminish their carbon footprint.
Before the introduction of ISO 50001, no national energy management systems standard in Canada existed. In fact, according to the CSA/Leger Marketing survey, only about 30% of Canadian executives say their organization has an active energy management program. Among those that do not, 12% are planning to implement one within a year. The adoption of the ISO 50001 Energy Management Systems standard in Canada will help thousands of businesses—many of which have global operations and require adherence to international standards—become highly efficient energy users.
The ISO Canadian Advisory Committee (a 22-member group comprising representatives from industry, government, utilities and academia) provided extensive input into the development of ISO 50001. To facilitate implementation, CSA established a 60-member ISO 50001 Implementation Task Force. CSA’s Learning Centre is also in the process of preparing seminars and workshops to assist users and stakeholders in implementing the standard.
The CAN/CSA ISO 50001 Energy Management Systems Standard is priced at: $105 and is available for purchase at shop.csa.ca.
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