Energy Management Campaign Announces Progress at Tenth Clean Energy Ministerial
Thanks to the Energy Management Campaign, governments, companies, and international partners have stepped up their efforts to accelerate implementation of ISO 50001. Campaign highlights, activities, and next steps were shared during an international assembly of high-level clean energy leaders attending the 10th Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM10), which took place May 27–29 in Vancouver, Canada. The Campaign aims, by 2020, to achieve 50,001 global certifications to ISO 50001, the global energy management system standard.
Bolstering wide-scale energy management is part of the CEM strategy to facilitate the transition to a global clean energy economy. The ISO 50001 standard provides a consistent and measurable way, across countries, for organizations to increase energy productivity and reduce carbon emissions.
Since its inception in June 2016 at CEM7, the Campaign has grown to include 30 partners: 18 economies, 8 companies, and 4 supporting international organizations. At CEM10, several partners presented success stories, describing their recent efforts to promote ISO 50001 and advance climate change and energy goals (specifics are appended below). Representatives from Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), the leading Government of Canada department for CEM’s Energy Management Working Group (EMWG), and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the Operating Agent of the EMWG, shared progress at the Campaign level and future plans.
“We’re three years into the Energy Management Campaign, and the results speak for themselves,” said Abla Hanna, Senior Director for the Office of Energy Efficiency at NRCan. “This year, we look forward to further deepening the relationship between those who have already committed to the Campaign—and to implementing ISO 50001. The Campaign will continue to reach out to find new organizations willing to make the same level of commitment and get them involved. Every partner has a success story, and everyone can gain from that experience.”
A highlighted announcement is an initiative to develop a global database to track ISO 50001 certifications worldwide, as well as other management system standards, such as ISO 14001 and ISO 9001. By establishing a single location and practical mechanism to validate accredited certifications, this vast effort capitalizes on ISO 50001’s role as a global best practice model for comprehensive and strategic energy management—and a global benchmark for climate and clean energy action. The database aligns with and promotes Campaign principles by providing a global framework for measuring the impacts of ISO 50001 implementation, which allows organizations to assess and communicate the standard’s value in outcomes that are clear, comparable, and consistent. Making this information available also allows governments to track growth in certifications, which translates into progress toward energy and climate commitments. In addition, the database will allow businesses to identify and work with certified companies and incentivize other organizations to become certified. The database initiative is sponsored by the International Accreditation Forum and backed by over 80 accreditation bodies. The U.S. Department of Energy is leading the EMWG’s effort to promote participation in the database.
The certification database is the latest in a set of high-level efforts that promote the Campaign goal: 50,001 certifications by 2020. International visibility on certifications has the potential to further international communication, consistency, acceptance, and adoption of ISO 50001. The benefits of adopting ISO 50001 are well established. In 2017 (the most recent available data), the International Organization for Standardization survey tallied approximately 21,500 certificates to ISO 50001 since the standard’s publication in 2011. Case studies show that these companies are realizing energy improvements of 10% or more, often through low-cost or no-cost changes to operations, and these successes only scratch the surface of the standard’s potential. If half of global industrial and commercial energy were managed under ISO 50001 by 2030, roughly 105 exajoules of primary energy savings would be saved across the globe, leading to cumulative cost savings of nearly USD $700 billion and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions of 6,500 megatonnes. The emissions avoided in 2030 alone would be equivalent to removing 210 million passenger vehicles from the road.
“Campaign partners are the agents making energy efficiency part of organizational culture and building the business case for energy management,” argues Philippe Scholtès, Managing Director at UNIDO. “Energy management plays a critical role in promoting inclusive and sustainable industrial development, and therefore UNIDO is highly committed to demonstrating its benefits to policy makers and industry leaders alike. We see how enterprises of all sizes gain from implementing energy management systems. Lower costs, reduced energy consumption, yet enhanced productivity and environmental benefits: ISO 50001 is a win–win all around.”
The Energy Management Campaign is run by the CEM’s EMWG, the International Partnership for Energy Efficiency Cooperation, and the G20, which has been driving the global dialogue on ISO 50001 since 2010.
Energy Management Campaign Partner Progress Statements
Organizations
Arabian Cement increased its total energy savings to 8.5%—up from 7% at the end of 2017—since implementing its energy management system and plans to establish an on-site solar plant in 2019 to offset a portion of its electricity consumption.
Cummins—since its 2016 commitment to expand ISO 50001 to 40 sites, or 90% of its carbon footprint, by 2020—achieved ISO 50001 certification at 36 sites through 2018, with 9 of them also certified to the Superior Energy Performance program.
Samsung Electronics continues to focus on its GHG reduction goals and maintains ISO 50001 certification globally for all manufacturing sites. In 2018, Samsung announced that it will source renewable energy for 100% of the electricity used for its factories, office buildings, and operational facilities in the United States, Europe, and China by 2020.
The Climate Group promotes ISO 50001 as one of the many tools that companies can use to fulfill energy productivity commitments made through its global EP100 campaign. A new membership pathway was launched for companies with commercial buildings or industrial manufacturing space that implement an energy management system globally within 10 years and commit to a self-selected energy productivity improvement target. To date, five EP100 members have signed up under this pathway: Hilton, RBS, Sasol, TCI Co., and TRIDL. Hilton, Sasol, TCI Co., and TRIDL have achieved ISO 50001 certification or are in the process of certifying.
The United Nations Industrial Development Organization is entering its third year as the Operating Agent of the Energy Management Working Group, providing strategic contributions and mobilizing resources to maintain the EMWG as a key global forum for advancing energy management systems. Through its global flagship programme, UNIDO continues to promote the uptake of Energy Management Systems and ISO 50001 in its member countries.
Governments
The City of Daugavpils, Latvia, plans to expand adoption of ISO 50001, using certified energy management systems to meet the goals established in its 2016–2020 Sustainable Energy Action Plans (SEAPs), including GHG emissions reduction of 10% throughout the City in 2020, compared to 2010 levels. Energy management systems have already enabled the City to reduce energy consumption in the 15 highest-energy-consuming municipal buildings and improve public transport efficiency by 4%. The City has also doubled its municipal procurement of green purchases and invested 2.94 million euro in energy-efficient street lighting infrastructure and photoelement technology.
Canada continued its expansion of the ISO 50001 implementation program to other sectors to maximize the national uptake of energy management systems. As of 2018, the ISO 50001 promotional program now covers commercial and institutional buildings to improve their energy use, competitiveness, and profitability. In 2019, Canada intends to launch the 50001 Ready program to recognize facilities and organizations that practice ISO 50001-based energy management. These additional efforts complement Canada’s well established industrial ISO 50001 program.
China’s recent achievements through the Campaign include promoting a national Energy Management Award based on the CEM Energy Management Leadership Award program’s evaluation criteria. Among the 23 enterprises participating in the 2018 national competition, ten were identified as outstanding case studies, and many proceeded to enter and win Energy Management Insight Awards in 2019.
The European Commission continues its work to support the practice of adopting ISO 50001 and tackle barriers to implementation in the Member States. For 2019, the focus is on how the Member States can be assisted in achieving the new, ambitious energy efficiency target of 32.5 % by 2030. With growing need for industry to participate in achieving the new savings obligation, the European Commission services seek to encourage the uptake of innovative technologies, techniques, and services that will stimulate the demand for energy efficiency improvement measures, including the use of integrated energy management systems.
In Germany, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy has recently created an incentive program that supports the implementation and enhancement of energy management systems through supporting investments in hard- and software needed to effectively run an energy management system. Germany has proposed the development of an international standard that provides phased implementation guidance on ISO 50001 and will be of particular benefit to small and medium-sized organizations.
Indonesia continues to add standards within the ISO 50001 series as Indonesia National Standards, most recently ISO 50002 (energy audits), ISO 50006 (measuring energy performance using energy baseline and energy performance indicators), and ISO 50015 (measurement and verification of an organization’s energy performance). In 2019, Indonesia plans to adopt ISO 50045—technical guidelines for evaluating energy savings of thermal power plants.
Italy reaffirms its commitment to continue promoting ISO 50001 certification under its current energy audit and management certification programme for large firms. The programme also supports small–medium enterprises in performing energy audits and in acquiring energy management certifications and supports the certification of auditors, energy managers, and energy service companies.
Japan continues its capacity-building and best-practice-sharing efforts in Indonesia and Brazil to support energy management systems based on ISO 50001. Japan’s additional collaboration with the Government of India led to the 2018 publication of energy conservation guidelines in India consistent with ISO 50001.
Mexico continues promoting ISO 50001 certification under its Voluntary Agreement Scheme as part of its Nationally Determined Contribution to the Paris Agreement. Mexico seeks to achieve 40 voluntary agreements with large energy users by 2020. Mexico’s National Energy Management Systems Program (Pronasgen) recently published a report on its work with companies to implement energy management systems. Participating companies have achieved significant energy savings in both natural gas (between 30 and 55 percent) and electricity (between 25 and 46 percent). Additional activities in Mexico include its ongoing collaboration with the Danish Energy Agency to implement ISO 50001 at two state-owned refineries, deployment of learning networks to help companies share best practices on energy management systems, and multilateral collaboration with the Commission for Environmental Cooperation to support ISO 50001 implementation in North American facilities.
The Republic of Korea’s 2018 EnMS Infrastructure Support Project supported 15 small and medium-sized companies whose annual energy use exceeds 2,000 tonnes of oil equivalent. The project provides ISO 50001 consulting to help organizations establish an energy management system, install real-time energy measurement equipment, and establish a control system. In 2019, the Republic of Korea will continue its support for ISO 50001 consulting to further expand adoption of energy management systems.
The United Arab Emirates adopted a national Award for Energy Management based on the CEM Energy Management Leadership Awards. In 2018, the UAE Ministry of Energy & Industry presented trophies at a high-profile ceremony to four major UAE entities that won CEM Energy Management Leadership Awards, and plans are underway to honor 2019 winners from UAE in a similar fashion. Additionally, UAE is proposing a demand-side management program to promote ISO 50001 practices that will encourage industries to submit energy management reports and implement ISO 50001 standards.
The United States leads the project among CEM governments to publicize and promote participation in the International Accreditation Forum’s global database to track ISO 50001 certifications. The database will help track progress toward the Campaign’s overall goal of reaching 50,001 certifications to ISO 50001 and help governments track progress toward energy and climate commitments. Domestically, the United States continues supporting programs that serve a wide spectrum of ISO 50001 users, including the 50001 Ready recognition program and the Superior Energy Performance 50001 (SEP 50001™) certification program. SEP 50001 was newly revised in 2019 to expand options for streamlining multiple-site certification and achieve greater alignment with ISO 50001:2018. Additionally, the qualifications for the lead auditor include the EMWG-developed credential, Energy Professionals International (EPI) ISO 50001 Lead Auditor, with additional training on the SEP 50001 program.