ISO 50001, EnMS, ELECTRICAL ENERGY EFFICIENCY & CIRCUTOR

With energy one of the most critical challenges facing the international community, the publication on 15 June of the ISO International Standard ISO 50001 on energy management systems is an eagerly awaited event because it is estimated the standard could have a positive impact on some 60 % of the world’s energy use.

ISO 50001 will provide public and private sector organizations with management strategies to increase energy efficiency, reduce costs and improve energy performance.

The standard will be available on the ISO Website www.iso.org on 15 June. In addition, ISO is launching the standard on 17 June at the Geneva International Conference Centre (CICG). Presentations on the following themes are planned:

ISO 50001 within the context of ISO standards in general and how they can contribute to solving global problems
A description of ISO 50001 and its benefits
How the standard was developed, who was involved and how they overcame challenges
What ISO 50001 can do for developing countries.
ISO Secretary-General Rob Steele comments: “Energy is critical to organizational operations and can be a major cost to organizations, whatever their activities. An idea can be gained by considering the use of energy through the supply chain of a business, from raw materials through to recycling.

“Individual organizations cannot control energy prices, government policies or the global economy, but they can improve the way they manage energy in the here and now. Improved energy performance can provide rapid benefits for an organization by maximizing the use of its energy sources and energy-related assets, thus reducing both energy cost and consumption. The organization will also make positive contributions toward reducing depletion of energy resources and mitigating worldwide effects of energy use, such as global warming.”

ISO 50001 is intended to provide organizations with a recognized framework for integrating energy performance into their management practices. Multinational organizations will have access to a single, harmonized standard for implementation across the organization with a logical and consistent methodology for identifying and implementing improvements. The standard is intended to accomplish the following:

Assist organizations in making better use of their existing energy-consuming assets
Create transparency and facilitate communication on the management of energy resources
Promote energy management best practices and reinforce good energy management behaviours
Assist facilities in evaluating and prioritizing the implementation of new energy-efficient technologies
Provide a framework for promoting energy efficiency throughout the supply chain
Facilitate energy management improvements for greenhouse gas emission reduction projects
Allow integration with other organizational management systems such as environmental, and health and safety.

Download ISO’s “Win the energy challenge with ISO 50001″ document… http://www.iso.org/iso/iso_50001_energy.pdf

… from ISO website http://www.iso.org/iso/pressrelease.htm?refid=Ref1434

Substantial improvements in energy efficiency with positive financial impacts have been experienced both by a major company and by a small business taking part in a pilot programme to test the new ISO 50001 energy management standard.

These results were reported on 17 June 2011 at the launching by ISO of the new standard at the Geneva International Conference Centre (CICG), Switzerland.

ISO Secretary-General Rob Steele told the international audience of nearly 200 people attending the event: “Energy is no longer a technical issue, but a management issue with an impact on the bottom line and the time to address the issue is now.”

The event included presentations by three out of some 100 experts from 45 countries who participated in developing the standard.

Ken Hamilton, Director, Global Energy and Sustainability Services, Hewlett Packard (USA), described ISO 50001 as a “very pragmatic standard” which will help companies to integrate energy management with business practices. It will allow multinational companies like Hewlett Packard to reduce energy costs and increase the efficiency of energy use throughout global supply chains.

Mr Hamilton quoted results from two pilot implementations which were part of the Superior Energy Performance programme sponsored by the US Council for Energy Efficient Manufacturing and the US Department of Energy.

He cited the experience of two plants. One of them was a plant owned by a major company, Dow Chemicals. The plant reduced its use of energy by 17.9 % over two years. At the same time, ISO 50001 principles are also successfully implemented by small businesses as shown by the experience of the other plant, CCP, of Houston, Texas, employing 36 people. In two years, it achieved energy savings of 14.9 %, worth USD 250 000 a year with zero capital investment.

Alberto J. Fossa, Director, International Copper Association/MDJ, Brazil, underlined the international expertise that had been distilled in ISO 50001, with meetings to develop the standard held in China, the USA, Brazil and the United Kingdom.

At these, a common understanding had been forged between experts in technical efficiency on the one hand and in management on the other to produce a standard that will help all types of organization to achieve continual improvement of their energy performance.

Marco Matteini, of the Industrial Energy Efficiency Unit, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), said that forecasts of future energy demand highlighted substantial increases in developing countries, thus underlining the importance and relevance of ISO 50001 for organizations in emerging economies.

The launch event, moderated by the ISO Director of Marketing, Communication and Information, Nicolas Fleury, saw the first public showing of the short video, ISO and energy management. This video is among the material available on a multimedia news release published on the ISO Website, making the launch event available to a worldwide public. It includes video interviews of the speakers, videos of their presentations, their PowerPoint slides, the new ISO brochure Win the energy management challenge with ISO 50001, and links to related ISO material.

… from ISO website http://www.iso.org/iso/pressrelease.htm?refid=Ref1440

Against a background of rising world energy prices, ISO’s announcement of a third quarter 2011 target for publication of its ISO 50001 International Standard for energy management is particularly timely. ISO 50001 will help organizations to 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. Targeting broad applicability across national economic sectors, it is estimated that the standard could influence up to 60 % of the world’s energy use.

ISO 50001 is being developed by ISO project committee ISO/PC 242, Energy management, whose Chair, Edwin Piñero, comments: “Everyday, organizations all over the world deal with issues such as energy supply availability, reliability, climate change, and resource depletion. A critical element in addressing these issues is how effectively an organization manages its energy use.

“ISO 50001 provides a proven model that helps organizations systematically plan and manage their energy use. With a strong focus on performance and continual improvement, ISO 50001 will contribute to enhanced energy efficiency and prudent energy use. An extremely high level of consensus drove our committee’s fast progress toward publication – proof that the world needs and wants this standard.”

The secretariat of ISO/PC 242 is provided by the partnership of the ISO members for the United States (American National Standards Institute – ANSI) and Brazil (Associação Brasileira de Normas Técnicas – ABNT). Forty-three ISO member countries are participating in its development, with another 12 as observers. Liaison organizations include the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the World Energy Council (WEC).

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 50001 will provide the following benefits:

i. A framework for integrating energy efficiency into management practices
ii. Making better use of existing energy-consuming assets
iii. Benchmarking, measuring, documenting, and reporting energy intensity improvements and their projected impact on reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
iv. Transparency and communication on the management of energy resources
v. Energy management best practices and good energy management behaviours
vi. Evaluating and prioritizing the implementation of new energy-efficient technologies
vii. A framework for promoting energy efficiency throughout the supply chain
viii. Energy management improvements in the context of GHG emission reduction projects.

Roland Risser, Chair of the U.S. Technical Advisory Group to ISO/PC 242, and Manager of the Building Technologies Program at the U.S. Department of Energy, underlines that, “This new International Standard provides the structural framework for commercial and industrial companies to continually improve their energy intensity – saving money, improving competitiveness and reducing pollution. When companies can link efficiency to profitability, that’s a win-win.”

… from ISO website http://www.iso.org/iso/pressrelease.htm?refid=Ref1399