Companies are going back to basics in a bid to control costs and maintaining competitiveness in today’s volatile economy.
To this end, businesses are leveraging their energy management systems as one of the most cost-effective ways to reduce operating expenses and help control costs.
The recently updated ISO 50004 is the latest in the International Standard Organisation’s (ISO) energy management suite of standards, which includes ISO 50001 for the development of an energy management system.
The new and enhanced ISO 50004, Energy management systems – Guidance for the implementation, maintenance and improvement of an ISO 50001 energy management system, helps an organisation take a systematic approach to its overall energy management as a means of achieving continual improvement in energy performance.
Deann Desai, Project Leader of the group that developed the new ISO 50004, explains: “This user-friendly toolset helps organisations identify, track, report and act on all energy improvement initiatives. The guidance the standard provides can help turn energy efficiency novices into top energy performers.”
Because energy is the largest controllable operating expense for most businesses, reducing energy costs has a significant positive impact on the bottom line.
When implemented in a coordinated fashion, organizations can improve energy performance without spending capital. This is where the ISO energy management suite of standards comes into play.
ISO 50004:2020 applies to organisations with varying levels of energy management and energy management system (EnMS) experience.
Supplemented with practical help boxes designed to provide the user with ideas, examples and strategies for implementing an EnMS, the standard is expected to benefit all organizations implementing an energy management system based on ISO 50001.
ISO 50004 is part of a growing range of standards to help organisations on their energy management journey. Users will also benefit from the future ISO 50005, Energy management systems – Phased implementation, which will offer additional guidance towards the successful implementation of ISO 50001.
ISO 50004 was developed by ISO technical committee ISO/TC 301, Energy management and energy savings, whose secretariat is held in partnership by ISO’s members for the United States (ANSI) and China (SAC).
