ESOS Phase 4 compliance and using ISO 50001 as an alternative compliance route.

We provide guidance on using the ISO 50001 Energy Management Standard as an alternative route to ESOS Phase 4 compliance.

ISO 50001:2018 supersedes ISO 50001:2011.

The key changes in the Energy Management Standard from 2011 to 2018 are;

Improved compatibility with other ISO management system standards (ISO 14001, ISO 9001 etc.).

The revised standard is based on ISO Annex SL, the high-level structure (HLS)

Provides greater clarification of existing concepts and includes new definitions including energy performance improvement

Improved sections on collecting data and normalisation

Stronger emphasis on the responsibility of leadership and greater employee contribution

Expects energy performance to be integrated into the structure of an organisation

Achieve continual improvement of energy performance and the energy management system.

ISO 50001:2018 still follows the Plan, Do, Check and Act (PDCA) process as indicated below;

Plan - Conduct energy review, establish baseline, Energy Performance Indicators, objectives, targets and action plans in line with energy policy

Do- Implement the energy management action plans

Check - Monitor, measure and report the results

Act - Take actions to continually improve energy performance and the Energy Management System

The intended outcome of ESOS is to reduce energy consumption, reduce carbon emissions and associated costs.

The compliance period for ESOS Phase 4 is from 6 December 2023 to 5 December 2027.

The qualification date for ESOS Phase 4 is 31 December 2026.

ESOS Phase 4 compliance must be completed and reported to the Environmental Agency by 5 December 2027.

Visit our ESOS page for more information.

If your ISO 50001 system covers ALL your energy use it qualifies as an alternative to produce an ESOS report.

To be compliant and acceptable as an alternative route to ESOS Phase 4 compliance, the Energy Management System must;

be UKAS approved

be valid at the compliance date (5 December 2027)

cover all the assets held, and activities carried on by your organisation as at the qualification date (31 December 2026)

If you are compliant via this route you would NOT need to calculate your total energy consumption.

You would also NOT require an ESOS consultant or lead assessor to comply with ESOS.

However, you would still need to;

get a board level director to confirm that they have reviewed the findings of your ISO 50001 certification

that the organisation is compliant and the information which is going to be entered in the notification is correct

notify the Environmental Agency via the MESOS reporting system that this is how you are compliant with ESOS Phase 4.