The release of ISO 50001 has triggered some interest amongst One2Five clients globally so I thought this was a good topic to kick off our first blog post. The following overview will help users to understand how One2five Energy, a propriety tool of Energetics Pty Ltd, will work with the guidelines and processes outlined in the ISO 50001 Standard. I’ve endeavoured to provide a direct comparison of One2Five Energy and ISO 50001 and provide an explanation of strengths and weaknesses of each approach and how they can be used as complementary systems development tools.

1. ISO 50001

The ISO 50001 is a standard for all businesses and as such provides a generic approach to how energy management should be managed. It provides:

• a list and description of documentation requirements,
• some explanations of the content of this documentation, and
• an overarching methodology of how to development these systems.

The strength of this approach is to provide a list of the documentation required and the basic content of these documents.

2. One2Five Energy

One2Five Energy is a diagnostic tool designed to be used in a facilitated workshop or online with senior management teams. The tool is designed to lead the participants along a roadmap and educational journey from basic understanding through to best practice in energy management. The strengths of this tool are its ability:

• to engage senior management in the development of management systems for energy (senior management has been identified as a key requirement for energy management) and,
• to identify the next critical actions required to build these systems (a small list of actions is easier to address than a long list of document developments).

3. Similarities

Both One2Five Energy and ISO 50001 have been designed to capture all the key areas of management systems as defined in the ISO 9001 Quality Management Systems standard and ISO 14001 Environmental Management Systems Standard (see Table 1 – Element Comparison).

Another key similarity between ISO 50001 and One2five Energy is that both approaches promote the integration of energy management into existing business management systems. Policies, plans and financial aspects of management systems should include energy management system components to ensure that energy is managed as part of normal business activities and not treated as a separate part of the business where it could loss focus.

Energetics has recognised the need to strengthen the implementation aspect of the One2Five process by adding a series of tools called “How-to” tools which help users to develop systems such as reporting systems and training processes, and how to integrate energy management into existing business management systems. ISO 50001 also provides some explanations of content required in the documentation and management processes for energy control (see Annex A (informative) Guidance on the Implementation of this Standard).

4. Differences

The ISO 50001 standard provides a description of the documentation required and a basic methodology for implementation using the Plan-Do-Check-Act model (already applied in the ISO 9001 quality and ISO 14001 environmental standards). Whereas One2five provides a roadmap for the development of these systems in simple step-by-step manner picking those actions needed for immediate development. ISO 50001 does not provide a roadmap of actions and requires the user to develop management systems without any guidance as to which systems should be developed first.

One2Five Energy has several sets of characteristics and actions to address the specific requirements of each major business sector. ISO 50001 has a single set of instructions and reporting guidelines for all businesses.

5. Complementary Approach

One2five Energy and ISO 50001 can be used together in the following fashion – One2five Energy provides the path for systems development and ISO 50001 provides the description of the documentation and processes required. The One2Five Energy “How-to” tools provide complementary support for the ISO 50001 Annex A guidelines and help users to develop systems in a step-by-step manner.

6. Conclusion

In conclusion, One2Five Energy and ISO 50001 are not competing products. They are complementary approaches that can be used together to further strengthen the development of systems for energy management for any type of business.

 Table 1

One2Five Energy			ISO 50001  (based on MSE 2000:2008)
KA	Element	Description	Section	Description
1	1	Demonstrated corporate commitment	5.15.29.1	Management CommitmentEnergy PolicyManagement Review
2	1	Understanding of performance and opportunities	6.26.2.26.2.3	Energy Profile (Baseline)Energy AssessmentsSignificant Energy Uses
3	1	Targets, performance indicators (KPI) and motivation	6.2.46.4	Key Performance IndicatorsGoals, Targets and Project Planning
3	2	Plans	5.47.4	Strategic PlanningEnergy Management Project Implementation
4	1	Accountabilities	5.3	Responsibility and Authority
4	2	Awareness and training	7.67.7	CommunicationCompetence, Training and Awareness
4	3	Resourcing	7.5	Control of Outsourced Energy Services
5	1	Criteria/Budgets for capital expenditure (CAPEX)	6.4	Goals, Targets and Project Planning
5	2	Energy operating budgets
6	1	Purchasing procedures and alternative energy options	7.1	Energy Supply Purchasing
6	2	Quality and reliability of supply	7.1	Energy Supply Purchasing
6	3	Optimising purchasing within supply agreement	6.2.1	Utility Tracking
7	1	Operating procedures	7.3	Control of Equipment, Systems and Processes
7	2	Maintenance procedures
8	1	Efficiency of existing plant design	6.47.2	Energy Profile (Baseline)Design and Selection
8	2	Procedures – plant design/retrofit, purchasing/replacement	7.2	Design and Selection
8	3	Innovation and new technology	4. 26.2.5	Documentation RequirementsExternal Information
9	1	Metering and monitoring	6.2.18.18.3	Utility TrackingMonitoring and MeasurementCalibration
9	2	Reporting, feedback and control systems	6.18.5	Energy data managementCorrective and Preventive Actions
9	3	Documentation and records	4.26.3	Documentation requirementsLegal and Other Requirements
10	1	Energy cost performance in the past 12 months	9.17.48.2	Management ReviewEnergy management Project implementationLegal Compliance
10	2	Auditing progress	8.48.5	Internal AuditsCorrective and Preventive Actions

About Roger Horwood

Roger has over 20 years experience in energy and carbon management and has gained a wealth of knowledge in energy services, long-term program development, industrial energy management and energy management information systems. As a Principal Consultant at Energetics, Roger provides strategic advice and technology solutions to industrial companies, preparing them for the emerging low carbon economy. Roger is an expert in developing processes and structures for the facilitation and evaluation of business systems using Energetics diagnostic tool, One2Five®.