ISO-50001-2018: The Energy Management System Standard
As manufacturing moves quickly in the 21st century, companies are seeing the advent of quality (ISO 9000 series) and environmental management system (ISO 14000 series) standards become a real and lasting part of an organization’s management program. More recently, and in the past several years, we have seen a rise in the demand for safety management systems (ISO 45000) from our small business industry customers.
There is another, even more recent management system closely connected to the environmental standard that is garnering more industrial attention. It is the ISO 50001-2018 energy management system standard.
All of these standards (i.e., ISO 9000, ISO 14000, ISO 45000) are about continuous improvement in the various industrial aspects associated with quality, environment, safety and, now, energy.
The ISO 50001:2018 energy management system standard is all about energy savings and reduction of your facility’s emissions footprint though, primarily, reductions in carbon dioxide emissions to the air.
Even though our wholesale power producers are constantly looking for more efficient ways to control and use energy, the vast majority of our power is still fossil fuels. We understand that, like quality, safety and environment, energy reduction is a subject matter gaining increased business attention because its relative cost in manufacturing is increasing. Emissions produced from energy generation (i.e., electric, natural gas, and fossil fuels) are now becoming a focal point for companies and their suppliers.
Organizations are quickly realizing that tighter controls over energy management can provide double digit returns on investment. If your company already has a quality (ISO 9000) and environmental management system (ISO 1400O) in place, approximately forty to fifty percent of your effort to develop an energy management system is already in place.
If you are interested in talking with a CIS expert and learning more about good ROI opportunities for your plant’s energy and energy efficiency programs, contact Lynn Reed at Lynn.Reed@Tennessee.edu.
We are conducting a survey to understand what energy topics Tennessee's manufacturers would like to know more about. Please take a moment to let us know if you would like more information about ISO 50001-2018.