Two-minute brief
ISO 50001 requirements explained: video brief
A two-minute brief on what ISO 50001:2018 requires, including the energy-specific planning, design and procurement requirements that quality and environmental systems do not have.
Key takeaways
- ISO 50001 adds energy planning requirements to the shared clause 4 to 10 structure.
- Significant energy uses are identified through the energy review.
- Energy performance indicators and baselines allow fair comparison over time.
- Design and procurement decisions must consider energy performance.
- The standard requires demonstrated improvement but sets no fixed level.
The shared structure plus energy planning
ISO 50001:2018 follows the harmonised structure of the ISO management system standards, clauses 4 to 10, and adds energy-specific planning requirements in clauses 6.3 to 6.6, along with design and procurement requirements in clauses 8.2 and 8.3. This short film lays out where those requirements sit.
Context asks you to understand the issues, including whether climate change is relevant, and the interested parties, and to set the scope and boundaries without excluding any energy type inside them; in practice a scope and boundary statement listing sites and energy types and a register of legal and other energy requirements. Leadership means top management owning the energy policy, forming an energy management team, providing resources and ensuring the indicators represent energy performance. Planning addresses risks and opportunities and sets objectives and energy targets.
Energy review, indicators and baselines
The energy-specific planning clauses are what make the standard distinctive. The energy review analyses energy use and consumption and identifies the significant energy uses, the people whose work affects them and the variables that drive them. Energy performance indicators and energy baselines are then set so that performance can be compared fairly over time, and an energy data collection plan defines what is measured, how and how often.
Operation adds operational control of significant energy uses, energy performance considered in design, and energy performance criteria in procurement. Performance evaluation asks for monitoring, measurement and analysis of energy performance, internal audit and management review, and improvement requires nonconformities to be corrected and continual improvement of energy performance demonstrated. Any organisation can be certified, whatever the quantity or type of energy it consumes.
The practical value lies in the data: knowing which processes, buildings and machines account for most of the energy bill, what drives their consumption, and whether a project actually reduced anything once the relevant variables are allowed for.
ISO 50001 at a glance
- Purpose
- Energy management: measured, normalised improvement in energy efficiency, use and consumption, with the data to prove it
- Relevant to
- Any organisation that pays for energy it can control: plants, buildings, data centres, fleets, hospitals, hotels, single site or multi-country
- Edition
- ISO 50001:2018 with Amendment 1:2024 on climate action; confirmed by ISO in 2024, no revision in progress, no transition to plan
- Certification
- Assessed and decided by an independent, accredited certification body working to ISO 50003
- Sterling's role
- Energy review, indicators, baseline and controls built with your team, Effivity, training, internal audit and certification readiness, then Sustain™
- Cost and timing
- Total investment for an ISO 50001 EnMS depends on the current maturity of your processes, the scope, locations and number of employees. The process typically takes 6 to 12 months
ISO 50001: questions people ask
Do we have to cut our energy consumption to get ISO 50001 certified?
You have to demonstrate energy performance improvement, which the standard defines as improvement in energy efficiency, or in energy consumption related to energy use, compared with the baseline. Where production, weather or occupancy drives consumption, the indicators are normalised, so a plant whose output grew can still show improvement, and one whose bill fell only because it produced less cannot. The standard sets no level to reach; the certification body checks that improvement is demonstrated at initial certification and each recertification.
How much historical energy data do we need before we start?
The baseline must cover a suitable period, and twelve months is common because it captures the seasons. Invoices, meter readings and production or occupancy records from the past one to three years are normally enough for the energy review and the first baseline; sub-metering is added only where a decision depends on it.
Do we need to install sub-meters?
Not necessarily. The standard requires a data collection plan appropriate to your size, complexity, resources and measurement equipment, and equipment that gives accurate and repeatable data. Most start with invoices and existing meters and add sub-meters on SEUs where the information justifies the cost.
Is ISO 50001 certification mandatory?
In most countries it is voluntary. In the EU, Directive (EU) 2023/1791 requires enterprises averaging more than 85 TJ of energy a year to implement an energy management system certified by an independent body by 11 October 2027, and enterprises above 10 TJ without one to carry out an energy audit by 11 October 2026 and at least every four years, as transposed by each member state. In the UK, ISO 50001 certification covering your energy use is a recognised route to ESOS compliance.
What is a significant energy use, and how many should we have?
A significant energy use accounts for a substantial share of consumption or offers considerable potential for improvement. The number follows from your energy review, not from a rule of thumb; most sites end up with a handful, each needing its relevant variables, current performance, the people who affect it and operating criteria.
Keep exploring
Related to this video
Read next
The complete guide
Everything on ISO 50001
Start with the ISO 50001 page, or go straight to the guide you need.
On the ISO 50001 page
Guides
- The ISO 50001 certification process, step by step
- ISO 50001 certification cost
- The ISO 50001 energy data collection plan
- ISO 50001, the Energy Efficiency Directive and ESOS
- Effivity ISO 50001 guide
- ISO 50001 energy review
- ISO 50001 EnPI and energy baseline
- ISO 50001 vs ISO 14001
- ISO 50001 requirements explained
Often combined with ISO 50001
More videos: Environment, energy and climate
- FSC chain of custody requirements explainedTwo-minute brief · 2 min
- How to build a GHG Protocol emissions inventoryImplementation walkthrough · 3 min 15 s
- GHG Protocol requirements explainedTwo-minute brief · 2 min
- How to implement ISO 14064-1Implementation walkthrough · 3 min 15 s
- ISO 14064-1 requirements explainedTwo-minute brief · 2 min
- How to implement ISO 14068 (formerly ISO 14068-1) carbon neutralityImplementation walkthrough · 3 min 15 s
- ISO 14068 (formerly ISO 14068-1) requirements explainedTwo-minute brief · 2 min
- How to implement ISO 20121Implementation walkthrough · 3 min 15 s
- ISO 20121 requirements explainedTwo-minute brief · 2 min
Talk to a consultant
Plan your ISO 50001 certification with confidence.
Tell us your goals, locations and target date. We’ll help you define the scope, timeline and next steps.
hello@sterling-grc.com+1 201 263 4443 (global headquarters) · your nearest office and its number are at the top of this page
What would you like to achieve?
Choose a starting point. The enquiry form takes about a minute.
Book my free discovery callContinue to the enquiry form to share your details. Please do not include passwords, sensitive personal information or confidential files. A Sterling consultant replies within one working day. Privacy notice