How ISO50009:2021 and Energy Management Groups (EnMGs) impact organisations

How ISO50009:2021 and Energy Management Groups (EnMGs) impact organisations

Our expert Tutor, Liam Regan explains ISO 50009 which was released in March 2021 and developed as a guidance document to establish a common EnMS, modeled on ISO 50001, focused on the issues that can occur when multiple organisations coordinate their energy management efforts.

ISO 50001 was developed to allow an individual organisation to establish the systems and processes necessary to continually improve energy performance. ISO 50009, however, is aimed at organisations that form an energy management group (EnMG) i.e., those who work together to manage their energy collectively with the intention of accomplishing better energy management results than implementing ISO 50001 individually. The formation of these EnMGs can be driven by changes in technology and the spread of distributed energy resources.

ISO 50009 mimics the common clause structure (Clause 1 to 10) and terms and definitions outlined in ISO 50001:2018.

The release of this document is timely with the increased emphasis globally for organisations to reduce their scope 1, 2, and also their scope 3 emissions. Forming an energy management group (EnMG) with a supplier or customer can help these organisations to reduce their collective emissions and ‘green’ their supply chains. By taking a common approach to energy management; greater opportunities can be found by focusing on the energy that flows across the boundaries of each member organisation.

Participating in an EnMG can suit the following types of organisations, such as those who:

• operate in a geographical region, such as a city, regional or a single industrial park, or a remote area;
• are in a single sector, such as food processing, rail transportation, or universities;
• share a common customer (supply chain members), such as a supermarket chain or car manufacturer;
• are served by a common service supplier, such as a building landlord in a shopping centre or retail park;
• share one utility system (steam, electricity, etc.);
• form part of a franchise group, which can have (but does not need to have) a common supplier, such as a franchised fast-food chain (with common supplier), or independent retail stores that operate under a cooperative banner;
• form part of a wider economic group, with financial links or common ownership;
• are different type of facilities owned by a local authority (town hall, library, leisure centre, etc.);
• share a common objective or energy target (either voluntarily set or mandated);
• have agreed to improve the same energy performance indicator (EnPI); or
  are members of a trade association

Further guidance on forming and participating in an EnMG is provided in ISO 50009 with respect to management aspects of a common EnMS, such as:

• context and scope;
• leadership including the role of energy management committee for governance;planning and establishing consistent group and member objectives;
• support for common or joint actions;
• operations or execution of common or joint actions;
• knowledge transfer;
• sharing of best practice to other group members;
  performance evaluation;
• and ensuring continual improvement.