ISO 50001 - Energy management

Using energy efficiently helps organizations save money as well as helping to conserve resources and tackle climate change. ISO 50001 supports organizations in all sectors to use energy more efficiently, through the development of an energy management system (EnMS).

ISO 50001:2011 – Energy Management System

ISO 50001 is based on the management system model of continual improvement also used for other well-known standards such as ISO 9001 or ISO 14001. This makes it easier for organizations to integrate energy management into their overall efforts to improve quality and environmental management.

ISO 50001:2011 provides a framework of requirements for organizations to:

• Develop a policy for more efficient use of energy
• Fix targets and objectives to meet the policy
• Use data to better understand and make decisions about energy use
• Measure the results
• Review how well the policy works, and
• Continually improve energy management.

 Certification to ISO 50001

Like other ISO management system standards, certification to ISO 50001 is possible but not obligatory. Some organizations decide to implement the standard solely for the benefits it provides. Others decide to get certified to it, to show external parties they have implemented an energy management system. ISO does not perform certification

The facts about certification

Certification can be a useful tool to add credibility, by demonstrating that your product or service meets the expectations of your customers. For some industries, certification is a legal or contractual requirement.

ISO does not perform certification

At ISO, we develop International Standards, such as ISO 9001 and ISO 14001, but we are not involved in their certification, and do not issue certificates. This is performed by external certification bodies, thus a company or organization cannot be certified by ISO.

However ISO's Committee on Conformity Assessment (CASCO) has produced a number of standards related to the certification process, which are used by certification bodies. Read more about CASCO Standards.

Choosing a certification body

When choosing a certification body, you should:

• Evaluate several certification bodies.
• Check if the certification body uses the relevant CASCO standard
• Check if it is accredited. Accreditation is not compulsory, and non-accreditation does not necessarily mean it is not reputable, but it does provide independent confirmation of competence. To find an accredited certification body, contact the national accreditation body in your country or visit the International Accreditation Forum.

Displaying your certificate

Remember, when labelling a product or system as certified to an ISO standard:

Don't say: "ISO certified" or "ISO certification"

DO say: "ISO 9001:2015 certified" or "ISO 9001:2015 certification" (for example).