ISO launches development of future standard on energy management

ISO’s project committee PC 242 aims to develop an International Standard on energy management. The future ISO 50001 will establish a framework for industrial plants, commercial facilities or entire organisations to manage energy.

Targetting broad applicability across national economic sectors, the standard could influence up to 60% of the world’s energy use.

The committee's first meeting was held in the US and attended by delegates from the ISO national member bodies of 25 countries from all regions of the world, as well as representation from the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), which has liaison status with PC 242.

All the participating countries have existing activities on energy management and have a strong interest in also developing a harmonised solution at the international level.

As part of the proceedings, delegates described their various initiatives in detail. For example, a presentation was given by UNIDO on the preparatory work the organisation has carried out to support the ISO process by researching energy management needs in developing countries.

This gave the committee an insight into the different policies and situations around the world which need to be taken into account in the development of a globally relevant International Standard for energy management.

Progress was made in the technical discussions and a first working draft has already been created. A major point of discussion is the need to ensure compatibility with the existing suite of ISO management system standards.

The committee therefore took the key decision to base the draft on the common elements found in all of ISO’s management system standards. This will ensure maximum compatibility with key standards such as ISO 9001 for quality management and ISO 14001 for environmental management.

The project committee aims to have ISO 50001 ready for publication by the end of 2010.