July 23, 2014 – The International Standards Organization (ISO) says a number of companies and organizations have already integrated an energy management system to reduce consumption. Now they can take this exercise a step further with ISO 50002:2014, an international standard on energy audit.

“Energy audits are a tool to reduce energy consumption and find a long-term solution,” explained Kit Oung, the project leader who developed ISO 50002. “They help identify and prioritize opportunities to improve energy performance, reduce energy waste and obtain related environmental benefits.”

Audit outputs include information on current energy use and performance, and recommendations for improvements in a range of areas, including operational and maintenance controls, modifications and capital projects.

The new standard sets down the basic principles and requirements for carrying out energy audits and harmonizing common auditing processes. Additionally, this common approach allows organizations to compare results across similar sites.

ISO 50002 has been designed to complement ISO 50001, which focuses on the development of an energy management system. Other standards to look out for in the future include:

• ISO 50003 on requirements for bodies providing audit and certification of energy management systems.
• ISO 50004 on guidance for the implementation, maintenance and improvement of an energy management system.
• ISO 50006 on measuring energy performance using energy baselines (EnB) and energy performance indicators (EnPI).
• ISO 50015 on the measurement and verification of energy performance in organizations.