With energy costs constantly rising during these tough economic times, the release of the new ISO 50001:2011 Standard for ‘Energy Management Systems’ will provide benefits for both large and small organizations.  The ISO 50001:2011 Standard provides a framework for organizations for better managing their energy use in an organized way through a management system similar to ISO 14001 and ISO 9001.  It is estimated that the standard could have a positive impact on the world’s energy use of up to 60%.

You cannot control the price of energy, but you can improve the way you manage your energy usage.  The ISO 50001 Standard looks like a good way to start or improve your present efforts to reduce your environmental footprint and its costs.  We have worked with many of the 19 Waste Water Treatment plants in Rhode Island over the past couple of years, along with Narragansett Bay Commission, URI and RIDEM to implement energy management systems to reduce their costs.  We adapted ISO 14001 for the task, but the new ISO 50001 Standard looks like a great starting point if you are just getting started.  Let us know what kind of efforts you have in place for reducing energy usage and costs.