Evidence that publication of ISO 50001 was eagerly awaited is borne out by the number of organizations worldwide claiming to be the first in their country or sector to have adopted the new ISO International Standard on energy management. And what is more, several are already reporting significant benefits and energy cost savings from their early ISO 50001 implementation.
An online article on the ISO Website summarizes the experience of five early adopters of ISO 50001. The organizations are power and thermal management solutions enterprise Delta Electronics in China; global energy management specialist Schneider Electric of France: the Dahanu Thermal Power Station in India; LCD TV maker AU Optronics Corp of Taiwan, Province of China, and the Austrian municipality of Bad Eisenkappel.
They report numerous early gains from implementing ISO 50001, including significant reductions in power consumption, carbon emissions and energy costs, and benefits to manufacturing plants, communities and the environment. The following quotes are taken from the article.
● Delta Electronics – China
“With the implementation of the ISO 50001 energy management system in the Dongguan region, and production capacity at an even level from January to May of this year, we have already reduced power consumption by 10.51 million KWH as compared to the same period in 2010. This is equivalent to a reduction of 10.2 thousand tons of carbon emissions and a saving of CNY 8 million.”
● Schneider Electric – France
“It is an International Standard, so it can be implemented in all our facilities and our customers' facilities around the world. It can also be easily integrated with other ISO standards such as ISO 14001. About 90 % of our facilities worldwide are ISO 14001-certified.”
● Dahanu Power Station – India
The plant has conducted a series of targeted investments since March 2010 which, aided by the organization’s new ISO 50001-based energy management system, are expected to yield annual savings of about INR 96.4 million from raised energy efficiency and management.
● AU Optronics – Taiwan, Province of China
ISO 50001 implementation is expected to help AUO achieve 10 % energy conservation at the plant this year, save an estimated 55 million kWh of electricity and reduce carbon emissions by 35 000 tons. The company now plans to adopt an ISO 50001-based energy management system at all its manufacturing plants.
● Municipality of Bad Eisenkappel – Austria
During the first year, consumption of electrical energy is expected to decrease by nearly 25 % with the main savings achieved by updating the waste water plant and reducing energy consumption by 86 000 kWh, equivalent to EUR 16000.
Latest ISO 50001 adopters
The ISO article also reports that implementation of ISO 50001 is gathering pace worldwide, citing other organizations in Japan, Germany, South Korea, Taiwan Province of China and in Thailand. In this country, the Meeting, Incentive, Convention and Exhibition (MICE) Bureau, set up to promote Thailand as a green meeting hub in Asia, will encourage Thai MICE operators to seek ISO 50001 certification, by subsidizing 70 % of the THB 400 000 consultancy fee.
Multimedia news release
ISO 50001 was launched by ISO on 17 June 2011 at an event in Geneva, Switzerland. A multimedia news release of the event is available on the ISO Website including videos of the presentations and interviews with the speakers, their Powerpoint slides and links to related material. This includes the new ISO video ISO and energy management (which can be viewed on the ISO Website and on YouTube) and the new brochure Win the energy management challenge with ISO 50001 which has already been accessed online or downloaded some 90000 times. Since the publication of ISO 50001 on 15 June 2011, it has become the best-selling standard of ISO Central Secretariat in Geneva.