The purpose of ISO 50001 is to enable organizations to establish systems and processes necessary for reducing energy consumption, improving energy efficiency, and lowering energy usage. Implementing ISO 50001 is also intended to reduce negative environmental impacts and, consequently, reduce energy costs.
On December 11, 2019, an amendment to Act No. 406/2000 Coll., on Energy Management, was published in the Collection of Laws of the Czech Republic. This amendment imposes an obligation on large enterprises (with more than 250 employees) to conduct an energy audit for their energy management, which must be repeated every four years. Alternatively, this obligation can be fulfilled by implementing and certifying an Energy Management System according to ISO 50001.
Options for fulfilliting the legal obligation:
- Conducting an energy audit every four years.
- Certification according to ISO 50001 (in this case, an energy audit is not required).
Who is obligated?
- An entrepreneur who employs 250 or more persons, or has an annual turnover of 1.3 billion CZK, or an annual balance sheet total exceeding 1.1 billion CZK.
- An entrepreneur whose average annual energy use over the last two consecutive calendar years is higher than 5,000 MWh.
Approximately 2,150 large companies exceed these criteria, including large manufacturing companies, retail chains, and food conglomerates.
Who is not obligated?
- An entrepreneur whose energy management consumes less than 200 MWh per year.
- An entrepreneur who has implemented and has a certified energy management system according to ČSN EN ISO 50001 by an accredited body.
Benefits of implementing ISO 50001
- Cost savings on energy: Typical cost savings range from 5-15% of total energy costs.
- Waste prevention: Outputs allow for more efficient and economical management of the mentioned entities, including control over contractual relationships with energy suppliers and verifiable regular monitoring of energy flows.
- Transparent financing of energy and media: Preparation of materials for tenders for energy suppliers and for budget creation.
- Improved product cost calculation and financial planning: Outputs enable quantification of the relationship between performance and energy costs, allowing for precise determination of energy input per production unit and creation of an energy budget based on planned production volume.
- Better preventive maintenance: Data is often useful for preventive maintenance programs.
- Environmental benefits: Energy savings result in reduced carbon dioxide emissions and other air pollutants.
Deadline for compliance and consequences of non-compliance
Large companies are required to conduct an energy audit or certify their system according to ISO 50001 by December 5, 2015.
However, if a company has a valid energy audit conducted within three years before the effective date of this law (July 1, 2015), such an audit is considered compliant with this law, and the obligation is met until June 30, 2019.
The EN ISO 50001 standard provides guidance for any organization whose top management aims to reduce operational costs in line with the energy policies of the European Union and the Czech Republic.
What we offer
- Implementation: We provide implementation services according to the requirements of ČSN EN ISO 50001 or ČSN EN 14001, aiming for successful certification and sustainability of the specified systems.
- Sustainability Collaboration: We offer collaboration on maintaining the entire system, including the preparation of relevant documents, their updates, internal audits, professional training, seminars, and participation in recertification or surveillance audits.
- Energy Monitoring: We assist in the implementation of energy monitoring, including conducting energy audits, designing action plans, identifying appropriate energy efficiency indicators, monitoring consumption, and evaluating opportunities for savings from energy, environmental, and economic perspectives.