Energy performance: AFNOR Group adds measurement and verification to its offer

AFNOR Group is strengthening its position in the energy efficiency market by expanding its line of B2B solutions to include energy performance measurement and verification services.

Good for both the wallet and the planet, the issue of energy savings affects all sectors of the economy. Many players – both public and private – are convinced of the need to improve their energy efficiency and are taking action. But what tools can they use to measure and verify results? The market is looking for offers that are simple and have guaranteed value, from players ready to commit to results, with objective, documented verification of the gains achieved.

AFNOR Group uses its expertise in voluntary standards, progress benchmarks, quality and trust to offer its customers (enterprises, service providers, local governments, financial organizations, etc.) new solutions enabling them to increase their skills and to make their commitments to improvement visible and credible.

Training on IPMVP and ISO standards

France’s leader in professional management system training, AFNOR Competencies is consequently expanding its certification training offer for energy performance measurement and verification (M&V), based on the International Performance Measurement and Verification Protocol (IPMVP), the benchmark method in this area, and on the latest ISO international standards issued on this subject.

In partnership with the American Efficiency Valuation Organization (EVO), AFNOR Competencies will now make it possible for players involved in implementing energy efficiency projects to supplement their expertise through a three-day M&V course, capped off by a half-day exam to obtain the Certified Measurement and Verification Professional (CMVP) certificate. “With this new offer, AFNOR Group rounds off its expert certification training in response to the professional training reforms launched in France by the law of 5 March 2014 and the decree of 30 June 2015,” said Pascal Prévost, managing director of AFNOR Competencies.

Energy performance “Verified by AFNOR Certification”

But organizations themselves need expertise and a guarantee that the energy efficiency projects they undertake, or that they commission from specialized contractors, will prove successful. AFNOR Group will use its AFNOR Certification subsidiary to offer contractors, or the consultancy firms that support them, to guide them on independently verifying that the planned developments are feasible and/or done properly.

This is the idea behind the new “Verified by AFNOR Certification” service. It confirms, through third-party verification, that the provisions and actions implemented respond to the objectives set pertaining to energy performance and reference standards. More specifically, this service validates the expected measurement plan and the performance level achieved at the end of the project, and ensures that the results achieved are objective and reportable. “With this certification mark, you accomplish multiple things simultaneously. It’s useful for securing your investment or fundraising,” said Béatrice Poirier, AFNOR Certification product manager.

ISO 50001 breakthrough

Sold through the Group’s subsidiaries, these new M&V services are supported transversally by AFNOR Energies, a unit created in 2013 to unite and develop the expertise of AFNOR Group’s different businesses on energy efficiency-related voluntary standards. As a qualified consultancy firm whose staff is CMVP certified, AFNOR Energies provides energy efficiency services: strategic energy analyses, energy audits, measurement plan development, etc.

“Among the voluntary standards that provide guidance for improving energy performance, and which AFNOR can develop at an international scale on behalf of France, are standards ISO 50015, ISO 50047 and ISO 17741, in which the IPMVP is cited, as well as ISO 50001, which economic players are really starting to adopt, as French and international feedback has shown,” said Catherine Moutet, head of AFNOR Energies.

With the support of regional delegations, AFNOR Group is currently planning an Energy Performance “Tour de France”, during which the new M&V solutions will be presented to show that an energy savings plan can be both long term and, most of all, successful.

Find out more about AFNOR Group energy-related services…

Find out more about AFNOR Certification services (in French)

Find out more about AFNOR Competences services (in French)

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