The energy efficiency , to consume better and less

As with quality (QMS) and the environment (EMS), energy can be incorporated into a management system. This is referred to as an EnMS. The voluntary standard NF EN ISO 50001 explains how to do this, with the aim of continuously improving your energy performance. It helps you to develop a plan for measuring consumption and relevant monitoring indicators. It enables you to demonstrate continuous improvement in energy performance. It makes the planned energy savings more reliable and explains how to verify them. Finally, it allows you to be exempt from regulatory audits (see step 2).

Since 2015, companies have been required to conduct an audit of their energy consumption every four years, accompanied by an action plan to reduce it: this is known as the regulatory energy audit. Since the revision of the European Energy Efficiency Directive in 2023, companies that have consumed more than 10 TJ/year on average over the last three years (i.e., 2.7 GWh/year) are subject to the energy audit. 

One way to be exempted is to have implemented an energy management system. The energy audit must be conducted in accordance with the methodological standards of the NF EN 16247 series.

The concept of energy sobriety plans emerged in 2022, when the war in Ukraine and other factors caused energy prices to skyrocket. Economic players must make savings. Those in the tertiary sector were already required to follow a roadmap to reduce their consumption in stages until 2050. It appears that those who follow good energy management practices find it easier to do so! It is easier to organize, and therefore easier for efforts to bear fruit. 

In particular, being equipped with metering devices, including measurement points, centralized control, verification, and accurate reporting, is extremely helpful.