Energy management systems: The ‘five-step-plus’ approach and ISO 50001

To successfully carry out energy management within an organisation, a system needs to be introduced that is simple to understand, addresses management issues and provides a structured approach and framework in which to work. For the past few years BRE has been advocating a ‘five-step-plus’ approach in which the first five steps are: get commitment; understand the issues; plan and organise; implement; and monitor ongoing performance. The loop is then closed by a review and audit step, the analysis of which feeds into the lessons learned step. These lessons are then incorporated into a plan for improvement stage, which embraces all aspects of the process and includes an action plan for change. This is in line with ISO 50001 and, although the attainment of these standards should be the ultimate goal, because of the degree of rigour and, as a result, the resource implications, this should be achieved in the longer term. That does not mean, however, that the underlying philosophy and methodologies should not be taken on board from the start. The key to this standard is the approach the standard has adopted — the Plan, Do, Check, Act approach. This paper maps out the standard in terms of this approach and provides practical advice on the steps to take.