ENERGY SAVINGS OPPORTUNITY SCHEME (ESOS)
The UK Government has established the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) to implement Article 8 (4-6) of the EU Energy Efficiency Directive (2012/27/EU) which calls for mandatory energy assessments of large UK organisations.
Elan Environmental is one of the first accredited companies in NI/UK to offer ESOS assessments.
Organisations that qualify for ESOS must carry out ESOS assessments every 4 years. These assessments are audits of the energy used by their buildings, industrial processes and transport to identify cost-effective energy saving measures.
Is your organisation affected by this legislation?
You will be in the scope of ESOS if your organisation qualifies as a large undertaking, which means:
- You have more than 250 employees in the UK; or
- You have fewer than 250 employees, but have
i) an annual turnover exceeding €50m (£38,937,777); and
ii) a balance sheet exceeding €43m (£33,486,489); or - You are part of a corporate group containing a large enterprise
Qualifying organisations must notify the Environment Agency of their compliance by the deadline of 5 December 2015. Failure to comply will result in a fixed penalty of up to £5,000 and you could be charged an additional £40,000 in daily penalties (£500/day for up to 80 days) for failure to notify compliance. Non-compliance will also be made public and further discretionary penalties apply.
Benefits of an ESOS Audit
- Potential savings identified from an ESOS assessment is expected at 13.5 times the cost of the audit**
- An ESOS audit will deliver cost-effective opportunities to reduce your energy consumption, therefore saving you money and allowing you to demonstrate your commitment to energy saving and the environment to your stakeholders.
How ESOS works
An ESOS Assessment requires participants to do three things:
1. Measure total energy consumption
Measure total energy consumption across buildings, transport and industrial activities.
2. Conduct energy audits to identify cost-effective energy efficiency recommendations.
Ensure that at least 90% of your total energy consumption is subject to an ESOS compliant energy audit, a Display Energy Certificate, a Green Deal Assessment or a certified ISO 50001 Energy Management System during each phase of the scheme.
For the first phase of the scheme, any energy auditing activity dating back to December 2011 may be used to support compliance provided that it meets the minimum standards required of ESOS Energy Audits.
3. Report compliance to the Environment Agency
By 5 December 2015, participants must notify the Environment Agency (as the scheme administrator) of compliance with the scheme. The Assessment must have been reviewed by a Board-level Director and approved by a Lead Assessor. (Participants are not required to implement energy efficiency recommendations identified by their ESOS Assessments. However, they will only achieve the financial benefits that arise from avoiding energy waste if they do implement cost-effective recommendations identified.)
How can Elan help?
If you qualify for ESOS and your organisation is not fully covered through ISO 50001 certification, you need to appoint a lead assessor to conduct and/or supervise your energy audits and approve your overall ESOS assessment.
As accredited assessors, Elan Environmental can help you carry out and/or review your assessments, compiling the necessary Evidence Pack for submission to The Environment Agency in time for December deadline and avoiding the potential financial penalties. Contact us (link to our contact page) for further information.
