CERTIFICATE PROGRAM

Developed by:

With generous support from:

WEEK 3

CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT
& ENERGY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

WEEK 3: LEARNING OBJECTIVES

1. Obtain a solid understanding of the basic steps that comprise the E.P.A.s
Energy Star continuous improvement model for organizational energy
management. Understand why it is implemented.
2. Obtain an understanding of the basic components of ISO 50001, a competing
model, and be able to describe similarities and differences with Energy Star.
3. Appreciate the flexibility of the two models, and be able to describe how they
may be fitted to different sets of goals and objectives.
4. Be able to describe the strengths, weaknesses, and primary users of each.

WEEK 3: READINGS
Required reading:
An Overview of Continuous Improvement: From the Past to the
Present, Bhuiyan/Baghel.

Review (required previously):

Energy Star Guidelines:
http://www.energystar.gov/buildings/sites/default/uploads/tools
/Guidelines%20for%20Energy%20Management%206_2013.pdf
ISO 50001 Energy Management Systems Req.s with Guidance for Use

ENERGY STAR GUIDELINES

FOR ENERGY MANAGEMENT
The Energy Star Guidelines for
Energy Management comprise the
most widely adopted CIP model for
energy efficiency in the United
States. The seven key steps of the
Energy Star model are:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Commit to Continuous Improvement

Assess Performance
Set Goals
Create Action Plan
Implement Action Plan
Evaluate Progress / Re-Assess
Recognize Achievements

Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

ENERGY STAR STEP 1:

COMMIT TO CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT
Form a Dedicated Team and Institute an Energy Policy
Appoint an Energy Director
The Energy Director will be the point-person for organizational
energy strategy. He or she will coordinate internal as well as
external stakeholders to bring about improved efficiency in
multiple areas.

Establish an Energy Team

The Energy Team will support the Directors initiatives and
contribute to their ongoing refinement and implementation. It will
be comprised of decision-makers from a broad cross-section of
stakeholders.

Institute an Energy Policy

The Director and Team will develop a comprehensive energy policy
that thoroughly addresses the interests of stakeholders while
focusing on the goal of improving efficiency and coordination
throughout the organization.
Source: Synthesized from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency guidelines.

ENERGY STAR STEP 2:

ASSESS PERFORMANCE
Data Collection and Management
Gather and track data
Organizational energy use patterns, over time, will be observed.

Establish baselines
The usage starting points will be identified, against which all future
improvements (or other changes) will be measured.

Benchmark
Attainable goals for mid-term improvement will be set based on a
study of comparative experiences.

Analysis and Evaluation

Analyze
Qualitative and quantitative reviews will scrutinize and make
judgments about the present usage landscape.

Technical assessments and audits

An expert team will look at the data and produce recommendations.
Source: Synthesized from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency guidelines.

ENERGY STAR STEP 3: SET GOALS

Determine Scope
Focus of change
Should change objectives be organization-wide, geographicallybased, facility-specific, or limited to certain processes and/or
procedures?

Timelines
Determine progress assessment intervals
Expecting results: today, tomorrow, or long-term?

Estimate Potential for Improvement & Establish Goals

Provide basic ideas of whats possible.
Determine reasonable goals based on these assessments.

Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency guidelines.

ENERGY STAR STEP 4: CREATE ACTION PLAN

Define technical steps and targets

Evaluate technical assessments and audit results

Determine technical steps
Create performance targets
Set timelines
Establish a tracking system

Determine roles and resources

Identify internal roles

Identify external roles
Establish performance metrics for contractors
Define resource needs
Secure resources

Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency guidelines.

ENERGY STAR STEP 5:

IMPLEMENT ACTION PLAN
Implement the Action Plan
1. Create a communication plan
Develop information for target audiences about the C.I. program.

2.

Raise awareness
Build organizational support at all levels.

3.

Build capacity
Bring more people on board through training, information
clearinghouses, and other efforts to broaden the base of
participants.

4.

Incentivize
Motivate staff to improve energy performance to achieve goals.

5.

Track and monitor

Use the tracking system developed as part of the action plan to
track and monitor progress at regular intervals.

Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency guidelines.

ENERGY STAR: STEP 6:

EVALUATE PROGRESS & RE-ASSESS
Evaluate Progress
Measure Results
Gather tracking data
Benchmark
Review Action Plan
Get feedback
Gauge awareness
Identify critical factors
Quantify side benefits

Reassess
Return to Step 2: Assess Performance
Repeat Step 3: Set New Goals
Proceed through steps as above

Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency guidelines.

ENERGY STAR: STEP 7:

RECOGNIZE ACHIEVEMENTS
Providing Internal Recognition
Determine recognition levels
Individual
Teams
Facilities
Establish recognition criteria
Best ideas
Energy goal achievements
Monetary savings

Receiving External Recognition

Partnership programs
Performance standards
Achievement awards
Public reporting

Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency guidelines.

BETTERBRICKS HIGH PERFORMANCE

PORTFOLIO FRAMEWORK
A largely regional initiative in the Pacific Northwest worth noting because of its
influence
Five-step framework:
Assess
Commit
Plan
Implement
Capitalize

For more information, see:

http://www.betterbricks.com/co
mmercial-real-estate/tools/highperformance-portfolioframework

ISO 50001
The purpose of International Standard ISO 50001 is to enable organizations
to establish the systems and processes that are needed to improve energy
performance, in areas including efficiency, use, and consumption.
It is similar to the Energy Star Guidelines for Energy Management, but was
developed by the International Organization for Standardization, and it is
more widely used in Europe than in North America.
Successful implementation depends on commitment by participants to
continuous improvement at all levels and functions in the organization and
especially by top management.
ISO 50001 specifies energy management system (EnMS) requirements, upon
which an organization can develop and implement an energy policy and
establish objectives, targets, and action plans that take into account legal
requirements as well as information related to energy use.
ISO 50001 is based on the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) continual
improvement framework, and it incorporates energy management into
everyday organizational practices.

Source: International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

ISO 50001
ISO 50001 is based on the management-system model of continual
improvement that is also used for other well-known standards such as ISO
9001 or ISO 14001. This makes it easier for organizations to integrate
energy management into their overall efforts to improve quality and
environmental management.

ISO 50001 provides a framework of requirements for organizations to:

Develop a policy for more efficient use of energy

Fix targets and objectives to meet the policy
Use data to better understand and make decisions about energy use
Measure the results
Review how well the policy works
Continually improve energy management

Source: International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

ISO 50001

For an overview, see:

www.iso.org/iso/iso_
50001_energy.pdf

Source: International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

ISO 50001: ENERGY POLICY

Establishing an energy policy provides an opportunity to brief

management on the strategic risks and opportunities associated with
energy use. It then provides an ongoing direction for energy
management (EM) activities.

Q: Does your organization have an energy policy in place?

Access the following resources for more information about how to

effectively develop an internal energy policy, and how to use the
process as an opportunity to build management support for energy
management:

http://eex.gov.au/energy-management/establishing-an-energymanagementsystem/#Develop_an_energy_policy_that_includes_energy_perfor
mance
https://ecenter.ee.doe.gov/EM/SPM/Pages/Home.aspx

Source: International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

ISO 50001: ENERGY PLANNING

Energy planning involves systematically assessing:

Legal and other requirements applicable to your energy use

Reviewing your energy use based on measurement and
consumption data
Identifying and prioritizing energy use improvement options
Establishing energy performance indicators
Energy planning may be achieved by using an in-house team, or by
retaining an external consultant to undertake an energy audit.
Review the information at the following website to obtain ideas about
how best to approach energy planning in your organization:
http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=guidelines.download_g
uidelines

Source: International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

ISO 50001: IMPLEMENTATION & OPERATION

Implementation and operation involves putting your management

system into place, and ensuring that it works. The key tasks of this
step are outlined at the following website:
https://ecenter.ee.doe.gov/EM/SPM/Pages/Step5.aspx
Key tasks include:

Managing and controlling information

Determining operational controls
Ensuring the competence of personnel
Ensuring that personnel are aware of crucial information
Defining purchasing specifications for energy supply
Incorporating energy considerations in procurement
Managing energy considerations in design
Communicating internally
Deciding on the extent of external communications

Source: International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

ISO 50001: MONITORING, MEASURING, ANALYZING

This involves monitoring, measuring, and analyzing the key
characteristics of your operations in terms of energy performance.
Key actions include:

Monitoring, measuring and analyzing energy performance

Evaluating compliance with legal and other requirements
Carrying out internal audits to ensure that the system is effective
Managing non-conformities
Managing internal energy-use records

Source: International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

ISO 50001: MANAGEMENT REVIEW

Management review of your systems involves having top

management take a step back and ensure that the systems are
suitable for the organization and are delivering the objectives of the
Energy Management System.

The frequency of management review will vary between monthly and

annual updates, but it is particularly important to have frequent
reviews in the first few years as the system is established, to ensure
that it is effective.

Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Source: International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

CERTIFICATION TO ISO MANAGEMENT

SYSTEM STANDARDS
The best reason for wanting to implement these standards is to improve
the efficiency and effectiveness of company operations.
A company may decide to seek certification of having implemented the
ISO 50001 components, because certification may:

Be a contractual or regulatory requirement

Be necessary to meet customer preferences
Fall within the context of a risk management program
Help motivate staff by setting a clear goal for the development of
its management system

Source: Patrick Crittenden, University of Technology, Sydney.

CHOOSING A CERTIFICATION BODY

When choosing a certification body it is a good idea to:
Evaluate several certification bodies
Bear in mind that the cheapest could be more costly in the long
run if its auditing is below standard
Ask whether the certification body implements ISO/IEC
17021:2011, Conformity assessment Requirements for bodies
providing audit and certification management systems
Ask whether the body is accredited. Accreditation is not an
obligation and if an organization is not accredited it does not
necessarily mean it is not reputable. Nonetheless, accreditation
remains an independent confirmation of competence.
Accredited certification bodies can be identified by contacting
the national accreditation body in your country.

Source: Patrick Crittenden, University of Technology, Sydney.

WEEK 3: IN-CLASS EXERCISES

1. Describe the purpose of continuous improvement frameworks in the
context of energy asset management. What are the primary goals and
objectives of adopting such models? How do they benefit the
organizations that adopt them? What about external stakeholders?
2. Briefly discuss the differences between the Energy Star model and ISO
50001. What are the relative strengths and weaknesses of each? How do
they differ with regard to the priorities that they place on continuous
improvement? What are the geographic differences in rates of adoption?
3. Explain the process of certification. Is it required by either model? Why
would an organization choose to become certified? Who would it hire to
conduct the requisite studies and other checks?

WEEK 3: HOMEWORK
Consider the NorthTree building. Which framework would you
apply to develop a continuous-improvement energy management
program if you were appointed as energy manager: Energy Star or
ISO 50001? Explain your choice. Then, using the data from the
portfolio about the NorthTree building, describe the process of
developing such a framework and the steps involved in its
implementation. Would you seek to be certified? Why or why not?