ESOS (Energy Saving Opportunity Scheme) is an energy assessment and energy saving scheme mandatory for organisations in the UK that meet the qualification criteria. Organisations that qualify for ESOS must carry out ESOS assessments every 4 years. These assessments are audits of the energy used by an organisation’s buildings, industrial processes and transport to identify cost-effective energy saving measures.
A qualifying organisation must carry out their ESOS assessment and notify the Environment Agency, the scheme administrator, by 5 December 2015.
Do I qualify for ESOS?
Your organisation is likely to qualify for ESOS if, on the qualification date (31st December 2014), you were:
- An organisation with at least 250 employees.
- An organisation which has fewer than 250 employees, but has:
– An annual turnover exceeding €50m, and;
– A balance sheet exceeding €43m.
- Part of a corporate group that includes another UK undertaking which meets either of the criteria above.
ESOS does not apply to Government departments, local authorities, NHS Authorities or Trusts, MOD, or similar bodies governed by public law.
Complying with ESOS
The scheme will require all qualifying companies to demonstrate compliance by ensuring at least 90% of their total energy and fuel consumption is covered by one of the following:
• Display Energy Certificate (DEC) (for buildings);
• Green Deal Assessment (GDA) (for buildings);
• ISO50001 certified energy management system (covering all operations);
• ESOS compliant energy audit (which covers buildings, transport and industrial processes).
Examples of energy sources relevant for construction include:
• Electricity used on sites, at offices or other facilities (invoices, meter readings, AMR data);
• Gas consumed at offices and other facilities (invoices, meter readings, AMR data);
• Gas oil for site plant and generators (invoices, supplier returns);
• Diesel and petrol used for business travel in vehicles owned or leased by the company (fuel card returns, expenses claims);
• Diesel and petrol used for business travel in employee owned vehicles (expense claims);
• Bottled gases or fuels used for cutting or heating (invoices, supply returns);
If you qualify for ESOS and your organisation has an ISO 50001 energy management system covering all your energy use (for the whole corporate group in the UK) certified by an accredited certification body you don’t need to carry out an ESOS assessment.
The assessment helps you work out what your organisation needs to do to comply with the ESOS regulations.
A key output of the audit must be the identification of cost-effective energy efficiency recommendations. These recommendations must be approved by a registered ESOS Lead Assessor, and signed off by a nominated Director of the company. Existing initiatives or energy saving programmes stretching back to 2011 can also be used to demonstrate compliance.
In order to comply with ESOS through any of the routes listed above, an organisation must:
• Compile a 12-month energy baseline that captures the total energy consumption across all activities and functions which will include site activities, offices, depots, plant yards and business travel. The dates of the 12 month baseline are flexible, but the chosen period must cover 31st December 2014.
• Ensure that at least 90% of this baseline is covered by one of the four compliance options listed above.
Further detailed information is available at https://www.gov.uk/energy-savings-opportunity-scheme-esos and from the Environment Agency publication ‘Complying with the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme’, which can be downloaded from that website.
Sarah Kenny
Sales and Marketing Manager
Construction Industry Publications Ltd
Tel: 0870 078 4400
skenny@cip-books.com
