Against the Clock: Meeting the ESOS Deadline
Maureen Bray, head of energy and carbon compliance, Schneider Electric argues that as 9,000 organisations in Britain try to complete
their first company assessment in time, they are facing a major issue: a shortage of assessors.
By the 5th of December more than 9,000 organisations in Britain will need to be able to complete their first Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) company assessment or face late completion penalties. There are just over 500 approved lead assessors in the UK. A further 300 are in the pipeline. That means 11 organisations per auditor, with just two months to process them all. This not only sounds like an unrealistic target; the data suggests it too. As of early August only 361 companies had achieved compliance.
The ESOS was brought in this year, as part of a drive to make companies across the continent as energy efficient as possible. ESOS states that all large enterprises must undertake mandatory energy audits by an approved auditor. These organisations are forced to carry out the ESOS assessment every four years, or risk a £50,000 fine, with an additional charge of £500 for every additional day of non-compliance. A large enterprise in this instance is deemed to be any company that employs over 250 people, or has an annual turnover of more than €50m, as of the end of 2014.
However, as of the 8th October, an amendment to the ESOS guidance now states that businesses unable to complete their audit will “not usually” face punitive fines if they notify the Agency of compliance by the 29th January and meet the original date for notification of delayed completion.
In the coming months we’re likely to see a scrum for the line as laggards attempt to find assessors to complete ESOS audits or achieve ISO50001 Certification. Non-complying companies will also be named and shamed, placing further pressure on
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them to meet these requirements. Worst of all, a shortage of assessors means the audits are unlikely to be as in-depth as they should be, risking the scheme falling far short of its carbon reduction ambitions.
• Businesses are weighing up the benefits of the Energy Saving Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) and ISO50001 Certification as routes to compliance, the methods being equally popular for future plans
According to the Environment Agency, businesses that do not believe they will achieve compliance by the deadline can take steps to demonstrate willingness, including evidence of booking an ESOS lead assessor, starting to collect or analyse data for ESOS and beginning to conduct site visits for an assessment.
“As of early August only 361 companies had achieved compliance.”
Earlier this year Schneider Electric asked a panel of energy professionals how the Energy Efficiency Directive (EED), which the ESOS is part of, will impact their businesses and how they are responding:
• The overwhelming majority see the EED as an opportunity to expand and explore energy saving initiatives, however, almost a fifth don’t yet understand the benefits of energy efficiency measures
• Over a third of businesses are still trying to understand the various means of achieving compliance, whilst a fifth have already prepared their plan of action
However, businesses should not let these time pressures overshadow the benefits. The introduction of ESOS in the UK offers an opportunity for businesses to better understand current energy efficiency status and identify energy savings that could be achieved. Audits should include suggestions around remediation or future improvements. By working with a reputable qualified partner, businesses stand to benefit significantly from these recommendations. Implementing the changes identified through the mandatory audits can help the bottom line with regard to reducing energy bills. It can also improve business performance in other energy efficiency schemes such as the Climate Change Agreement (CCA) and the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC).
The delay to the deadline should be seen as a welcome respite by businesses – the benefits that the identified energy conservation measures will bring in 2016 and beyond are clear – and this update can only afford them a greater window of opportunity to prepare.
www.schneider-electric.com www.tomorrowsem.com
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