What Is an Energy Management System?
An Energy Management System (EnMS) is a set of practices that create a culture of continual improvement in energy performance. Organizations with an EnMS achieve energy and cost savings through a set of quantitative tools that track energy use, inform decision making, and help implement energy saving practices.
Why Should Manufacturers Adopt Energy Management Systems?
An EnMS forms the basis of continual, year over year improvements in energy use and operating costs. Developing an EnMS helps manufacturers assess how they leverage the latest energy efficiency technologies and best practices to identify ways to lower their energy consumption and reduce their carbon footprint.
The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization Office (IEDO) supports the Superior Energy Performance (SEP) and 50001 Ready programs, which have demonstrated continuous year-over-year energy improvements for partner facilities, far more than the business-as-usual industry average even after over a decade of implementation. The proven benefits of having an EnMS have led ecolabels and regulators to increasingly use internationally recognized EnMS standards as the basis for encouraging better business practices.
The Y axis shows annual energy use performance improvement as a percent of total energy used. Energy savings information for SEP facilities is based on data reported to DOE by SEP participants. Industry average is from the EIA.
ISO 50001 News
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The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recognizes Loews Hotels & Co for achieving 50001 Ready recognition status at 11 U.S. properties across the country. The DOE's 50001 Ready program, managed by the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, offersNovember 18, 2022
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The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recognizes General Motors Co. (GM) for achieving 50001 Ready recognition at 25 of its U.S. manufacturing plants for three years in a row, with two additional sites added in 2021. GM is a leader in some of the world’s...November 18, 2022
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The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recognizes Polaris Industries for achieving 50001 Ready recognition for its third year. Headquartered in Medina, Minnesota, Polaris manufactures a diverse range of powersport vehicles, such as snowmobiles...November 18, 2022
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AstraZeneca’s Gaithersburg campus became the first biomedical facility in the world to achieve SEP 50001 at the silver performance level, improving its energy performance 8.5% over three years and saving $420,000 on energy bills annually.November 3, 2021
Quarterly Updates:
- January 2023: GM and Daimler Truck North America Detroit® featured + decarbonization guidance in 50001 Ready Navigator
Where Can I Start?
DOE operates two energy management programs: 50001 Ready and Superior Energy Performance 50001 (SEP 50001) to make it easy for companies to create their own EnMS.
50001 Ready
The 50001 Ready program helps companies implement an EnMS aligned to the ISO 50001 energy management standard and prepares them to pursue certification. It breaks the requirements of the standard into 25 steps and provides resources and examples to help companies succeed in implementing an EnMS.
The program is built around the 50001 Ready Navigator, an online platform with reference materials, example strategies, and a dashboard that enables companies to track the progress of facilities. Companies that complete the 25 steps can receive recognition from DOE. The program is free and does not require a third-party audit of an EnMS.
Superior Energy Performance 50001 (SEP 50001)
The SEP 50001 program certification requires facilities to certify to the ISO 50001 energy management standard, adhering to a rigorous measurement and verification protocol to track energy use. To measure energy use, organizations cross-reference a top-down analysis of energy use with a bottom-up sum of individual projects. Certification and energy performance improvements are backed by credentialed, professional auditors.
Achieving certification to the SEP Program and DOE Recognition takes significant effort and speaks highly of an organization's dedication to energy efficiency over multiple years. It is also a clear signal that an organization is an industry leader in energy management. View all SEP 50001 Recognized Facilities.