Towards the New International Management Standard for Energy ISO 50001
Sao Paulo, 13.08.2008
UNIDO is working with the Brazilian Association for Standardization with the support of REEEP to organize a meeting on energy management standards for the Latin American region. The meeting will take place in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and is scheduled for 27-29 August 2008.
Background
In February, the Technical Management Board of the Geneva-based International Standards Organization (ISO) approved the establishment of a new project committee (PC 242 – Energy Management) appointed to develop the new ISO Management System Standard for Energy ISO 50001. The Secretariat of PC 242 was assigned to the partnership of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the Brazilian Association for Standardization (ABNT). ISO PC 242 currently includes 21 member countries, including Argentina, Brazil, China, Singapore and South Africa, and 4 observer countries that include Thailand. The first meeting of PC 242 is scheduled for the second week of September 2008. The working draft of the new standard is planned to be ready by March 2009. Publication is expected by the end of 2010.
UNIDO initiated a dialogue on the development of an international energy management system standard at an expert group meeting on “Industrial System Optimization and Energy Management Standards in Industry” in March 2007. The meeting included representation from developing countries, the ISO Central Secretariat, and countries already using national energy management standards. As a result of that meeting, a request was submitted to the ISO Central Secretariat to consider undertaking work on an international energy management standard.
In July 2007 UNIDO launched an initiative to support the development process of an international MSE by raising awareness and ensuring that the issues and barriers of government policy makers, industry, and other concerned stakeholders in developing countries are taken in due consideration in the ISO process. The Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP) contributed support to the UNIDO initiative.
In April, UNIDO organized jointly with the Standardization Administration of China, an international working group meeting on energy management standards. The meeting brought together 58 participants representing energy management organizations, standards-making authorities, and experts in industrial energy efficiency and energy management from 14 countries, including the leadership organizations for PC 242, ANSI and ABNT, and the ISO Central Secretariat .
The meeting discussed the development and implementation of the new standard, engaging in preliminary harmonization work of existing and proposed national energy management system standards. Participants shared the view that developing countries and emerging economies need to participate to the development process of ISO Management Standard for Energy (MSE), that the standard shall have relevancy for all sizes of enterprises, and a sense of urgency that the standard needs to be completed as quickly as possible. Representatives converged on the opinion that the impact of an ISO MSE on global energy efficiency, with corresponding reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, could be very large.
Key output document of the meeting is “A Framework for Action”. The Framework presents major themes that were analyzed and discussed during the meeting in a series of breakout sessions. The Framework for Action will be submitted to PC 242 as contribution to the preparatory work of the new ISO standard.