ISO 50001 Standard for Energy Management Now Available from ANSI

Broadly applicable standard could influence up to 60% of the world's energy use

NEW YORK, June 15, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is pleased to announce the availability of ISO 50001, the highly anticipated energy management system standard, on ANSI's webstore.

With world energy prices soaring and calls for energy security coming from government, businesses, and consumers alike, the demand for organizations to manage their energy performance has never been more acute.

ISO 50001, Energy management systems - Requirements with guidance for use, can be used by any organization wishing to manage its energy use and efficiency. Targeting broad applicability across national economic sectors, it is estimated that the standard could influence up to 60% of the world's energy use. The standard was developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) project committee (PC) 242, Energy management, with the chairmanship held by the United States.

"Energy efficiency is often called the 'forgotten fuel' because efficiency is sometimes ignored in discussions about alternative energy sources," said Edwin Pinero, ISO PC 242 chair and executive vice president and chief sustainability officer at Veolia Water North America. "ISO 50001 provides organizations and companies with technical and management strategies to increase energy efficiency, reduce costs, and improve environmental performance."

With an emphasis on performance and continual improvement, ISO 50001 specifies requirements for establishing, implementing, maintaining and improving an energy management system.

"Individual organizations cannot control energy prices, government policies, or the global economy, but they can improve the way they manage energy in the here and now," said ISO Secretary-General Rob Steele. "Improved energy performance can provide rapid benefits for an organization by maximizing the use of its energy sources and energy-related assets, thus reducing both energy cost and consumption. The organization will also make positive contributions toward reducing depletion of energy resources and mitigating worldwide effects of energy use, such as global warming."

As the U.S. member body to ISO, ANSI serves as ISO PC 242 secretariat in partnership with the Brazilian member body to ISO, the Associacao Brasileira de Normas Tecnicas (ABNT). Forty-four ISO member countries participated in its development, with another 14 as observers. Liaison organizations include the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the World Energy Council (WEC).

ANSI accredited the Georgia Institute of Technology Energy and Sustainability Services (GT ESS) as administrator of the U.S. Technical Advisory Group (TAG) to ISO PC 242. In this capacity, GT ESS staff provide administrative facilitation for all aspects of the U.S. TAG's work. Roland Risser from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) serves as the U.S. TAG chair, Aimee McKane of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory serves as vice chair, and Deann Desai of the Georgia Institute of Technology serves as secretary.

ISO 50001 is based on the common elements found in all of ISO's management system standards, assuring a high level of compatibility with ISO 9001 (quality management) and ISO 14001 (environmental management). ISO 50001 can be implemented individually or integrated with other management system standards.

For more information on ISO 50001 or to purchase the standard, visit webstore.ansi.org/iso_50001.

About ANSI

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is a private non-profit organization whose mission is to enhance U.S. global competitiveness and the American quality of life by promoting, facilitating, and safeguarding the integrity of the voluntary standardization and conformity assessment system. Its membership is comprised of businesses, professional societies and trade associations, standards developers, government agencies, and consumer and labor organizations. The Institute represents the diverse interests of more than 125,000 companies and organizations and 3.5 million professionals worldwide.  

The Institute is the official U.S. representative to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and, via the U.S. National Committee, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), and is a U.S. representative to the International Accreditation Forum (IAF).

About ISO

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is a global network of national standards institutes from 157 countries. It has a current portfolio of more than 16,500 standards for business, government, and society. ISO's standards make up a complete offering for all three dimensions of sustainable development -- economic, environmental, and social. ISO standards provide solutions and achieve benefits for almost all sectors of activity, including agriculture, construction, mechanical engineering, manufacturing, distribution, transport, medical devices, information and communication technologies, the environment, energy, quality management, conformity assessment, and services.

SOURCE American National Standards Institute