With 365 days until large UK organisations must comply with
new Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) legislation, one of the UK’s
leading energy and water consultancies, Utilitywise, has issued a warning that
the business impacted may be missing out on over £63 million of energy savings.
Based on preparatory work with over 400 businesses Utilitywise has identified
that the average firm that is required to comply with the mandatory scheme
could save 13% of their energy costs, but only if audit findings are used as a
springboard to minimise consumption.
ESOS is an energy assessment and energy savings
identification scheme for large organisations in the UK. Whilst public bodies
are not affected large organisations of more than 250 employees, or those that
have an annual turnover of £40 million and a balance sheet of more than
£34 million must comply with the new rules. The legislation requires those
affected to be compliant, having undertaken an ESOS audit (or obtaining an
alternative route to compliance), by 5 December next year or facing fines of
potentially tens of thousands of pounds.
In order to be compliant companies must cover all process,
transport and energy use. This can be achieved either by specifically
commissioning an ESOS Audit, holding or gaining ISO 50001 certification,
holding a valid Display Energy Certificate (DEC) accompanied by a
recommendation report for each building or having a Green Deal assessment for
each building. Yet, the recommendations in every audit are voluntary.
Commenting on the one year to go deadline Tim Hipperson
said: “With only 12 months to be compliant this legislation has suddenly become
more real for companies right across the UK. Whilst the light touch nature of
the way the legislation is welcome, thousands of companies may miss out if they
only view ESOS a tick box exercise. Through our work with almost 20,000 clients
we know that poor buying and management of utilities stops growth and damages
businesses’ bottom lines. Rather, ESOS compliance can act as a springboard for
energy to be managed more effectively.”
To respond to the countdown to compliance the energy and
water consultancy has launched its ‘Utilitywise ESOS Solutions Squad’. Made up
of over 25 experienced consultants, with the ability to act as ESOS Lead
Assessor or help through being ISO50001 Lead Auditors, the team provides
businesses with expert advice on the right energy solutions. This includes
options ranging from an initial ESOS recommendation report through to the
compliance and project management of the energy-saving opportunities that ESOS
identifies.
Tim Hipperson adds: “One of the key aspects of ESOS is that
at least one or two Board members must sign off on the compliance. This is a
crucial change to how energy might be prioritised by a senior management team.
By seeing where the money is being spent, and how this could be managed better,
ESOS can help secure more senior buy-in for cost-saving changes from biomass
planning to a simple lighting upgrade. With all of the considerable ESOS
experience that we have accumulated, Utilitywise has designed a flexible
approach to the ESOS process for our clients. This means that we minimise
disruption and get the job done quickly and cost-effectively. Clear and
practical reports will illustrate exactly where valuable savings can be made,
together with a Return on Investment illustration to support decision making.”
Utilitywise is already working with clients like Joy Global
in the UK. Richard Clarke, Sales and Operations Planning Manager at the mining
solutions company says: “Utilitywise takes care of our compliance with the ESOS
scheme, which has been of great benefit to Joy Global (UK) Limited. Our Carbon
Consultant keeps us up to date on all the latest legislation and is always
available to offer excellent advice. Utilitywise is a great asset to any
company, and I trust them fully when it comes to procuring and managing our
energy.”
