What is an ESOS Assessment?

The Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) was introduced by the UK government in response to Article 8 of the European Commission’s Energy Efficiency Directive.

Although some organisations may already be covered by ISO 50001, large organisations in the UK are required to complete an assessment at least once every 4 years to understand what they need to action in order to comply with the ESOS regulations.

Let’s take a closer look at what ESOS assessments are, the benefits and how you can make sure your business complies.

All About ESOS Assessments

The Environment Agency is the UK scheme administrator for ESOS and the assessments have been designed to audit the energy used by business buildings, processes and transport. From here, specific energy, carbon and cost saving measures can be identified for each business.

Large organisations and enterprises that meet the qualification criteria must follow certain regulations or fines will be incurred. The penalties include:

• Failure to notify the EA of compliance – a fine of £5,000 plus £500 per working day you remain in breach
• Failure to maintain adequate records – a fine of £5,000 plus sum equivalent to compliance body costs
• Failure to conduct an adequate energy audit – a fine of £50,000 plus £500 per working day you remain in breach

Also, businesses that are not ESOS compliant may be publicly named, potentially resulting in a damaged reputation.

Do I Need an ESOS?

Only UK large organisations and enterprises that meet a certain qualification criteria are required to complete an ESOS assessment. This criteria includes:

• The business employs 250 or more people
• The business has an annual turnover in excess of £44 million and an annual balance sheet of over £38 million
• Corporate groups that contain at least one large undertaking (from the above)
• Not-for-profit organisations that meet the large undertaking criteria (from the above)
• Any overseas companies with a UK registered establishment that employs more than 250 UK employees

What Are The Benefits of ESOS?

ESOS is defined as proactive energy management which benefits both the organisation themselves, in addition to the environment surrounding them.

Energy efficiency improvements identified by the ESOS assessment provide a number of savings, decreasing energy consumption, and ultimately reducing utility bills. In addition to this, lowering energy consumption and carbon footprint has a significantly positive impact on the environment.

Implementing and promoting energy saving measures drives businesses towards a more sustainable future. This strengthens their reputation among their industry, with consumers, and future proofs their operations whilst contributing to a greener planet.

How to Comply with ESOS

Once you are aware that you qualify for ESOS, you will need to complete an ESOS assessment every 4 years. The full guidance to comply with ESOS can be found here; this may change from phase to phase, so make sure you keep up to date. However, the general summary of the steps required to comply with ESOS is:

1.      Calculate Your Total Energy Consumption

Your total energy consumption consists of assets held or activities carried out by your organisation or group. This includes energy consumed by buildings, industrial processes and transport.

From this, you can identify your areas of significant energy consumption. This refers to assets held, or activities carried out, that account for at least 95% of your total energy consumption.

2.      Calculate Your Energy Intensity Ratios

An energy intensity ratio is a measurement which relates an organisation’s consumption to an appropriate indicator activity; it allows comparison of energy efficiency performance over time. Energy intensity ratios must be calculated for:

• Buildings
• Transport
• Industrial processes
• Other energy uses outside of the above three

The full guidance sets out a recommended approach to calculate this; you can take your own approach but this must be explained and recorded in your compliance notification and evidence pack. The legal requirement is that the indicator for each organisational purpose is:

• Quantifiable
• Associated with the assets or activities that relate to the specific organisational purpose

3.      Decide Your Route to Compliance & Appoint Lead Assessor

There are different routes to compliance depending on suitability for your business. They must ensure all areas of either significant or total consumption (as appropriate) are covered. If complying with ISO 50001, you will need to make sure that you check the compliance period for specific guidance.

It’s important to note that all ESOS assessments must be signed off by an ESOS lead assessor. Sections 7 and 9 in the full guidance detail how to do this and how to use different compliance routes, but here is a list of approved registers for ESOS lead assessors:

• Association of Energy Engineers – certified energy auditor international or certified energy manager international
• CIBSE (The Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers) – CIBSE low carbon consultant (LCC) register, ESOS lead assessor subset
• Elmhurst Energy Systems – Elmhurst approved ESOS lead assessor
• Energy Institute – chartered energy manager, register of professional energy consultants
• Energy Managers Association – EMA energy saving opportunity scheme lead assessor register
• Institution of Chemical Engineers – register of chartered chemical engineers (MIChemE/FIChemE) ESOS LEA
• Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment – register of IEMA members who can act as third-party lead assessors
• Quidos
• Stroma Certification Ltd – ESOS lead energy assessor certification

4.      Carry Out Necessary ESOS Energy Audits

An ESOS compliant energy audit must meet these criteria:

• It must be based on 12 months’ verifiable data, beginning no earlier than 6 December 2018 for the phase 3 compliance period
• It must analyse the participant’s energy consumption and energy efficiency
• It must identify energy saving opportunities
• It must include site visits

For guidance on carrying out an ESOS energy audit, see Section 8 in the full guidance.

5.      Complete the ESOS Report

An ESOS report is separate from your ESOS assessment. The report is a record of your assessment, whether that be your audit or alternative compliance route, unless you have zero energy supplies. It will include:

• Information about the compliance route used
• What the compliance route covers
• Energy saving opportunities identified
• Energy savings recorded from the previous ESOS compliance date

Full details of the specific requirements can be found in Section 10 of the full guidance.

6.      Notify the Environment Agency

Once you have completed the ESOS report, the Environment Agency must be notified. Using the Managing your ESOS system, you can submit your notification which should include:

• Details about your organisation
• How it has complied
• Energy consumption information
• Energy savings opportunities that have been identified

As well as this, you must keep records of how you complied with ESOS in an evidence pack.

What to Do Post ESOS Assessment

Now you’ve completed your ESOS assessment, and submitted your ESOS notification, you will be provided with a list of energy recommendations ready to be implemented.

If you’re looking for some assistance with the implementation of your energy recommendations, why look any further? Noble Green Energy can manage the full implementation of all technologies recommended in your ESOS report, with an integrated and bespoke solution.

For more information, please get in touch today.