Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS)
Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS)
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Our ESOS service offers access to ESOS Lead Assessors who can lead the data collection and reporting process through to compliance.
What is ESOS?
Energy Savings Opportunities Scheme (ESOS) is a mandatory energy assessment scheme enforced by the Environment Agency. It requires qualifying organisations to report on their energy usage every four years. The reporting requirements can be complex, and fines levied for non-compliance.
For the current reporting phase (up to June 2024) your organisation will need to comply if the following applies:
- The company employs 250 or more people or
- The company has an annual turnover in excess of £44 million, and an annual balance sheet total in excess of £38 million
What are the benefits?
Although the requirements of ESOS are complex, the legislation offers an opportunity for organisations to improve energy efficiency, allowing significant savings on energy spend.
The scheme is estimated to lead to £1.6 billion net benefits to the UK (ESOS Impact Assessment DECC0142, 24 November 2014), with the majority of these being directly felt by organisations as a result of energy savings.
What is the risk of non-compliance?
Penalties for failing to comply fully, or for false or misleading statements can range from between £5,000 and £90,000. The Environment Agency has handed out hundreds of enforcement notices in the first two phases with the names of the companies falling foul of the deadline being named, risking an organisation’s reputation too.
The Environment Agency audits evidence packs and the Phase 2 auditing programme resulted in only 32% of reports being compliant; 63% were compliant with remedials; and 5% were noncompliant.
ESOS Phase 3 Deadline Extension
The deadline for compliance has been extended to 5 June 2024. This may seem distant but gathering energy consumption data can be time-consuming, especially if doing this for the first time, or for organisations spread over a number of sites, or those who have undergone a number of significant changes between phases.
What are the steps to compliance?
- Calculate your total energy consumption
- Identify your areas of significant energy consumption
- Complete the required audits for one year’s consumption, under the direction of a lead assessor
- Submit your ESOS notification of compliance to the Environment Agency
- Keep records of compliance in an evidence pack
ISO 50001 can be a route to ESOS compliance. It is a voluntary international standard that applies to organisations of any size, and provides requirements for establishing, managing and improving energy consumption and efficiency. We can guide organisations through the whole process using a practical and attainable approach to achieve certification.
Engaging with an energy auditing organisation means you’ll have qualified and registered lead assessors on hand to review and guide the process right the way through to full ESOS compliance.
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