With the next qualification and compliance dates looming for the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme, Ian Guest, Valpak Environmental Compliance Consultant offers advice on the steps that need to be taken to ensure compliance and urges businesses to act now.
So far, a mixture of companies got in touch; some are completely new to ESOS due to growth over the last couple of years, and some complied previously, and are aware that they will meet the criteria again and want to be proactive by acting now.
The main question we have been asked is “What can I or should I be doing now?”
For companies that have grown, before we explain what they need to do to comply, we first ask them to double-check that they need to comply. Why? Because there is a ‘two-year rule’ which means that businesses need to look at company size over a consecutive two-year accounting period. So, if the business will only meet the criteria in the accounting period ending on or before 31 December 2022 for the first time, it is likely it won’t need to comply.
If you know that your company has already met the criteria and will do going forward, what are the next steps? Now is the right time to make sure the business has energy monitoring in place to capture an accurate 12 months’ worth of data to provide a total energy calculation. Remember this needs to include 31 December 2022 and that you need to capture all energy consumption and sources, there are no exemptions. Although you might have records for the main consumption, such as electricity, do you have monitoring in place for smaller or ad hoc supplies? What we have already found is that some companies have had to put new mechanisms in place to ensure that they have adequate records; for example, for staff expensed mileage.
The next step is to identify the business’s energy auditor and, if different, its lead assessor (LA). In the previous phase, due to the demand for lead assessors, we saw fees increasing the closer we got to the compliance date, so make sure you have identified the LA sooner rather than later. If you already know the business’s energy consumption it may be possible to carry out some of your energy audits now.
For those who want to engage with the energy management process in more detail, an alternative step is to implement ISO 50001 as a route to compliance. This will provide peace of mind for future phases and means you can integrate energy management into core business processes to help generate cost savings.
Whether you are new to ESOS or getting ready for phase 3, we can offer a service to help you ensure compliance, so contact us today.
Alternatively, why not join one of our webinars, our next one is 26 January, or simply call to discuss any questions you have.