FAQ on Energy Management

The internationally applicable ISO 50001 standard describes the requirements for an energy management system that enables a company to continuously improve its energy performance through a systematic approach while also taking into account the legal requirements for the organisation.

The company's key energy influencing factors are identified, savings measures and suggestions for improvement are developed and evaluated, and then implemented step by step and continuously refined.

It follows the ‘High Level Structure (HLS)’ and can therefore be combined with other management systems such as ISO 9001 (quality management), ISO 14001 (environmental management), etc.

... covers international standards relating to energy management. The aim is to systematically record, analyse and continuously improve energy consumption.

ISO 50001
Core standard – specifies requirements for an energy management system (EnMS). Aim: to increase energy efficiency, reduce costs and protect the environment.

ISO 50002
Describes requirements for energy audits, including data collection, analysis and derivation of efficiency measures.

ISO 50003
Accreditation standard – regulates the auditing and certification of EnMS – particularly relevant for certification bodies.

ISO 50004
Guideline for the introduction, maintenance and improvement of an EnMS in accordance with ISO 50001.

ISO 50006
Deals with energy performance indicators (EnPIs) and baselines, i.e. the measurement and evaluation of energy efficiency.

ISO 50015
Defines methods for measuring and verifying energy savings – important for proving effectiveness.

The ISO 5000X family supports companies in establishing, evaluating and continuously improving an effective energy management system.

With the Energy Efficiency Act (EnEfG), which came into force on 18 November 2023, the German government has created a cross-sector framework for energy saving for the first time. The Act sets energy efficiency targets for primary and final energy. The EnEfG thus makes an important contribution to Germany's climate targets and implements key requirements from the EU Energy Efficiency Directive (EED).

Companies that had an average annual energy consumption of more than 7.5 GWh within the last three completed calendar years as of 18 November 2023 were required to establish an energy management system in accordance with DIN EN ISO 50001 or an environmental management system in accordance with EMAS by 18 July 2025.

Companies that missed this deadline should begin implementing an energy or environmental management system as soon as possible and secure a certification agreement with an accredited certifier in order to mitigate sanctions by the BAFA.

Once the company has determined its annual energy consumption of 7.5 GWh within the last three completed calendar years, it must set up and certify a management system in accordance with Section 8 of the Energy Efficiency Act (EnEfG) within 20 months.

The BAFA information sheet on determining total energy consumption is helpful here.

• Recording the supply and consumption of energy, process temperatures and waste heat-carrying media with the respective temperatures, heat quantities and possible constituents
• Recording technically avoidable and technically unavoidable waste heat from the specified waste heat sources and, if necessary, evaluating possible measures for waste heat recovery and utilisation
• Identifying and presenting technically feasible final energy saving measures and measures for waste heat recovery and utilisation

Economic evaluation of the identified measures in accordance with DIN EN 17463, December 2021 edition

Note: In the information sheet of the Federal Office of Economics and Export Control (BAFA) on the EnEfG, the company is defined as ‘[...] the smallest legally independent entity [...]’.

Companies with a total annual final energy consumption of more than 2.5 GWh within the last three completed calendar years must develop implementation plans for all final energy efficiency measures identified as economically viable (according to DIN EN 17463 VALERI) within three years and publish these plans. These energy efficiency measures must originate either from an energy audit in accordance with DIN EN 16247-1 or an energy management system in accordance with ISO 50001 or an environmental management system in accordance with EMAS.

Companies with a total final energy consumption of more than 2.5 GWh must avoid waste heat in accordance with the state of the art or reduce it to the proportion of technically unavoidable waste heat. As far as possible and reasonable, the remaining waste heat must be reused in a cascade manner through waste heat utilisation, including by third parties.

In addition, various information must be passed on to operators of heating networks, district heating supply companies and other potential heat consumers, including

• the annual amount of heat
• the maximum thermal output
• the average temperature level

Upon request, this data must be submitted annually to the Federal Office for Energy Efficiency.

An ISO 50001 certificate is valid for three years. The certificate is maintained through annual review audits. After three years, the ISO 50001 certification can be renewed for another three years through recertification.

Matrix procedures are applied. Compared to separate certification of individual sites, this often results in considerable cost advantages. A prerequisite for this is a defined central office for the organisation, which is responsible for establishing and monitoring the management system. The individual sites may be independent or dependent under company law, but must be subject to the common management system.

Detailed information on how to carry out matrix certification can be found here.

The provisions of § 8 ff. EDL-G (Act on Energy Services and Other Energy Efficiency Measures) transpose the European obligation to carry out energy audits in large companies into German law (Article 8 of the European Energy Efficiency Directive, 2012/27/EU, EED).

This means that every four years, all companies that are not SMEs must carry out an energy audit in accordance with the requirements of DIN EN 16247-1 or, alternatively, set up an energy management system in accordance with ISO 50001 or an environmental management system in accordance with EMAS within the framework of the Energy Services Act (EDL-G). The Federal Office of Economics and Export Control (BAFA) is responsible for monitoring compliance and has specified the requirements in various information sheets on energy audits and a guide to reporting.

An energy audit in accordance with DIN EN 16247-1 must be carried out by qualified energy consultants or qualified internal company personnel (§8 b EDL-G).

Due to its lean matrix testing procedure, ISO 50001 is an efficient and usually the most cost-effective compliance solution for multinational companies with multiple locations in different EU countries. It allows companies to centrally record, evaluate and control the energy performance of their operations. Our free energy recording tool and our free energy management guide, available in seven languages, are very helpful in this regard.

The special compensation scheme pursuant to Sections 28 et seq. of the Energy Compensation Act (EnFG) is a statutory exemption that allows electricity-intensive companies and other eligible applicants to apply for a cap on the levies pursuant to Section 2 No. 17 EnFG.

In accordance with § 30 EnFG, applications are now also linked to so-called ecological considerations, in addition to the introduction of an energy management system and electricity consumption of more than 1 GWh. The assessment is carried out on a per-consumption point basis and forms the basis for the decision by the Federal Office of Economics and Export Control (BAFA) on the amount of the levy cap. This cap applies to electricity consumed by the companies themselves with the aim of ensuring their international competitiveness and preventing them from relocating abroad.