Summary Comparison of National Energy Management Standards
Summary Comparison of National Energy Management Standards
Summary Comparison of National Energy Management Standards
OF
NATIONAL ENERGY MANAGEMENT
STANDARDS
March 2008
Prepared by:
GTEEMC
GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Enterprise Innovation Institute
760 Spring Street, NW
Atlanta, GA 30332
Contributors:
Deann Desai, William A. Meffert, Holly Grell-Lawe, Aimee McKane (LBNL)
This work was supported at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory by the U.S. Department of
Energy through Contract No. DE-AC02-05CH11231 and at Georgia Institute of Technology by
LBNL subcontract 6823380.
Disclaimer
3.0 METHODOLOGY................................................................................................... 5
The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) with the China Standards
Certification Committee (CSC) is sponsoring a working group meeting in Beijing to facilitate
discussion on harmonization of national standards for energy management before the work of the
actual ISO Project Committee, PC 242, begins.
Purpose
This document, Summary Comparison of National Energy Management Standards, is a
condensed version of a very detailed comparison that was developed by the Georgia Institute of
Technology. It is intended to be used at the working group meeting in Beijing to facilitate the
discussion on harmonization of national management system standards for energy. This
document is intended to highlight the major differences among the standards of seven countries.
The standards of these countries are not an exhaustive representation of national energy
standards but do represent those that were most widely available at the time of this writing. This
comparison also includes the quality standard, ISO 9001:2000, the environmental standard, ISO
14001:2004, the European draft standard, CEN CL BT TF189 2007, and the U.K. Standard PAS
99:2006.
The working group meeting in Beijing will be attended by representatives from the countries that
have national energy standards and a stake in the international standard. The discussion at the
Beijing working group will allow many countries to understand the similarities and differences
of the standards and to frame the issues requiring resolution. This will give the harmonization
effort a head start before the first meeting of PC 242, scheduled for September 2008.
Methodology
This document presents a comparative analysis of the elements or requirements in the MSS
energy standards. The many tables in this summary document are organized around the
common framework for management system standard design – the Plan-Do-Check-Act continual
improvement cycle. This allows the elements of all the standards to be broadly grouped into six
categories providing an order for the 26 elements and their corresponding tables (see Section 3.0
Methodology for more details).
Key Findings
Most of the management standard elements that focus on management system best practices (ie.
Policy, internal audits, corrective and preventive action, management review, document control,
training, communication, etc.) show a high degree of similarity and agreement. However, among
the more technical elements of the standards, there are significant differences that will require
considerable effort to achieve harmonization. Illustrating these differences on a very basic level
Those elements that have the lowest level of agreement are in the “PLAN” and “DO” phases of
the continual improvement cycle. These elements, which present the greatest hurdles to
harmonization, are generally technical aspects of energy management, such as purchasing,
design, and use of energy data and information in planning. Specifically, those elements that
showed the lowest level of agreement are,
• Management commitment
• Strategic planning
• Energy data management / energy profile / energy aspects
• Purchasing
• Design
• Energy project implementation
• Contingency Planning
Section 5.0, Major Findings goes into greater detail on each of the elements listed above.
The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) with the China Standards
Certification Committee (CSC) is sponsoring a working group meeting in Beijing to facilitate
discussion on harmonization of national standards for energy management. Many developing
countries will contribute to this meeting by discussing the issues and impacts of management
systems for managing energy in their countries. This comparison summary of 12 management
system standards (MSS) along with the detailed comparison analysis were prepared for the
UNIDO-CSC working group meeting in Beijing, April 2008.
Below, is a list of the management system standards that formed the basis for this comparison.
ISO 14001-2004 and ISO 9001-2000 were also included in the analysis because they form the
basis for many of the national management standards for energy. The standards included are:
These standards were included because they were readily available at the time of this report.
This is not an exhaustive list. There are several other countries that have recently completed
standards or are in the process of developing standards, including Spain and Thailand. The
standards included in this comparison represent most typical approaches to management system
standard development.
One of the methods used for comparison is the Six Thinking Hats of decision making, created by
Edward de Bono. 'Six Thinking Hats' is a powerful technique for looking at important decisions
from a number of different perspectives. It leads to better decisions by pushing individuals to
move outside their habitual ways of thinking. As such, it contributes to understanding the full
complexity of the decision, identifying issues and opportunities which might otherwise be
overlooked. The ‘Six Thinking Hats’ are typically defined as follows:
.
The White Hat calls for information known or needed. "The facts, just the facts."
The Yellow Hat symbolizes brightness and optimism. Under this hat an
investigator explores the unique additions that only a minority of the standards
included to look for the positives and probe for value and benefit
The Black Hat is judgment – significant differences or trends. Under this hat an
investigator spots the difficulties and dangers; where things might go wrong.
Probably the most powerful and useful of the Hats but a problem if overused.
The Red Hat denotes differences. When using this hat an investigator
expresses differences and issues that need resolution.
The Green Hat focuses on creativity; unique additions, possibilities,
alternatives, and new ideas. Under this hat an investigator has an opportunity to
express new concepts and new perceptions.
The Blue Hat is used to manage the thinking process. Under this hat, an
investigator has the opportunity to harmonize terminology. Terminology is a
key place for discussion and harmonization so this represents a control point in
the process of the six hats.
For this summary comparison, only the black hat and the red hat analyses are presented to
accentuate the differences; the detailed analysis presents all six hats. The red hat presents the
perceived differences and the black hat signifies significant differences that present the greatest
difficulties and dangers for harmonization. The black hat analyses are in bold text and yellow
highlighting, to quickly identify areas requiring further dialogue. The Red Hat thoughts are not.
The table topics are organized around a common MSS framework. They employ a plan-do-
check-act continual improvement cycle to management system design and utilize either ISO
9001 and/or ISO 14001 as a basis. This results in the standards having many similar elements.
Though the title of the elements in each standard varies, and some standards include sections that
others do not, they can all be grouped according to the following broad categories:
In Section 4.0 of this report, separate tables for each of the elements under these broad categories
is displayed with a column for comparative analysis (red hats and black hats) and another for
discussion questions. In addition, the level of agreement between the standards for each element
is graded and shown in the heading for that table. The grading levels are low, medium, and high.
These levels are based on the following criteria:
High – strong agreement, eight (8) or more of the twelve (12) standards agreed
Medium – six (6) to eight (8) of the twelve (12) standards agreed
Low – five (5) or less of the twelve (12) standards agreed
NAVIGATION TABLE
The navigation table below contains links to each of the management system elements. This
table will help the reader to navigate the more than 30 pages of comparison tables in this
document. The links will help the reader to go directly to those elements they are most interested
in or to look immediately at those elements that have the lowest level of agreement. In the last
column of the navigation table, the grade (low, medium, or high) of similarity is listed. At the
end of each table is a HOME link that will bring the reader back to the navigation table.
*HOME
Categories Elements Level of
agreement
Scope and Definitions Scope Medium
Definitions Medium
General Requirements General Requirements High
Documentation High
Records High
“Planning” elements Management commitment Low
Energy Policy High
Responsibility and authority Medium
Strategic planning Low
Energy data management Low
Energy Profile (aspects) Medium
Legal and other High
Goals, targets and projects High
“Doing” elements Purchasing Low
Design Low
Communication High
Competency, training and awareness High
Equipment, systems, and process control Medium
Energy project implementation Low
Calibration Medium
Contingency planning Low
“Checking” elements Monitoring and measurement Medium
Evaluation of legal and other requirements High
Internal audits Medium
Nonconforming, corrective action, preventive High
action
“Acting” elements Management review High
HOME
♦ The basic definition of energy is significantly different between the standards. What is the definition of energy?
The US definition includes both primary and secondary energy and represents
the most inclusive definition. Secondary energy is not addressed by the CEN, How does this definition impact the
Swedish, Irish or Danish standards. Only the US standard addresses water as scope of the system? (i.e. can a source
a part of the energy system. of energy be excluded in the scope of
♦ Energy aspect is defined by CEN, Sweden, and Ireland in terms of what can the system)
affect energy usage, where Denmark and the Netherlands define it in terms of
energy consumption. Korea defines it in terms of influencing energy. This Terminology represents a great
demonstrates a significant discrepancy in the use of the term aspect. opportunity for discussions. The choice
♦ Energy Target or Target – The Chinese standard, and the current version of of terms and definitions used both offer
the US standard (not the draft) require targets to be measurable. CEN, opportunities.
Ireland, and Denmark only require they be quantifiable. China also requires
that targets be set to reduce energy consumption. Sweden suggests a
connection to significant energy aspects when possible but does not require a
connection – similar to ISO 14001.
♦ -Top Management – Swedish, Irish, and Danish standards specifically define
top management in terms of those who control the PART of the organization
under the energy management system. The US and CEN standards use the
current management system definition – direct the organization at the highest
level.
• Action Area – this definition only appears in two of the standards the Irish and the
Danish. It allows for the system to be applied in a very limited area of the
organization.
• Aspect is used routinely in many of the standards but it is only defined in the PAS
document.
• Audit is only defined in the CEN standard. The definition of the term Audit does
specifically use the term independent which is not compatible with the current
versions of the other management system standards. The current definitions in the
other management system standards allow for audits as long as the auditor is
objective. The term independent could introduce the concept of
“certification/verification” audits – beyond the management system requirements. It
also introduces a point of divergence from existing management system standards.
• Benchmarks for energy management is only defined in the China standard. The
comparison can be historical or it could be an index. This does not provide for clear
comparisons over time against changing circumstances.
• Commissioning and Continuous Commissioning are only defined in the US
standard. The benefits of this process relate to new buildings and energy systems
and on the measuring and monitoring value.
• Contingency Planning is only defined in the PAS standard but is not addressed in
any of the energy standards.
• Continual improvement is a term that has several different definitions. The CEN,
Irish, and Danish standards use the same definition and indicate that the activity that
provides greater efficiency should be performed continuously by the organization.
The US, Swedish and Korean standards reference continual improvement in terms
of improvement in overall energy performance. This definition is more in alignment
with the current definition in management system standards.
• Effectiveness is only defined in the Korean Standard.
• Efficiency is only defined in the Korean Standard.
• Energy Assessment – is only defined in the US standard.
• Energy baseline – is only defined in the US standard.
• Energy Conservation Factors is only defined in the Chinese standard.
• Energy Efficiency - It is defined the same way in the CEN and Irish standards. The
Korean standard provides a definition in terms of an index or ratio.
• Energy Goal – is only defined in the Korean Standard.
• Energy Management – is defined in the Dutch standard, but is based on minimizing
energy consumption.
• Energy Management Projects/Programs – are defined in the US and Dutch
standards.
• Energy Objective – the CEN and Irish standards have the same definition but the
Chinese standard defines it in terms of reduction of energy consumption. The
Swedish definition includes a note that provides examples of objectives such as use
of renewable energy, and exchange with the rest of society- this is not necessarily
addressed by other standards. There is similarity between the use of the terms
objective and goal.
• Energy Profile (Key Figures) – defined in the US standard as the profile and as key
figures in the Irish standard. The on-going metrics tracking for significant energy
uses.
• Energy quality – only defined in the Korean standard.
• Energy related Environmental Impact – defined by Korean standard; makes the
connection between energy, global warming, and green house gases.
• Energy System- defined by the US and Korea.
• Major energy aspect – only defined by Korea.
• Organization – is defined by eight standards. There is disagreement on the entire
organization versus part of an organization, which would significantly impact scope
of an energy management system.
• Primary Energy Resource- the use of this term is not consistent across the standards
and what it does and does not include is not consistent across the standards for
example China’s definition does not include electricity.
• Re-commissioning – only presented by the US standard.
• Secondary Energy resource – there is not a consistent approach to the use of this
term including what is and is not included for example China includes electricity as
a secondary source.
• Significant energy aspect- is presented by three standards. The CEN standard
considers an aspect significant if it can affect a significant total of energy use. The
Swedish standard considers it significant if it can affect a significant part of the
energy use, has potential for more efficient use or increased energy exchange.
• Management
commitment
• Energy policy
• Responsibility and
Authority
• Strategic planning
• Energy data
management
• Energy profile
• Legal and other
• Goals, targets and
projects
• The US and Korea include a requirement that the policy be consistent with Should there be a requirement that the policy be
other policies. consistent with other policies?
• The Dutch standard includes a commitment to energy efficiency and
prevention of unnecessary energy consumption. Should there be a requirement to commit to
• The CEN, Irish, Danish, and Dutch standards add the statement in the form energy efficiency and prevention of
of improved energy efficiency to the commitment of continual improvement. unnecessary energy consumption?
• Four standards (quality, China, CEN, and PAS99) include a requirement that
the policy is reviewed for continuing suitability. Should there be a connection to environmental
• The Chinese standard adds a requirement to commit to carry out appropriate impacts in the policy?
projects measures and adopt best workable technologies and good operation
criteria Should the policy awareness include employees
and those working on behalf of the organization
• The Danish standards adds a commitment to cover products, processes and
or just employees?(also see competency,
other activities that have an influence on the significant energy uses
awareness and training)
• The Korean and US standards (2005 version) add a requirement to consider
energy related environmental impacts when developing the policy.
Should the policy include a policy commitment
• The US (2005 version) requires the organization considers the available to cover products, processes and other activities
alternative sources of energy.
that have an influence on the significant energy
• The US (2005 version) requires the organization considers the level of uses?
quality and appropriateness of sources and the effect on operations.
• The Danish standard adds the requirement that the organization commits to What role should voluntary requirements play
identifying the voluntary requirements related to energy to which the in the policy or policy development?
organization voluntarily subscribes.
• The Chinese standard requires a commitment to a reduction of energy
consumption
• The Chinese standard adds to the legal and other commitment a statement
• The Quality and Chinese standards include a requirement that the Should the management representative be
management representative act as a liaison appointed by management?
• The Quality standard includes a requirement for the management
representative to promoting awareness Should the management team appoint the
• The US and Korean standard include requirements for the management energy team?
representative to organize and appoint the team members for the energy
team.
• The Korean standard includes a requirement that the management
representative take action on items from management review.
• The Chinese standard introduces the concept that management representative
may work full or part time.
• Monitoring and
measurement
• Evaluation of legal
and other
requirements
• Internal audits
• Nonconforming
• Corrective action
• Preventive action
• Several standards combine nonconforming, corrective and preventive Should nonconformities include actual and
action. potential?
• Several standards separate nonconforming (identifying the problem),
corrective (solving the problem), and preventive (responding to trends in What is an energy nonconformity?
data analysis).
• Several standards allow the corrective and preventive processes to be Should the standard require that the
combined. responsibilities and authorities for identifying
• A few of the energy standards do not address nonconforming. and responding to nonconformities be defined
in the system?
• The US, environmental and Korean standards introduce the concept of actual
or potential nonconformities. Should corrective action allow for no action
• The CEN, Irish and Danish standards require that the organization take action to be taken based on risk encountered?
within a specified time limit.
Should corrective actions be required within a
• Customer complaints and communication from external parties is a
specified time limit?
requirement of existing MSS.
Management
Review
As expected, most of the elements that focus on management system best practices (i.e. Policy,
internal audits, corrective and preventive action, management review, document control,
training, communication, etc.) show a high degree of similarity and agreement. However, among
the more technical elements of the standards, there are significant differences that will require
considerable effort to achieve harmonization. Illustrating these differences on a very basic level
is the definition of energy and energy performance which varies widely between the
standards. Other terms and definitions will also require considerable effort to achieve
harmonization.
The requirements/elements that have the lowest level of agreement are in the “PLAN” and “DO”
phases of the continual improvement cycle. These elements, which present the greatest hurdles
to harmonization, are generally technical aspects of energy management, such as purchasing,
design, and use of energy data and information in planning. Specifically, those elements that
showed the lowest level of agreement are:
• Management commitment
• Strategic planning
• Energy data management / energy profile / energy aspects
• Purchasing
• Design
• Energy project implementation
• Contingency Planning
Management commitment
For those standards that are a derivative of ISO 14001 (many of the European standards), the
commitment of the organization’s management is limited and covered under the section on roles,
responsibilities and authorities. For those standard’s that utilize ISO 9001 as a basis,
management commitment is called out in a separate element in order to provide emphasis on the
role of top management. Only four standards (US, Quality, China, Korea) have this separate
element. All the standards, however, agree that top management commitment is needed to
support the energy management system.
Strategic planning
Only two standards (US, Korea) included this topic as a requirement. In these standards, energy
considerations are elevated to the level of an organization’s strategic planning activity. The
strategic plan has limited connections to other parts of the standard. This requirement represents
a creative opportunity within the international MSS to improve connectivity with the strategic
decision making process.
The US approach, the “energy profile”, is data driven. The components of the profile are very
specific and include regular utility tracking, an energy baseline, significant energy uses and key
performance indicators (KPI). The use of normalized KPIs provides a means to compare results
across time, addressing seasonal variations and typical production swings. The results of regular
energy assessments which highlight opportunities for energy efficiency improvements are also
part of the energy profile. This information is used to develop goals, targets, and project plans.
Implemented projects then lead to continual improvement in energy performance which is
measured by changes to the key performance indicators and to the energy baseline, all of which
are developed from the profile data. China calls for evaluation of performance based on
industrial energy use benchmarks whereas Korea calls for a comparison to the key performance
indicators or “consumption efficiency” which are both associated with the targets. The use of
normalized metrics, KPI, to manage the system, not just the current projects, is unique to the US
standard.
The “energy aspects” approach gives an organization flexibility in developing its energy
information document. A review process is established that looks at energy use data, projected
energy use and other parameters, along with opportunities for energy conservation. This review
feeds the identification of “energy aspects” and significant energy uses. Opportunities for
improvement are identified. A program plan is then developed with goals and objectives to
achieve greater energy efficiency. The program is the means to improve organizational energy
performance.
The energy profile and energy aspects approaches have a couple of significant differences. The
energy profile is a dynamic data approach that requires at least monthly updates to the profile.
The energy aspects approach looks at reviews of current energy use and projected energy use
over longer periods of time. The energy profile also includes energy performance measurement
based on changes to key performance indicators and the energy baseline. The energy aspect
approach demonstrates performance improvement through meeting goals and objectives.
Finally, the US uses the concept of energy projects to achieve energy conservation improvements
while the energy aspects approach uses the programs to control significant energy uses and
deploy energy conservation activities.
Design
Although the concept of design is present in eight of the standards at some level, it is primarily
considered to be a part of operational control and not called out as a separate element. In these
instances, the design process for an organization requires energy efficiency considerations to be
included. Two of the standards (US, Danish) limit the scope of design to new facilities and
major upgrades, with the Danish specifically calling out renovations and the US calling out
significant energy uses. The scope for applying energy efficient design varies significantly
among the standards.
Contingency planning was only included in one standard, PAS 99:2006, and presents an
opportunity to address connections to emergency issues that organizations may face.