As an Energy Consultancy, we get asked many questions about Energy Legislation and what it means for you! Today’s Blog features those that we are “frequently asked” about the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme – here is everything you need to know.
The Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) is a UK legislation, which mandates nearly 10,000 organisations in the UK to establish opportunities for savings in energy. If your business employs more than 250 employees, or has a turnover and balance sheet exceeding €50 million and €43 million respectively, then you must comply with the legislation.
Do public sector organisations fall within the scheme?
Public sector organisations do not usually need to comply with ESOS. Public organisations are defined as those organisations that are subject to the Public Contract Regulations 2006 in England, Northern Ireland and Wales, and the Public Contracts Regulations 2012 in Scotland.
How often do we have to comply with ESOS?
The ESOS scheme runs in 4-year phases. Throughout each phase organisations will have to assess if they qualify for the scheme. ESOS has both qualification dates and compliances dates. The qualification date is the date on which organisations must assess if they qualify for ESOS. The compliance date is the date by which qualifying organisations must fulfil the requirements of ESOS, and submit their notification to the Environment Agency.
What does an ESOS assessment involve?
An ESOS assessment measures the total energy consumption used in an organisations buildings, industrial processes and transport, to identify areas of significant energy consumption. Your ESOS assessment must be overseen, conducted or reviewed by an ESOS Lead Assessor.
Will my organisation benefit from complying with ESOS?
Yes – if your organisation complies with ESOS, you will reduce your energy consumption and carbon emissions, which will result in cost savings. The net positive benefit to the UK of ESOS is predicted to be between £0.8bn and £3bn between 2015 and 2030.
Who is responsible for notifying the Scheme Administrator?
It is the responsibility of the ESOS participants (the organisation), to notify compliance to the scheme administrator, not the Lead Assessors. Lead assessors however, can submit on the organisations behalf if they are needed to do so.
Phase 2 of ESOS
Compliance365 highly recommend that you start undertaking your energy audits for Phase 2 of ESOS now. Although the compliance date isn’t until 5th December 2019, ESOS Phase 1 found many companies leaving compliance too late and struggling to find a Lead Assessor.
Get ahead of the game and secure your Lead Assessor now!
To find out more information about ESOS, click here. If you would like to find out about how Compliance365 can help you to become compliant, click here or email sales@compliance365.co.uk.