The government have proposed to improve ESOS which is a government legislation that was introduced in 2014. The proposal may come into force before Phase 3.
ESOS is a UK legislation that mandates organisations to audit their estates and establish opportunities for saving energy.
ESOS is required if your organisation employs more than 250 employees, or has a turnover and balance sheet exceeding €50 million, and €43 million respectively.
Proposed changes to the legislation include:
Removing DECs and Green Deal Assessments as Compliance Routes
Currently, there are four routes to comply with ESOS legislation:
- Energy Audits
- ISO 50001
- Display Energy Certificates (DECs)
- Green Deal Assessments (GDAs)
Both Energy Audits and ISO 5001 are considered to be good routes to compliance. ISO 5001 requires organisations to take responsibility for their energy management and to set targets for energy reduction, and Energy Audits are advantageous for identifying new opportunities for energy and carbon reduction and validating the methods of improvement.
Under the new proposals, the UK Government is proposing to remove DECs and GDAs as compliance routes for ESOS, as they are concerned DECs and GDAs are not meeting ESOS best practice standards.
Reappraise the De Minimis
Under the new proposal, the government propose to reduce the De Minimis to 5% from 10%.
Currently, organisations may exclude up to 10% of their total energy consumption through De Minimis rules, meaning that they may have been whole sites or energy from transport excluded from their ESOS report.
Improve the Site Sampling Requirements
Under the current ESOS requirements, organisations with a large property portfolio are allowed to audit only a small number of their sites under the De Minimis threshold.
The government propose to make the requirements around site sampling more coherent, for example, introducing a minimum threshold for the number of sites reported on and the percentage of total energy consumption.
Reaching Net Zero
Numerous organisations face the challenge of reducing their carbon emissions and meeting the UK’s government target of Net Zero by 2050.
The proposed changes to ESOS would encourage organisations to address long term investments rather than short term cost saving actions recommended through the current ESOS scheme, as short term investments are not always considered sufficient in helping organisations achieve Net Zero
There are numerous other proposed changes which the Government are considering introducing ahead of Phase 3, to help improve and strengthen the legislation, whilst helping to align ESOS to other energy legislations such as SECR and Net Zero. You can read more about the proposed changes by clicking here.
How Can We Help?
Compliance365’s experienced energy and carbon consultants can help your organisation to comply with ESOS, and also help you take steps towards Net Zero. We can work with you to develop innovative ways to reduce your carbon emissions ensuring the best practices.
To find out more, contact our friendly team today on 01924 669940 or send an email to sales@compliance365.co.uk.