Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme

Are you in search of an ESOS Lead Assessor? Our esteemed Lead Assessors stand ready to lend a helping on ESOS legislation and expertly crafting your reports for the Environment Agency.

Request a Quote

What Is The Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme?

The Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) is UK legislation (based on article 8 of the EU Energy Directive) which mandates circa 10,000 organisations in the UK to audit their estates and establish opportunities for saving energy.

If your business employs more than 250 employees, OR has an annual turnover in excess of £44 million, and an annual balance sheet total in excess of £38 million, then you must comply with ESOS. Organisations who fail to comply with the legislation are at risk of receiving a hefty fine of £50,000 from enforcers.

To comply, you will need to submit an ESOS audit that details:

  • Your organisational structure (who the submission covers)
  • Your total energy consumption across a 12-month period that crosses the qualification date
  • Individual energy audits on your property portfolio, fleet & industrial processes
  • An extensive and robust evidence pack that allows the environment agency to audit your submission

ESOS submissions run in 4-year cycles:

Phase Qualification Date Four-Year Compliance Phase Compliance Date
Phase 4 31st December 2026 6th December 2023 to 5th December 2027 5th December 2027
Phase 5 31st December 2030 6th December 2027 to 5th December 2031  5th December 2031

Phase 4 Compliance Deadline

Day(s)

:

Hour(s)

:

Minute(s)

:

Second(s)

Phase 4 ESOS Changes

In addition to the changes introduced in phase 3, which require organisations to present an action plan detailing how they will implement any recommendations from their ESOS audits, including explanations for any recommended measures that will not be executed. Phase 4 of ESOS is set to bring about legislative changes that emphasise the importance of net zero considerations and accountability within organisations. In earlier phases, businesses could rely on Display Energy Certificates and Green Deal Assessments for compliance, but these methods will no longer be accepted in Phase 4.

We have compiled some free useful tools to help you with your ESOS compliance:

Eligibility Questionnaire
Road to ESOS Guide

What Is An ESOS Audit?

An ESOS audit involves an assessment of the energy used by a company’s buildings, industrial processes and transport. It will identify cost-effective energy saving measures. It also looks to see how an organisation is currently measuring and managing energy consumption along with any quality management systems or policies.

The government’s aim with the scheme is to cut carbon emissions and reduce energy consumption by requiring large businesses to identify energy reduction measures. It is projected that If audits led to an average 0.7% energy saving per enterprise then the potential net benefit of this policy for the UK is estimated at 1.9bn Net present Value between 2015 and 2030 through the implementation of energy efficient measures.

In Need of Our Expert Advice?

Compliance365 have a team of expert Energy Consultants and ESOS Lead Assessors, who are on hand to help your organisation achieve compliance. We work with some of the UK’s largest organisations with complex property estates ensuring they meet the tight ESOS deadlines.

What Can We Do For You?

There is an enormous amount of effort that goes into demonstrating compliance for ESOS. We can help to alleviate the stress associated with the submission by providing a number of solutions which are tailored to meet your organisations requirements.

Fleet Assessment

A Fleet assessment reports on the current state of an organisations fleet. It reviews any policies in place surrounding engine sizes of cars, CO2 bands and behavioural training. Recommendations are tailored to mirror your fleet taking into account current good and bad practices.

Property Audit

A property energy audit identifies energy-saving opportunities in four key areas:

  • Building infrastructure and energy consumers
  • Water reduction
  • Behavioral training
  • Waste management

The report quantifies potential savings in monetary value, kWh, and CO2 emissions.

Evidence Packs

Our Lead Assessor evidence packs provide you with an extensive breakdown of the processes and calculations used to complete an organisations ESOS submission. It can be issued to the Environment Agency should you be called up for audit after registering your compliance.

ESOS Requirements

To comply with ESOS requirements, you must:

  • Use 12 months of specific energy consumption data.

  • Start data collection no earlier than 12 months before the compliance period.

  • Begin no earlier than 24 months before the first ESOS Energy Audit in that period.

  • Use data not previously submitted for ESOS compliance.

  • Provide cost-effective recommendations or confirm no potential for energy improvements.

  • Ensure the process is overseen, conducted, or reviewed by an ESOS Lead Assessor.

Why Comply With ESOS?

Complying with ESOS is essential due to the following reasons:

  • Penalties & Enforcements: Compliance bodies in the UK can impose civil penalties on non-compliant participants.
  • Assessment Failure: Failure to conduct an ESOS Assessment results in discretionary penalties, including:
    • Requirement to conduct an assessment by a specified date.
    • A penalty of up to £50,000.
    • An additional £500 per day for non-compliance, capped at 80 days.
    • Public disclosure of non-compliance details.

ESOS Participants Must

  • Make an initial estimate of their total energy consumption (covering energy used in buildings, transport and industrial processes);
  • Identify areas of significant energy consumption (which equate to at least 90% of their total consumption), and carry out a more detailed audit of those areas to establish where energy savings could be made, and;
  • Submit a formal notification to the scheme administrator, the Environment Agency (EA).
Request a Quote