What is ESOS?

ESOS was set up in 2014 as the first phase focusing on energy efficiencies of large companies – namely those with more than 250 employees or with a turnover greater than €44million. Energy audits are taken and reporting is dealt with by a lead assessor, someone who has gone through training and has been signed off as being professional.

All companies over the limit should report their energy usage and find ways to reduce it. That’s not just from services, but also processes and transport. The deadline for Phase 2 is fast approaching in December 2019, so if you qualify and you haven’t started the process of compliance now is a good time to get going.

What are companies obligations?

Companies are obliged to monitor 12 months of total energy and report back on it. They must undertake a complete audit of their energy consumption, identify areas of high energy usage and put measures in place reduce it. The audit must be undertaken by an ESOS lead assessor who is someone who has attended a course and is deemed to be qualified. Here at Carbon Green Consulting we are qualified as ESOS lead assessors and can undertake an audit on your behalf.

What are the top tips for success in pass ESOS?

The first thing to do is to understand if your company qualifies for ESOS. This can be complicated depending on your company structure. In other words, you have to consider the core business, but also any subsidiaries which could take it over the threshold. As part of our work as lead assessors, our team at Carbon Green Consulting can provide some initial advice about whether we believe you qualify.

There are no specific targets involved with compliance. Instead, a company is being asked to specify areas where there is high energy consumption. It might be HVAC, processes or transport – those tend to be the three areas which can cause emissions to escalate.

Simply reporting on ESOS is just the first step. You must firstly understand where high CO2 emissions and energy usage is occurring and then deliver on those savings. As part of the process, you are mandated to take steps to reduce those areas of high energy use which you might have highlighted in your report.

Start early

With the deadline fast approaching, you need to get started as soon as possible, if you haven’t already, particularly with transport and cash claims. This can be done relatively easily and there are many processes within ESOS which can be measured with sampling rather than directly. Again, an assessor can offer advice and guidance.

With some areas such as electricity or gas where you might not know how much energy you are specifically using, you can use a benchmarking system from standard benchmarking sites. 

When compiling your research, you should ensure evidential records and calculations are all stored correctly. This will help the assessor which will also help you because it will reduce the time required to make the audit. The easier it is you for the assessor to find the records and see the information, the more quickly they will complete the audit and the less it will cost.

There are many ways to gain data and to make it more visible. For example, fuel cards store information, which can be used to show your mileage. You can ask your fuel card operator for that data on an Excel spreadsheet.

Making this information more easily viewable with have several benefits. Not only will it ensure reporting is more accurate, but it can lead to reduced fees when the assessment is carried out.

What about Brexit?

Of course, the elephant in the room is Brexit. The UK may have delayed its departure, but it is still definitely planning to leave and, while there may be uncertainty about that, businesses will still need to plan with departure in mind, which is where things get difficult. ESOS is an EU directive and, like other EU directives, could be on the way out after Brexit.

However, the signs suggest ESOS is something the UK is likely to keep. Already the UK is signed up to ambitious carbon reduction goals. Its move to zero carbon in 2050 rather than the softer goal of an 80% reduction suggests the Government is taking it seriously and, while it could abandon ESOS if it wanted, this is a beneficial rule if they are truly determined to reduce emissions.

There is always the possibility that ESOS may become warped after Brexit as the UK adopts its own variations on the law. This could see them adopt the best features and abandon the worst to come up with an entirely new piece of legislation. Doing so could create problems and complexity as operators try to balance small difference between EU and UK regulation. However, the reality is that few initiatives that the UK brings in from the EU are changed much. It’s a case of all or nothing. Most of those initiatives which the UK adopts tend to be taken wholesale with few significant changes.

How Carbon Green can help

Carbon Green are lead Assessors in ESOS. We can help with guidance on ESOS in the reporting and developing the evidence base for ESOS. Some will be doing this in-house after having a member go through the lead assessor course but this can be hard work. Many companies will not have the resources or the in-house expertise to provide qualified reports, which is why it can be easier, cheaper and more effective to turn to the experts. Either way, ESOS Phase II is very definitely upon us. If you haven’t started work on it now, the clock is very much ticking.

What is ESOS?

ESOS was set up in 2014 as the first phase focusing on energy efficiencies of large companies – namely those with more than 250 employees or with a turnover greater than €44million. Energy audits are taken and reporting is dealt with by a lead assessor, someone who has gone through training and has been signed off as being professional.

All companies over the limit should report their energy usage and find ways to reduce it. That’s not just from services, but also processes and transport. The deadline for Phase 2 is fast approaching in December 2019, so if you qualify and you haven’t started the process of compliance now is a good time to get going.

What are companies obligations?

Companies are obliged to monitor 12 months of total energy and report back on it. They must undertake a complete audit of their energy consumption, identify areas of high energy usage and put measures in place reduce it. The audit must be undertaken by an ESOS lead assessor who is someone who has attended a course and is deemed to be qualified. Here at Carbon Green Consulting we are qualified as ESOS lead assessors and can undertake an audit on your behalf.

What are the top tips for success in pass ESOS?

The first thing to do is to understand if your company qualifies for ESOS. This can be complicated depending on your company structure. In other words, you have to consider the core business, but also any subsidiaries which could take it over the threshold. As part of our work as lead assessors, our team at Carbon Green Consulting can provide some initial advice about whether we believe you qualify.

There are no specific targets involved with compliance. Instead, a company is being asked to specify areas where there is high energy consumption. It might be HVAC, processes or transport – those tend to be the three areas which can cause emissions to escalate.

Simply reporting on ESOS is just the first step. You must firstly understand where high CO2 emissions and energy usage is occurring and then deliver on those savings. As part of the process, you are mandated to take steps to reduce those areas of high energy use which you might have highlighted in your report.

Start early

With the deadline fast approaching, you need to get started as soon as possible, if you haven’t already, particularly with transport and cash claims. This can be done relatively easily and there are many processes within ESOS which can be measured with sampling rather than directly. Again, an assessor can offer advice and guidance.

With some areas such as electricity or gas where you might not know how much energy you are specifically using, you can use a benchmarking system from standard benchmarking sites. 

When compiling your research, you should ensure evidential records and calculations are all stored correctly. This will help the assessor which will also help you because it will reduce the time required to make the audit. The easier it is you for the assessor to find the records and see the information, the more quickly they will complete the audit and the less it will cost.

There are many ways to gain data and to make it more visible. For example, fuel cards store information, which can be used to show your mileage. You can ask your fuel card operator for that data on an Excel spreadsheet.

Making this information more easily viewable with have several benefits. Not only will it ensure reporting is more accurate, but it can lead to reduced fees when the assessment is carried out.

What about Brexit?

Of course, the elephant in the room is Brexit. The UK may have delayed its departure, but it is still definitely planning to leave and, while there may be uncertainty about that, businesses will still need to plan with departure in mind, which is where things get difficult. ESOS is an EU directive and, like other EU directives, could be on the way out after Brexit.

However, the signs suggest ESOS is something the UK is likely to keep. Already the UK is signed up to ambitious carbon reduction goals. Its move to zero carbon in 2050 rather than the softer goal of an 80% reduction suggests the Government is taking it seriously and, while it could abandon ESOS if it wanted, this is a beneficial rule if they are truly determined to reduce emissions.

There is always the possibility that ESOS may become warped after Brexit as the UK adopts its own variations on the law. This could see them adopt the best features and abandon the worst to come up with an entirely new piece of legislation. Doing so could create problems and complexity as operators try to balance small difference between EU and UK regulation. However, the reality is that few initiatives that the UK brings in from the EU are changed much. It’s a case of all or nothing. Most of those initiatives which the UK adopts tend to be taken wholesale with few significant changes.

How Carbon Green can help

Carbon Green are lead Assessors in ESOS. We can help with guidance on ESOS in the reporting and developing the evidence base for ESOS. Some will be doing this in-house after having a member go through the lead assessor course but this can be hard work. Many companies will not have the resources or the in-house expertise to provide qualified reports, which is why it can be easier, cheaper and more effective to turn to the experts. Either way, ESOS Phase II is very definitely upon us. If you haven’t started work on it now, the clock is very much ticking.