What Is the ISO 50005 Standard and How It Helps Small and Medium-Sized Businesses Improve Energy Management
Managing energy well is key to cutting costs and boosting efficiency in any type of organization, but for small and medium-sized businesses it tends to be a bigger challenge. SMEs make up the vast majority of the business landscape in most countries, and many of them have seen their energy costs climb in recent years without having the resources of a dedicated department.
The problem is that setting up a full energy management system can seem like a complicated process without prior experience in the field. To make that first step easier, the ISO 50005 standard was introduced, published in 2021 and still in effect today as an international reference guide.
What Is ISO 50005
ISO 50005 is a guide designed to help small and medium-sized businesses implement an energy management system gradually, in phases, rather than having to tackle everything at once. Unlike ISO 50001, ISO 50005 is not certifiable: it's a roadmap meant to guide the organization until it's ready to take that next step.
The goal is to break down the entry barriers that many companies face when they don't have enough resources to implement an ISO 50001-based system right away, enabling a gradual approach that delivers faster, more sustainable results over time.
Benefits of Implementing ISO 50005
It helps overcome the entry barriers to setting up an energy management system, adapting to each company's resources and needs.
It fosters a genuine energy management culture within the organization, making it possible to understand how energy is used in each process and to spot opportunities for improvement, with all teams involved.
It delivers faster, more measurable results, which helps justify the investment in energy efficiency to leadership.
It strengthens the company's environmental commitment and sustainability.
Implementation Phases of ISO 50005
The standard's phased approach groups the 12 specific elements of ISO 50001 into different stages, based on each organization's level of maturity and resources.
Phase 1: Activating energy management. The first step is becoming aware of the issue, understanding how energy is used internally, and starting to collect consumption data to identify savings opportunities.
Phase 2: Improving energy management. An energy policy is designed, resources and responsibilities are assigned, and an energy review is carried out to identify the most significant consumption points and costs.
Phase 3: Emerging energy management system. Energy management starts to be treated as something strategic within the company, ensuring compliance with the defined energy policy.
Phase 4: Established energy management system. The company reaches a high level of maturity, with the main elements of ISO 50001 already implemented and a continuous improvement policy in place.
The most practical way to get started is to carry out a self-assessment to see which phase the organization is actually in. If you have little prior experience, it makes sense to start at Phase 1; if you already have some track record in energy management, you can move straight into more mature phases.
To Wrap Up
Energy management has gone from being a secondary issue to a strategic priority within many organizations, with a direct impact on competitiveness, savings, and emissions reduction. Tools like ISO 50005 make that first step much easier, especially for companies that don't yet have the experience or resources of larger corporations.
At Smarkia, we help companies take that leap, with energy consumption monitoring, energy policy definition, identification of savings opportunities, and tools to manage the entire process from a single platform. If you need help figuring out which phase you're in and how to move forward, get in touch with us and we'll connect you with a specialist.