ESOS – Are you legally compliant?

About ESOS

The Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) is a mandatory energy assessment scheme for organisations in the UK that meet the qualification criteria. The Environment Agency is the UK scheme administrator.  The UK regulator is the Environment Agency for organisations whose registered office is in England.  Organisations that qualify for ESOS must carry out ESOS assessments every 4 years. These assessments are audits of the energy used by their buildings, industrial processes, and transport to identify cost-effective energy saving measures.

Deadlines for ESOS compliance

Organisations must notify the Environment Agency by a set deadline that they have complied with their ESOS obligations. The deadline for the first compliance period was 5 December 2015. The deadline for the second compliance period (ESOS phase 2) was 5 December 2019.

Find out if you qualified for ESOS phase 2

For the qualification date for the second compliance period (31 December 2018) a large undertaking is any UK company that either:

• employed 250 or more people
• had an annual turnover in excess of £44,845,000 (€50 million), and an annual balance sheet total in excess of £38,566,700 (€43 million)

For the qualification date for the third compliance period (31 December 2022) a large undertaking is any UK company that either:

• employs 250 or more people
• has an annual turnover in excess of £44 million, and an annual balance sheet total in excess of £38 million

Complete an ESOS assessment

If you qualify and your organisation is fully covered by ISO 50001, you do not need to carry out an ESOS assessment. You just need to notify the Environment Agency that you’re compliant.  If you qualify, but your organisation is not fully covered by ISO 50001, you need to carry out an assessment. The assessment helps you work out what your organisation needs to do to comply with the regulations.  The assessment takes into account energy directly covered by Display Energy Certificates (DECs), Green Deal Assessments (GDAs), or ISO 50001. For your assessment, you need to:

1. Calculate your total energy consumption

2. Identify your areas of significant energy consumption

3. Appoint a lead assessor

4. Notify the Environment Agency

5. Keep records.

Submit your notification of compliance

When you have completed your ESOS submission you must submit a notification of compliance using the online system on the gov.uk website.

ESOS compliant energy audits

An energy audit must meet these criteria:

1. It must be based on 12 months’ verifiable data

2. It must analyse the participant’s energy consumption and energy efficiency

3. It must identify energy saving opportunities

Regulation and penalties

Your environmental regulator is responsible for compliance and enforcement activities. It may issue civil sanctions including financial penalties if an organisation does not meet the scheme’s obligations.

Further information

For more details on the scheme, your obligations and how to comply please see the full guidance on complying with ESOS.

Please contact us to discuss assistance with regards to, compilation of energy data, verification of energy data and/or having a bespoke specialist environmental 50001 gap analysis survey conducted.