Climate change and the need to reduce costs have translated in recent years into a growing concern for improving energy performance, which has resulted in a name that is becoming commonplace in the field of companies and large organizations.
It is the ISO-50001 standard, which reached wide international diffusion and in Argentina had a significant rebound, since the number of certifications issued last year in the country grew seven times more than in the rest of the planet.
Through this standard, improvements are sought in energy management systems to advance in parameters of efficiency, safety and consumption, generating on the one hand advantages within the organization itself and, on the other, contributions to society, with a reduced greenhouse gas emissions, less use of non-renewable resources and fewer subsidy requirements.
Télam interviewed engineer Guillermo Curi, IRAM Certification Director (Argentine Institute for Standardization and Certification), who detailed the main aspects of the standard.
Télam: What does the ISO 50001 standard consist of and why has it become so important in recent times?
William Cury: The ISO 50001 standard, or its identical adoption IRAM-ISO 50001, aims to guide organizations to establish systems that allow them to improve their energy performance, including energy efficiency, use and energy consumption. It consists of a set of requirements that organizations must meet to demonstrate that they have a culture of improving energy performance with the commitment of all levels of the organization and, especially, senior management.
Energy issues have become relevant in recent years, since it is a fundamental aspect that affects the sustainability not only of companies from an economic point of view (especially in recent times of significant increases in the cost of energy), but also of the entire community in which the organizations are immersed.
T: When did it begin to be applied in the world and in Argentina?
CG: The first version of the international standard ISO 50001, and also its adoption at the national level through the IRAM-ISO 50001 standard, dates from 2011 and, in general, its implementation is immediate, but gradual.
The current version of the standard is the one published in 2018, which is already being implemented by a growing number of organizations of all types of sectors and sizes, although at a somewhat slower pace than in developed countries, where the incorporation of a system energy management is much more entrenched. This is not new; In general, management system standards become widespread a few years after they have been established in technologically advanced countries.
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T: What role does IRAM play regarding this and other certification standards?
CG: IRAM is one of the certification bodies that is at the forefront of the development of conformity assessment schemes for both management systems, products and personal skills.
Certification by an independent entity such as IRAM provides confidence to the community in general that the organization has implemented the management system in question; In addition, for the certified organization it constitutes a fundamental tool for the improvement of its processes, since it allows a critical external view that provides added value for the execution of actions that have a real and measurable impact on the results of the organization.
T: What concerns do companies/organizations raise in the process that ends with certification? Does the process have a determined or estimated duration?
CG: The implementation and certification process must be clearly differentiated. The implementation of a management system is the full responsibility of the organization that arbitrates the necessary tools and resources to comply with all the requirements of the standard in question. IRAM is not involved in this process, since this would invalidate the possibility of subsequently carrying out an independent evaluation that could cause a potential conflict of interest.
It is very common for organizations to begin the path of implementing a management system by hiring consultants, which allow time (and therefore costs) to be shortened. However, it is essential that, as part of this initial process, human resource training activities are also carried out to allow continuity in the improvement processes of the management systems with their own personnel who know in depth all processes of the organization.
T: How many companies and organizations already have ISO 50001 certification and how many are in the process of being certified?
CG: Recently, the ISO Survey 2021 has been published in which it is realized that, worldwide, more than 21,000 certifications are issued in accordance with the ISO 50001 standard, counting only about 72 in Argentina. However, observing the 2020-2021 evolution, we can see that, while on a global scale in 2020 there were more than 19,000 certifications issued, only 40 were from Argentina, so growth at the national level has been 80%, far exceeding the rate global growth of around 11%.
Regarding organizations in the process of certification, it is very difficult to establish it, since not only are there various certification bodies, but it is a process that maintains strict confidentiality, which implies that information regarding certifications that have not been certified must not be disclosed. satisfactorily completed.
