npower leads by example with ISO 50001 accreditation for energy management excellence

Phil Black - PII Editor 28/11/2013

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npower believes it has become the first major UK energy supplier to receive ISO 50001 accreditation for energy management excellence across their offices. This international standard recognises businesses that are demonstrating best practice energy management and have a programme for continuous improvement in place.

npower received accredited certification for complying with the new ISO 50001 standard for energy management systems across 16 of its largest UK sites. This was achieved using the same measure, monitor and minimise approach that the company recommends to help its business customers be more energy efficient.

To achieve accredited certification from GUTcert, Germany, npower began by undertaking energy audits at each of its sites. The company installed automated meter reading (AMR) across all sites, enabling them to measure their gas and electricity consumption and receive usage data every half hour. In addition, npower’s encompass software enabled them to monitor consumption across multiple sites, identify potential areas of waste and set targets for reduction at a site-by-site level.

The energy supplier then worked closely with npower’s Energy Services team to seek innovative ways to reduce energy usage from the grid. This resulted in an investment in solar PV panels at some sites which are already delivering reductions in carbon emissions. Savings have also been made through on-going upgrades to lighting, heating and ventilation systems, as well as through the standardisation of its Building Management Systems to enhance their effectiveness.

In addition, when undertaking office refurbishments, npower has maximised sustainability by adopting the industry-leading ‘Ska Rating’ – an environmental assessment tool for sustainable fit-outs from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors. This has already resulted in some impressive savings for npower. For example the refurbishment of an office in West Midlands has seen electricity consumption fall by 44% compared to the same period last year. The refurbishment incorporated new solar panels, energy efficient lighting (supported with intelligent lighting control), a new Building Energy Management System and a new highly energy efficient heating and cooling system.

As well as investment in products and services, npower recognises that people play a vital role in achieving excellence in energy management. The company encourages employees to become more energy conscious through a site based Environmental Champions programme. For example, at one of the company’s customer service centres Environmental Champions have been active in measuring consumption, raising awareness and implementing improvement projects. As a result, electricity consumption fell by 11% from January to October 2013 compared to the same period last year.

Paul Massara, chief executive officer at npower said:

“The ISO 50001 certification shows that we are leading by example when it comes to using energy as efficiently as possible and identifying ways to cut our own costs. Using products and services that we have developed ourselves and that are readily available to our customers, we’ve been able to identify numerous opportunities to save and manage energy consumption and costs. We’ve demonstrated not only that we take our own energy efficiency very seriously, but also that taking these simple actions, that can be easily replicated by other companies, can make a big impact.”

Jonathan Hulbert, energy manager at npower said:

“So far this year, npower has achieved an 18% reduction in electricity consumption and we are on track to meet our 2014 target of a 38% reduction in the carbon intensity of our offices compared to 2008 levels. Gaining this certification is just one step in the process and we remain focussed on delivering further measurable improvements in energy efficiency. To ensure continual improvement and to keep our savings on track we plan to further embed the systematic approach we adopted for ISO 50001. This will not only reinforce good practice and maintain motivation but also ensure that we continue to lead the way on energy management excellence.”

The accredited ISO 50001certification was carried out by GUTcert Germany, a member of the AFNOR Group, following an assessment by AFNOR UK, specialists in ISO certification.