ISO/PAS 50010:2023

PUBLICLY ISO/PAS
AVAILABLE 50010
SPECIFICATION
First edition
2023-01
Energy management and energy
savings — Guidance for net zero
energy in operations using an
ISO 50001 energy management
system
Management de l'énergie et économies d'énergie —
Recommandations pour zéro énergie nette dans le cadre des
opérations utilisant un système de management de l'énergie
ISO 50001
Reference number
© ISO 2023
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ii
Contents Page
Foreword .iv
Introduction .v
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references . 1
3 Terms and definitions . 1
3.1 Terms related to net zero . 1
3.2 Terms related to net zero energy operation . 3
4 EnMS implementation for NZE .5
4.1 General . 5
4.2 Scope and boundaries for NZE . 5
4.3 NZE plans . 7
4.3.1 General . 7
4.3.2 NZE policy as part of an organization’s energy plan . 8
4.4 Defining the energy or carbon-emission goals . 9
4.4.1 General . 9
4.4.2 Energy management system . 9
4.4.3 Renewable energy . 10
4.5 Selecting zero energy performance indicators . 11
4.6 Defining future-year goals . 13
4.7 Data collection plan . 14
4.8 Planning to account year to year variability . 15
5 Improving organization operation and maintenance for NZE or NZC .15
5.1 General . 15
5.2 Effective operation and maintenance . 15
5.3 Control technology . 16
6 Integration of renewable energy .16
6.1 Consideration of renewable off-site energy . 16
6.1.1 General . 16
6.1.2 Renewable resources acquired by the organization . 17
6.1.3 Renewable energy resources on the grid . 17
6.2 Utilizing energy provider inducements to change energy use — Demand response . 17
6.3 Renewable grid connection . 18
Annex A (informative) Relationship between NZE design, construction and operation .19
Annex B (informative) NZE overview for implementation .20
Bibliography .26
iii
Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards
bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out
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ISO collaborates closely with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of
electrotechnical standardization.
The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are
described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular, the different approval criteria needed for the
different types of ISO documents should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the
editorial rules of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www.iso.org/directives).
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of
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www.iso.org/iso/foreword.html.
This document was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 301, Energy management and energy
savings.
Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body. A
complete listing of these bodies can be found at www.iso.org/members.html.
iv
Introduction
0.1  General
This document shows how an organization that manages its energy performance can use that process
to achieve net zero energy (NZE). It explains what is meant by NZE and how an energy management
system (EnMS) in accordance with ISO 50001:2018 can be implemented to achieve, maintain and
improve NZE. It also considers the integration of renewable energy and issues around planning for NZE
in new and retrofitted facilities which is beyond the scope of ISO 50001. In addition, it is designed to
complement organizational action to achieve net zero carbon (NZC).
This document introduces several new concepts to the determination of whether a facility meets the
criteria it recommends for showing that it meets NZE or NZC goals. Many jurisdictions use the two
terms interchangeably, and others promote one goal over the other as discrete choices. This document
attempts to reconcile these definitions. It distinguishes between several different scopes and boundaries
for these different net zero goals and their targets, which are increasingly effective at reducing energy
and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and correspondingly more difficult to achieve. It suggests that an
EnMS be structured to allow continual improvement from lower targets to higher ones.
A number of countries around the world have pledged to achieve a net zero goal, and many more have
[17]
committed to significant energy savings and carbon reductions in their societies. Meeting these
commitments over the coming decades requires accelerated improvements in energy management.
Many organizations are undertaking specific actions to reduce their carbon emissions by better
management of energy, including targeting NZE. These actions may include:
— measuring, managing and minimizing energy use to achieve NZE through operations;
— designing and constructing new buildings or other facilities to meet a target of NZE;
— retrofitting existing buildings to improve their performance toward or beyond NZE;
— integration of renewable energy, e.g. photovoltaics (PVs), solar water heating, geothermal energy,
on-site wind turbines;
— coordinating robust energy management with other sustainability initiatives, to achieve or surpass
NZC.
This document shows how an EnMS can include objectives such as specified levels of NZE and NZC.
The EnMS conforms to ISO 50001:2018. This document recommends establishing specific, quantifiable
targets for energy consumption that can serve as a pathway to NZE. Use of this document should enable
closer harmonization of claims of NZE within and between organizations, and across regions and
nations.
By following the standardized approach provided, the organization can take advantage of common
resources (e.g. software) to produce reliable and documentable processes and results, and of the basic
structure this document provides in developing its own management system.
This document provides flexibility for organizations to determine their own scope, boundaries
and calculation methodology for calculating net energy consumption, and for setting a pathway
towards NZE. It does not discuss how to measure non-energy-related GHG impacts; for these, see
ISO 14064-2:2019 and ISO 14067:2018.
This document recognizes that energy targets and calculation methods are chosen by the organization
to be specific to its situation and can be determined outside the organization (e.g. by governments
or consequent upon a GHG-calculation methodology). For situations when the measurement and
calculations are developed by the organization itself, this document includes a high-level set of
recommendations based on global best practice.
v
0.2  NZE goals are being increasingly adopted
NZE is a key indicator for an organization wishing to demonstrate leadership in energy management
and sustainable development. It is applicable for buildings, industries and other sectors. It may also be
measured at the organizational, district or city level. The buildings sector has been the first to accept
NZE concepts widely, but there are also NZE industrial facilities. To achieve NZE goals, buildings can
use mandatory NZE codes. Meeting challenging targets requires industry to consider residual energy
[14]
use.
The global market for NZE buildings and industries is exhibiting rapid compound annual growth,
spurred on in part by legislation or pledges at the local, national or supranational level (see, for example,
[13]
EU Directive 2018/844 ).
However, if these ambitious targets are to be met, a wide range of users including, but not limited
to, energy service providers, building occupants, industrial managers, energy efficiency experts and
government agencies require a common understanding of NZE and the use of standardized processes
(such as those provided by this document) for targeting, measuring and maintaining it.
NOTE “Net zero building” is abbreviated as either “NZE building” or “NZC building”.
This document aims to meet these needs and uses the EnMS goal of continual improvement, as required
by ISO 50001, to harmonize definitions and claims in the context of improving from one target to the
next over time. It also allows facilities that find it impractical to reach NZE in the short term to show
how close they come to achieving it, and to demonstrate how they choose to approach NZE over time.
0.3  Importance of an energy management system to achieve NZE
In a typical building’s life cycle, the operation and maintenance (O&M) phase (as shown in Figure 1)
[15]
is more than 80 % of the total life-cycle energy consumption of that building and plant. Thus,
good energy management is critical to the life-cycle energy consumption of a building. As energy
management improves as recommended by this document, it is likely that net energy consumption
during operation declines dramatically, while energy consumption in other parts of the life cycle stays
constant or declines by a smaller percentage. Thus, the non-operational energy impacts over the life
cycle become relatively more important. That is one reason why that this document addresses these
effects along with operational energy consumption, particularly when the energy targets are intended
to be met in future years when energy performance is improved, and renewable energy production is
increased.
Figure 1 — Total life cycle energy use of an organization
vi
0.4  Contents of this document
Clause 4 provides a high-level introduction to the goals and processes of meeting different defined NZE
targets, which are linked to each other by the process of continual improvement as part of an EnMS.
It discusses how renewable energy should be treated in NZE demonstrations. It looks at how to select
the most appropriate energy performance indicators (EnPIs) within an EnMS that can then be used
to monitor progress towards achieving, maintaining and reaching higher levels of NZE (including
NZC) over future years. The clause also considers how to develop a data collection plan, and ways of
accounting for year-to-year variability, especially where renewable energy generation varies with
weather conditions. The explanations of the rationales for the recommendation for NZE are provided
in Annex B.
The additional NZE targets, which go beyond many existing definitions of NZE, are variants on
the principle of NZC. In this document, “carbon” is used in a variety of terms (e.g. carbon footprint,
carbon neutral) as carbon dioxide (CO ) to represent GHG emissions and CO equivalent, which is a
2 2
unit of measurement for global warming effect. This document develops these recommendations on
the effective O&M with renewable energy and how it is integrated into an EnMS. It highlights demand
response as a way of matching energy consumption with available renewable energy in Clauses 5 and 6.
vii
PUBLICLY AVAILABLE SPECIFICATION ISO/PAS 50010:2023(E)
Energy management and energy savings — Guidance for
net zero energy in operations using an ISO 50001 energy
management system
1 Scope
This document gives guidance on the use of an energy management system (EnMS) in accordance with
ISO 50001:2018 to achieve net zero energy (NZE), and supports the achievement of net zero carbon
(NZC) and other sustainability goals. It describes how to establish an enhanced EnMS designed to
achieve:
a) improvement of operational and maintenance practices based on NZE principles;
b) integration of renewable energy into operations and maintenance;
c) planning for facilities, systems, equipment or processes to implement NZE and NZC.
This document does not apply to technologies, design or construction. The technical specification of
passive, active or renewable energy for NZE or NZC is also not included because of different regional
conditions by countries.
2 Normative references
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content
constitutes requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For
undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
ISO 50001:2018, Energy management systems — Requirements with guidance for use
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the terms and definitions given in ISO 50001:2018 and the following
apply.
ISO and IEC maintain terminology databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at https:// www .iso .org/ obp
— IEC Electropedia: available at https:// www .electropedia .org/
3.1 Terms related to net zero
3.1.1
net zero
state in which a quantity of a commodity with one attribute is balanced by the same quantity of the
commodity with a different attribute
Note 1 to entry: The commodity can be physical (e.g. water), a waste, a by-product (e.g. greenhouse gas emissions)
or a form of energy.
Note 2 to entry: Net zero can be applied within specified net zero energy target boundaries (3.1.7) over a defined
period of time.
3.1.2
net zero energy
NZE
state in which a quantity of energy consumption is balanced by the same quantity of clean renewable
energy (3.2.2) generated
Note 1 to entry: The energy consumed can be in the form of a fuel such as gas, oil or coal, or a medium such as
electricity, steam or heat.
Note 2 to entry: NZE can be applied within specified NZE target boundaries (3.1.7) over a defined period of time.
3.1.3
net zero carbon
NZC
state in which a quantity of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is balanced by the same quantity of GHG
removals
Note 1 to entry: Where GHGs (3.2.8) take the form of different gases (such as CO , CH , N O, F-gases or SF ) they
2 4 2 6
can be converted to a common unit such as tonnes of CO e using their global warming potential.
Note 2 to entry: NZC can be applied within boundaries specified by the organization over a defined period of
time.
Note 3 to entry: The GHG removals can be achieved by clean renewable energy (3.2.2) generation.
Note 4 to entry: This document uses the term “net zero carbon” to mean net zero GHG emissions, following
common practice among net zero energy practitioners. The difference between CO and GHGs can be small or
negligible for buildings but can be significant for industrial facilities.
3.1.4
energy independence rate
EIR
rate of energy generation compared with energy consumption within the same net zero energy target
boundaries (3.1.7)
Note 1 to entry: It is expressed as a percentage.
3.1.5
zero energy performance indicator
zEnPI
indicator which trends to or is equal to zero for net zero energy (NZE) (3.1.2) or net zero carbon (3.1.3)
Note 1 to entry: zEnPI can be a ratio or rate between renewable energy (3.2.1) and delivered energy (3.2.4) within
specified NZE target boundaries (3.1.7) over a defined period of time.
Note 2 to entry: zEnPI can be normalized (3.2.9) energy use (e.g. renewable energy consumption per unit of
output).
Note 3 to entry: zEnPIs do not replace the energy performance indicators for the energy management system and
can be used in defining the zEnPI, e.g. zEnPI is normalized energy consumption (kWh) minus renewable energy
produced (kWh).
3.1.6
NZE target
net zero energy target
quantifiable objective of net zero energy (NZE) (3.1.2)
Note 1 to entry: The quantifiable objective of NZE is the zero energy performance indicator (zEnPI) value, which
is = 0 based on the definition of zEnPI (3.1.5).
3.1.7
NZE target boundaries
net zero energy target boundaries
physical or organizational limits within which an NZE target (3.1.6) is assessed
EXAMPLE A process, a group of processes, a site, multiple sites under the control of an organization, an
entire organization.
Note 1 to entry: The organization defines its NZE target boundaries.
3.2 Terms related to net zero energy operation
3.2.1
renewable energy
energy not depleted by extraction as it is replenished at a rate equal to or faster than it is extracted
Note 1 to entry: Renewable energy excludes recovered or wasted energy.
Note 2 to entry: Organic fraction of municipal waste can be considered as a renewable energy.
Note 3 to entry: Whether the energy stored in a technical system is renewable or not depends upon the nature of
the original energy.
Note 4 to entry: Criteria to categorize an energy source as renewable can differ amongst jurisdictions, based on
local environmental or other reasons.
[SOURCE: ISO 50007:2017, 3.38, modified — “naturally” deleted before “replenished” and “equal to or”
added before “faster” in the definition.]
3.2.2
clean renewable energy
renewable energy (3.2.1) whose direct or indirect emissions of greenhouse gas (GHG) (3.2.8), other gases
with adverse impacts on human health, water pollutants, or other toxic releases, and whose impacts on
ecosystems are substantially lower than those of fossil fuels
Note 1 to entry: Geothermal energy that releases high levels of SO gases to the atmosphere does not qualify
under this definition.
Note 2 to entry: Wood pellet or solid wood combustion does not qualify if the GHG emissions associated with
producing the wood-derived fuels are not substantially lower than those from gas-fired generation.
[SOURCE: ISO 50007:2017, 3.38, modified — “fossil fuels” replaced “conventional alternatives such as
gas-fired generation” in the definition. “wood-derived fuels are not substantially lower than those from
gas-fired generation” replaced “wood are similar to those of coal on the basis of a megajoule of fuel” in
Note 2 to entry.]
3.2.3
off-site energy
energy (such as electricity and heat) necessary for the organization and originating from outside the
organization’s boundary
Note 1 to entry: Off-site energy is one of the energy production and supply methods to achieve net zero energy
(3.1.2).
Note 2 to entry: On-site energy generation is a method of supplying and producing energy within the boundary
of the site.
Note 3 to entry: The electricity generated is delivered to the grid first.
3.2.4
delivered energy
energy arriving at the boundaries of an organization
[SOURCE: ISO 50047:2016, 3.3, modified — Note 1 to entry deleted.]
3.2.5
primary energy
energy that has not been subjected to any conversion or transformation process
Note 1 to entry: Primary energy can be either a non-renewable or a renewable energy (3.2.1), or a combination of
both.
[SOURCE: ISO 50047:2016, 3.17]
3.2.6
embodied energy
energy consumed in the processes associated with the production, transportation, installation and
assembly of materials, products and services through their lifecycle
[SOURCE: ISO 6707-3:2017, 3.7.6, modified — “total of all the” deleted before “energy” and
“transportation, installation and assembly of materials, products and services through their lifecycle”
replaced “of materials and products” in the definition.]
3.2.7
demand response
ability of an organization consuming energy to respond to a trigger by lowering or raising their power
consumption temporarily
Note 1 to entry: The trigger may be from a utility system operator, load-serving entity, regional transmission
organization/independent system operator or other entity.
Note 2 to entry: The trigger may be a reliability trigger or a price trigger.
Note 3 to entry: Demand response is a temporary change in energy consumption, sometimes with a decrease in
service level (e.g. less comfortable climate, non-optimal lighting).
3.2.8
greenhouse gas
GHG
gaseous constituent of the atmosphere, both natural and anthropogenic, that absorbs and emits
radiation at specific wavelengths within the spectrum of infrared radiation emitted by the Earth’s
surface, the atmosphere and clouds
Note 1 to entry: For a list of GHGs, see the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Assessment Report.
Note 2 to entry: Water vapour and ozone are anthropogenic as well as natural GHGs, but are not included as
recognized GHGs due to difficulties, in most cases, in isolating the human-induced component of global warming
attributable to their presence in the atmosphere.
[SOURCE: ISO 14064-1:2018, 3.1.1]
3.2.9
normalize
modify data to account for changes to enable comparison of energy performance under equivalent
conditions
4 EnMS implementation for NZE
4.1 General
This document should be used by the management of a facility or an organization with multiple facilities
in the context of the implementation of an EnMS based on ISO 50001:2018. It is also recommended
that the EnMS follow the guidance in ISO 50004:2020. This document describes how to extend the
organization’s EnMS to achieve net zero outcomes for energy or carbon emissions.
It recommends the organization develop and implement an energy plan to achieve one or more specific
quantitative targets for net energy consumption. These can take into account the organization’s
situation such as size, region and goals to reduce emissions and possible use of renewable energy. The
energy targets can be expressed in absolute terms, relative terms or other metrics such as an energy
independence rate (EIR).
The organization should develop a multi-year strategy using its energy plan to meet progressively
more demanding targets (see 4.4). For the more ambitious goals, a Management System Standard
that parallels that of an EnMS should be established to continually improve performance in reducing
emissions of other GHGs than energy-related carbon dioxide whenever they are found to be significant.
4.2 Scope and boundaries for NZE
Before developing a plan to reach NZE, the organization should determine:
— the boundaries of the organization’s NZE target(s);
— the scope for NZE (see 4.6).
Where there is an EnMS based on ISO 50001:2018, or other EnMS, the NZE target boundaries may be
aligned with those of the EnMS. However, it is possible that the NZE target boundaries are different
than those of the EnMS. If they are different, this should be indicated in the documented information.
An organization’s EnMS boundaries can differ from its NZE target boundaries due to on-site energy
consumption or off-site renewable energy use.
EXAMPLE 1 An organization’s EnMS includes all its production facilities. However, as some sites have more
energy intensive processes, top management decides to implement NZE in one facility at a time.
EXAMPLE 2 An organization operates a factory or a building, for which the organization has implemented an
EnMS based on ISO 50001. The organization has leased assets such as an administration building and offices that
it has not included in the EnMS. In this case, top management decides that it can achieve NZE across the entire
organization.
NOTE 1 An organization can operate a single building and the processes therein, a group of facilities or an
entire company, or any part(s) thereof.
Figure 2 provides a diagram for the scope and boundaries of NZE and NZC. The energy and carbon
flows are described in an organization (facilities, equipment, systems or energy-using processes) using
new and renewable energy generation. The use of off-site renewable energy should be considered if
the energy produced from within the boundary is less than the facility uses. The options for renewable
energy are described in Clause 6.
NOTE The land use (tree, etc), carbon capture utilization and storage, and leased assets are activities in the
boundary of NZC.
Figure 2 — Example boundaries for NZE and NZC
The organization may choose to include parts of its supply chain within the NZE target boundaries,
e.g. where they provide an integral part of its final products. The scope for NZE should comprise all the
energy used by the organization. This should be measured on a delivered energy basis or on a primary
energy basis. Using primary energy is best practice. Energy should include solid, liquid and gaseous
fuels as well as electricity, heat, steam and other energy types.
NOTE 2 In carbon accounting terms, these are regarded as energy contributing to direct, energy indirect and
other indirect emissions. These are sometimes referred to as “scope 1”, “scope 2” and “scope 3”.
The scope of the NZE/NZC EnMS should include, at a minimum, all operational energy consumption. It
may optionally include:
— embodied energy in goods and services purchased by the organization;
— energy used in the production of capital items, such as the construction of a new building;
— energy released through exothermic reactions and used by the organization (e.g. an organic Rankine
cycle turbine generating electricity using captured waste heat).
Where energy is consumed both as a source of process energy and as a feedstock, the organization should
ensure that it accounts for the energy use. The scope should include all renewable energy generated
within the NZE target boundaries, whether it is used on site or exported across the boundaries. The
scope should also include energy flows into or out from energy storage, such as utility-scale batteries or
inter-seasonal thermal stores.
The NZE objectives set by the organization should be aligned with the NZE target boundaries and NZE
scope (see 4.4).
The NZE scope can frequently be narrower than the scope for NZC or carbon neutrality. NZC/neutrality
may extend to all GHGs and include fugitive or other emissions not associated with the energy
consumption. It may also include a wider scope of other indirect emissions, e.g. by including emissions
associated with employee travel to work or the use phase of products.
The organization should document the NZE target boundaries and NZE scope that it has selected
for each chosen NZE target. If these are different compared with NZC or carbon neutrality, it should
document the reasons for the differences. The organization should periodically review the NZE target
boundaries and NZE scope to ensure that they are still appropriate and, where relevant, aligned with
the EnMS.
4.3 NZE plans
4.3.1 General
Energy plans should focus first on reducing energy consumption through energy performance
improvement actions (EPIAs), which has several benefits:
— implementation of these actions can open the possibility of new EPIAs as part of continual
improvement;
— these actions are usually less expensive to implement than other approaches to net zero;
— improvements in product or service quality or other hard-to-measure features;
— integration of renewable energy sources that vary with the weather into regional electric grids.
Thus, the implementation of NZE should:
a) reduce energy consumption by improvement of energy performance during operation;
b) minimize energy consumption (improve energy performance) through good design and
construction;
c) transfer the remaining energy consumption to less carbon-intensive or renewable energy;
d) change the timing of energy consumption to reduce the amount of energy consumption or emissions
from power plants supplying the facility or organization (see 4.4, 4.5 and 4.6).
This list reflects a prioritized sequence of actions, which has been the observed outcome in the data
from NZE buildings, where the typical energy intensity is about half of typical new construction with
equipment, systems or energy using processes (see Figure 3).
Examples of actions for NZE implementation include:
— enhancing an EnMS by installing smart meters;
— controlling the air handling unit to improve energy efficiency on building, factory, home, etc;
— installing PV on the roof of the facility.
NOTE For the implementation of NZE, the organization can plan to minimize energy demand, maximize
energy efficiency, optimize EIR and to implement EnMS. For organizations that consider implementing an EnMS
for NZE or NZC with the relationship between NZE design, construction and operation, see Annex A.
Figure 3 — Schematic diagram for the NZE building
4.3.2 NZE policy as part of an organization’s energy plan
An appropriate NZE or NZC policy should be established for each organization, taking into account the
size, use, region and significant energy uses (SEUs) of the organization and by evaluating the amount of
renewable generation and energy efficiency improvement potentially available.
An energy plan outline incorporating NZE or NZC should include these components:
a) developing the actions to improve energy performance;
b) time frame, milestones and timing of actions to achieve NZE or NZC;
c) energy performance and emissions metrics and metric values used to track progress (e.g. values
for milestones or independence rate);
d) implementation of operational performance quantification capabilities, which can include real-
time or regular-time interval monitoring and optimizing energy through data-based analysis;
e) utilizing renewable energy sources (amount and acquisition date).
The technologies and design methods for improving energy performance, generating renewable
energy and storing energy to change the time of energy consumption continue to improve. Accordingly,
the energy plan should be based on the assumption that new opportunities emerge both from the
organization’s EnMS, and also from newly externally available options, for incorporation into the
organization’s energy plan.
4.4 Defining the energy or carbon-emission goals
4.4.1 General
The organization should specify the initial and future NZE targets for the facility seeking NZE
recognition or for the organization as a whole. This specification should include the following
components in its management system:
a) commitment by top management to an energy policy that includes a multi-year energy plan with
quantitative energy targets;
b) a management process that continually identifies and implements energy or carbon-performance
improvement;
c) a measurement system capable of tracking whether or not the organization is meeting those
targets;
d) a mechanism that can correct departures from achieving the targets;
e) a defined scope and boundary for the EnMS and the zero energy performance indicators (zEnPIs),
making it clear what energy uses are counted toward energy consumption and what renewable
energy can be counted toward an NZE target;
f) for any non-energy-related GHG the organization chooses to manage, the performance indicators
should include one or more indicators relating to non-energy-related GHG emissions or total
emissions.
NOTE GHG emissions are generally categorized as follows:
— scope 1: direct GHG emission: GHG emission from GHG sources owned or controlled by the organization;
— scope 2: energy indirect GHG emission: GHG emission that is a consequence of an organization’s energy use
inside the organizational boundaries, but that arises from GHG sources that are not owned or controlled by
the organization;
— scope 3: other indirect GHG emission: GHG emission that is a consequence of an organization’s operations and
activities, but that arises outside the organizational boundary.
The measurement system required to track progress toward goal achievement sometimes needs to
include methods to calculate carbon reductions. The organization should rely on publicly available
sources or methods to do this and should be able to support the calculations it undertakes. If there is
no approved local source, the organization may choose to use approaches such as the Greenhouse Gas
[18] [9]
Protocol , ANSI/RESNET/ICC 301-2019 Addendum D-2022 or the carbon calculator built into the
[16]
50001 Ready Navigator .
The organization should select a definition for renewable energy that is the most restrictive of the
following:
— the organization’s own definition of renewable energy;
— the jurisdiction’s definition of renewable energy, which can refer to both the jurisdiction in which
the facility(ies) is located and the jurisdiction(s) in which the renewable energy sources are located;
— clean renewable energy.
If the organization uses a definition that differs from clean renewable energy, or from national or other
requirements, then it should explain and justify its choice of definition.
4.4.2 Energy management system
This document provides guidance on how to track both energy consumption and renewable energy
production. It also recommends using current and future-year targets for one or several zEnPIs (see
4.5). NZE should be based on measured, normalized energy data, as the goal involves both process and
equipment design and operational effectiveness.
The organization should have established an EnMS so that issues related to energy use and consumption
are being fully and satisfactorily covered. The organization should integrate its EnMS with its renewable
energy generation projections to achieve its objectives. In this way, the organization should participate
in the construction of the EnMS, determining boundaries, scope and all its management elements:
planning, support and operation, performance evaluation and improvements.
The organization implementing NZE should consider the most efficient manner of integrating into the
EnMS and should be capable of:
— determining if the chosen target of NZE was met in a given year;
— taking corrective action when a target of NZE was not met;
— establishing more ambitious NZE targets.
NOTE 1 The concept of more ambitious NZE targets is explained in 4.6.
The EnMS should define carefully what energy uses are within its scope and boundaries. Energy uses
can include:
— which fuels are consumed at the facility;
— whether electricity is used to charge motor vehicles at a building or premise, where the chargers are
located, and how this electricity is counted toward the selected NZE goals.
The energy used to charge electric motor vehicles is often not included in the calculation of building
NZE unless the vehicles being charged are included in the NZE or NZC boundary. The ability to use
the vehicles’ batteries for storage should be within the defined time interval of energy calculation (e.g.
hourly calculations) or part of an NZC calculation that includes both the building and vehicles.
NOTE 2 Carbon emissions from all fuels used for transport are part of suggested Goal 5 (see 4.6).
For the NZC goals, the organization should consider whether a joint EnMS that includes organizations
in its supply chain is appropriate, allowing the scope and boundaries to include supplier organizations.
For guidance on how to establish an EnMS for multiple organizations, see ISO 50009.
4.4.3 Renewable energy
The organization should establish rules for the conditions under which renewable energy should be
counted to offset its energy consumption. These rules should inform its operations and investment
decisions in its energy plans. The rules should give a preference for on-site clean renewable energy that
is under the direct control of the management of the facility.
The organization should consider including the following in these rules:
— excluding credit toward meeting an NZE goal from offsets or renewable energy credits that are
unrelated to the operation of the facility or of the organization;
— excluding credit for renewable resources located on the facility site but owned and operated by
others for the sale of energy off-site.
The organization may consider including the following in its rules allowing off-site renewable energy:
— discount factors dependent on a specified combination of factors relating to the distance of the
generation from the facility site;
— the ability of the facility or organization to control the output and the generation;
— the degree of directness of the transmission facilities connecting renewables to the facility(ies);
— the ownership of the generation;
— the exclusivity that the facility has with respect to the facility’s use of the output of the renewable
energy;
— the extent of connection of the generation to the grid on which the facility relies, or to any grid at all;
— the quality and duration of contracts for the energy between the owner or operator of the generation
and the management of the facility;
— the ability to physically inspect the renewable generation facility to allow for an audit or review.
The rules should include retiring any renewable energy credits that are counted toward meeting the
NZE goal. The renewable energy can be generated on-site or off-site depending on the availability on-
site (sun, wind) or on the cost effectiveness of renewable generation. The organization should consider
renewable generation and energy performance improvement on-
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