Businesses are being reminded they have one month to measure energy consumption, including fleet operations, as part of the Energy Saving Opportunity Scheme (ESOS).
In all, some 10,000 large organisations in the UK must carry out energy audits for Phase 2 of ESOS by December 5 to ensure compliance.
The EU-wide legislation is a mandatory energy assessment scheme for organisations in the UK with more than 250 employees or a turnover above €50m.
They must submit their completed audits to the Environment Agency. Failure to comply with the December 5, deadline could result in a penalty of up to £50,000.
ESOS requires businesses to audit their energy use every four years and identify cost-effective measures that reduce energy use and emissions and improve efficiency.
Compliant audits must be based on 12 months of data, analyse energy consumption and efficiency, and identify energy saving opportunities. It covers buildings, industrial processes and transport.
The results of transport audits completed by Cenex during Phase 1, involving more than 10,000 vehicles in 2015, identified potential fuel cost savings of between £10,000 – £1 million for organisations, depending on the implementation of measures and strategies recommended, translating to reduced emissions and cleaner transport.
Rob Anderson, senior fleet specialist at Cenex, said: “Assessing the energy consumption from your fleet operation can be a challenge, but complying with ESOS has the potential to deliver significant benefits in terms of reduced fuel consumption, greater efficiency and lower costs.
“With one month remaining before the compliance deadline, eligible businesses need to work quickly to ensure relevant assessments and audits are carried out effectively.”
Cenex, the UK’s Centre of Excellence for Low Carbon and Fuel Cell technologies, operates as an independent not-for-profit consultancy and research organisation.
It accelerates the shift to low emission transport and energy solutions by delivering projects that support innovation and market development.
Cenex has reduced the environmental impacts and delivered cost savings for a wide range of public and private sector clients, delivering multi-year programmes and shorter-term projects associated with low carbon vehicles and energy infrastructure.
Source: FleetNews
