What are the documentation requirements for Superior Energy Performance?

Documentation requirements for SEP parallel many of the documentation requirements of ISO 50001. This includes collecting and reporting data on all energy uses — assembling energy bills, meter readings, and other energy use data. This also includes collecting and presenting data for management reviews and conducting the management reviews. Energy data may reside in the accounting department, it may be held centrally or at each facility, or can be acquired by contacting the appropriate utilities or energy service providers. To facilitate data collection, it is important to document existing system operations through standard operating procedures, maintain plans on site and have Operations and Maintenance (O&M) manuals with a system narrative for each site. In addition, adopting a formal computerized maintenance management system will also help define energy project life cycle costs. Conformance with ISO 50001 will demonstrate that the facility or company has identified its energy uses and energy footprint with a baseline of energy use.

Organizations seeking SEP certification need to establish a baseline using the energy data going back 12 months prior to the decision to become SEP certified. It is recommended that they gather at least two years of monthly data on facility and operational energy consumption. A central element of SEP is demonstration of an improvement in energy performance.  Therefore, one of the main documentation requirements of SEP is to document improvements in energy consumption. This requires establishment of performance indicators that relate energy consumption to production output in order to document improvements in energy intensity. One benefit of this documentation is that it facilitates the ability to replicate implementation of the EnMS across different business units and facilitates publicity of the organization’s energy management successes.

In addition, firms seeking SEP certification may conduct energy assessments on various systems. If they use the system assessment standards that exist for four industrial energy systems: pumping, compressed air, steam, and process heating, there are additional documentation requirements related to meeting minutes, assessment data collection, assessment reporting  and findings.