The path to building the business case and gaining management buy-in and commitment for the implementation of an ISO 50001 energy management system (EnMS) starts with these tasks:

• 1.2.1 Identify the benefits and business drivers
• 1.2.2 Prepare briefing for top management
• 1.2.3 Brief top management

1.2.1 Identify the benefits and business drivers

As ISO 50001 gains traction in the marketplace, implementation case studies and other analyses are reporting the benefits of this systematic approach to energy management. These include:

• Improved operational efficiencies
• Decreased energy intensity
• Energy data for fact-based decisions
• Support for organizational and cultural change
• Drivers for organizational integration
• Reduced environmental impacts
• Competitive advantages over firms that neglect resource management
• Visible demonstration of social responsibility
• Positioning for carbon accounting

Learn about the benefits that other organizations have experienced with their EnMS. Check the web for examples in your own or related industries. See, for example:

The Business Case for Energy Efficiency

ISO 50001 and Its Benefits

Consider the potential benefits of an EnMS within the context of your organization’s priorities and needs. The process of building the business case involves connecting the benefits of the EnMS with the business drivers of your organization. Business drivers are the factors that influence or direct your organization’s strategy and goals and therefore its business needs. Management will want to know how the EnMS and improved energy efficiency affect the organization’s business drivers.

Some examples of different types of business drivers are:

• Financial
• Legal
• Social
• External
• Internal

The “Business Drivers and the EnMS” Resource Sheet discusses different types of business drivers and provides examples of how energy management can impact them. The management representative (Step 1.4) and the energy team members (Step 1.5) should review this information and identify the business drivers relevant to your organization. Then, work to ensure management understands these impacts by presenting information in terms that are important to management. If the management representative and energy team members have not been appointed yet, then someone who is willing to champion the initiative should accept this responsibility.

As part of preparing the business case, consider identifying “key internal influencers” within your organization. Internal influencers are individuals who do or could have interest or influence on decisions related to energy. To gain support for the development and operation of the EnMS, it can be helpful to identify these individuals from among management and the employees. Identify how energy is important to them and what would encourage their support and participation. For example:

Building Manager or Production Manager – primary focus is energy availability

Purchasing Manager – primary focus is energy cost

Maintenance Manager – primary focus is energy quality and availability

Environmental Manager – primary focus is on environmental impacts (e.g. pollution) from energy consumption

Ensure that the needs of the internal influencers related to energy use (i.e. application of energy) and energy consumption (i.e. quantity of energy applied) are understood and addressed within the business case. The Example Key Internal Influencers Worksheet illustrates how this information can be captured. A blank Key Internal Influencers Worksheet is available for your use.

1.2.2 Prepare briefing for top management

If management has not already committed to EnMS implementation or if commitment is lacking, they will need to be sold on the benefits so they can get on board and provide the support required for EnMS implementation to succeed. Prepare a briefing for top management that considers the following:

The target audience is management. What are the drivers that are important to them? Management is typically interested in the bottom line, but there may be other drivers that are important. Focus on these items. Make the presentation complete but brief. Management frequently just wants to hear the major facts. Have additional data available if more detail is requested, but if presentation timelines are provided, stick to them.

Focus on what you are trying to convey. Present the background required to support the benefits of an EnMS and don’t mix in other issues or ideas unless they are directly related. Focus on the continual improvement-based nature of the management system and the direct impacts on the well-being and improvement of the organization.

Present the benefits in management’s terms. Using the drivers already identified, present the benefits in terms of those drivers. Make sure management understands the benefits to be realized with respect to their key items of interest.

Understand the desired objective. What is the expected result of this presentation? Provide information to encourage that result or offer suggestions.

It can be helpful to begin preparations for the briefing by developing the elevator speech. An elevator speech is a short summary used to get a point across quickly and simply, and should be completed in less than two minutes. Use the Elevator Speech Worksheet to focus on the information that is essential to convey and then expand to the time available. Regardless of the amount of time available, make sure the important points are covered at the beginning of the presentation. To make sure management hears the information you want to share, an old adage is appropriate here: "Tell them what you are going to tell them, then tell them, and then tell them what you told them."

1.2.3 Brief top management

Brief top management using the information prepared in the previous task. Develop a presentation using the organization’s standard presentation tools or other format that best displays the information. Stay within the timeframe provided and stick with the planned presentation. Be prepared to answer questions and provide more detail if requested.

Examples of questions that management might ask in the briefing are:

• What do we currently spend each year on energy?
• What are the estimated cost savings that potentially we could realize in 1 to 2 years?
• What will be the time commitment by the energy management team?
• What are the biggest challenges to implementing an ISO 50001 EnMS?
• What will you need from me (top management) to make this program successful?

The intent of the presentation is to briefly provide the information needed for management to make any necessary decisions and to provide any details they require. If the topic begins to stray from the information required to address the final objective, put the presentation back on track by bringing the group back to the presentation materials. The Example Management Briefing Agenda can help you stay on track during the presentation. Adjust this agenda based on the available time.

These implementation resources for Step 1.2 are useful for understanding and communicating the benefits of EnMS implementation:

• "Business Drivers and the EnMS" Resource Sheet
• Example Key Internal Influencers Worksheet
• Key Internal Influencers Worksheet
• Elevator Speech Worksheet
• Example Management Briefing Agenda