This step is relevant to sections 4.2.1 and 4.2.2 of the ISO 50001-2011 standard.
Top management must appoint a management representative to oversee the energy management system (EnMS). This position has overall responsibility for ensuring that the EnMS is established, maintained and continually improved, and for reporting to top management on the EnMS and energy performance. The person fulfilling this role needs to have the requisite skills and qualifications to meet this responsibility.
There are three tasks involved in appointing and authorizing a management representative:
While it helps to have an understanding of energy concepts, it is not required that the management representative be an energy expert or have a technical background. Two of the most important assets are strong communication and leadership skills. Someone who is established in the organization and has the respect of peers and management are also desired qualities. The management representative will work with a team (see Step 1.5) and must possess the capabilities necessary to guide the team and the organization in setting up, operating, and improving the EnMS and energy performance. If the management representative does not have a technical background, appropriate technical expertise should be a part of the energy team.
Typical energy management representative skills and qualifications include:
Typically, a single person fills the role of management representative. But, depending on your organization, it may be necessary to share the responsibilities between two or more individuals.
The management representative may not have ISO 50001 knowledge. While this would obviously be a benefit, the skills above are the important selection criteria. If the management representative is not experienced with ISO 50001, provide or obtain the appropriate training. It is important that the management representative be familiar with the standard and the connections between the requirements. Training may be obtained off-site through an external training provider or can be provided in conjunction with on-site training for the energy team and other personnel in your organization, including top management.
Top management appoints the management representative and establishes the representative’s authority to execute the assigned EnMS responsibilities. Having the appropriate authority with employees and members of the energy team is critical for the management representative. Even if the management representative holds a job position that is lower in the chain of command than some employees or energy team members, the management representative must have authority insofar as the EnMS is concerned. The management representative will need cooperation and assistance from many different individuals and parts of your organization, so it is important that the management representative’s responsibilities and authorities be clearly defined, communicated and understood across the organization.
The responsibilities and authorities of the management representative are to:
Management must clearly define and convey these responsibilities and authorities as part of appointing the management representative. Management also supports the management representative by providing the time and resources necessary to conduct the activities associated with these responsibilities. Some of the typical activities of a management representative include:
While the management representative has overall responsibility for leading the implementation and operation of the EnMS, top management (see Step 1.3), the energy team (see Step 1.5) and other individuals will work together with the management representative to accomplish these tasks.
Record top management’s appointment of the management representative to provide evidence of the responsibilities and authorities assigned to the selected individual(s). This can be a stand-alone record that is maintained and controlled in accordance with the requirements for control of records (see Step 3.3). Or it could be documented within the energy manual, if your organization has chosen to prepare one for the EnMS. (See Energy Manual Guidelines for a discussion about using an energy manual for the EnMS.)
Top management communicates the appointment and the associated authorities of the management representative across the organization. This position represents an allocation of resources to the EnMS and helps convey the importance top management has placed on energy management and energy performance improvement. It also introduces the management representative and promotes cooperation as the management representative forms the energy team and moves forward with initial EnMS implementation.
Communicating the appointment of the management representative is the first step in introducing the EnMS to your organization and creating organizational awareness about the importance of energy. See Step 1.8 for further discussion of management’s role in ongoing energy awareness communications.
Organizations implementing an ISO 50001 EnMS should review the Energy Manual Guidelines, which provides information on using an energy manual to document the elements of the EnMS, which could include the appointment of the management representative.
Single license electronic copies of the ISO 50001 standard can be purchased from GTESS.
Site licenses (for posting on internal networks) can be purchased from ANSI.
