27 June 2014
Large firms that fail to comply with the government's Energy Saving Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) could be fined up to £50,000.
The latest update from DECC about the scheme, which implements part of the EU Energy Efficiency Directive, provides more details about which organisations will have to comply with the scheme and the penalties for failing to do so.
Under the mandatory scheme "larger undertakings" will have to carry out audits on energy use of buildings, processes and transport every four years to identify cost-effective, energy-saving measures.
The deadline for qualifying organisations to make their first assessment and notify the Environment Agency is 5 December 2015.
Failure to carry out an assessment could lead to a £50,000 penalty with fines of £5,000 for failing to notify the Environment Agency or maintain adequate records.
"Larger undertakings" are defined as organisations with at least 250 staff or a turnover of more than 50 million (£40 million) and an annual balance sheet in excess of 43 million (£34.4 million).
Corporate groups qualify if at least one UK group member is a large undertaking.
ESOS assessments are not needed for organisations that are fully covered by ISO 50001 Energy Management System, although they do need to notify the Environment Agency of this.
Further details on the ESOS scheme, your obligations and how to comply with them is set out in the ESOS guidance.