It is called the Energy Saving Opportunity (ESOS) but it is a piece of obligatory legislation and failure to comply with it can result in fines of up to £50,000.

It is not something that will apply to most stone companies because you have to have more than 250 employees and a turnover of more than €50million to be included. But it is worth keeping an eye on it because what starts with larger companies often filters through to smaller companies eventually.

You have probably never heard of ESOS. Apparatently even a “significant proportion” of Britain’s largest companies that will be effected by it are still in the dark about it, according to the certification body BM TRADA.

The scheme, administered by the Environment Agency, requires organisations to conduct energy assessments of their buildings, industrial processes and transportation methods and identify whether improvements can be made.

Corporations that have UKAS accredited ISO 50001:2011 Energy Management Systems certification are generally exempt from ESOS, although they still have to register and an energy audit is still obligatory.

Vic Bowen, Chief Operating Officer at BM TRADA – Certification UK, said yesterday: “The clock is ticking on ESOS. Despite this, it seems that a significant proportion of larger businesses and organisations are still in the dark about the scheme, whether they qualify and what their legal responsibilities are if they do."

ESOS came into force on 17 July in response to the European Commission’s Energy Efficiency Directive (EED), which requires all 28 Member States of the EU to introduce regular corporate energy audits. Qualification date is 31 December. If you qualify on that date, you have until 5 December 2015 to submit your audit.

The aim is to cut Europe’s total energy consumption by 20% within four years by improving efficiency in major corporations. And don't forget, reducing your energy consumption also redcues your energy bills.

Businesses and organisations that qualify for ESOS on 31 December (about 9,000 across the UK) will have to carry-out ESOS assessments every four years after next year's initial assessment.

Although the scheme is mandatory, organisations that qualify for ESOS but are fully covered by UKAS-accredited ISO 50001:2011 Energy Management Systems certification are deemed to meet the requirements of ESOS and don’t need to carry out an ESOS assessment, although they still have to notify the Environment Agency of their compliance.

Those organisations that qualify for ESOS but which are not fully covered by ISO 50001 certification will need to carry out an ESOS assessment to determine what needs to be done to comply with the ESOS regulations.

For further information about ESOS and about ISO 50001:2011 Energy Management Systems certification, go to www.bmtrada.com