Each year, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) designates October as National Energy Action Month, providing support and publicity for ongoing efforts to encourage proactive approaches to advancing energy efficiency and security within the United States. The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) salutes National Energy Action Month and is proud to support national energy efficiency efforts through its work on a number of related initiatives.
While sustainability and energy efficiency have received increased attention from government, industry, and nonprofit groups in recent years, additional efforts are required to increase awareness about needed and currently existing standards and codes related to this important topic. To help address this need, ANSI launched its Energy Efficiency Standardization Coordination Collaborative (EESCC), which focuses on assessing energy efficiency standardization in the built environment and providing guidance regarding standards gaps and other needs. Earlier this year, the EESCC released its landmark EESCC Standardization Roadmap, providing readers with 125 recommendations supporting energy, water, and cost savings in the built environment; the roadmap is available for free download online from www.ansi.org/eescc, along with the supplemental EESCC Inventory Database. Since the roadmap's release, the EESCC has begun a second phase, which centers on work to support action on the recommendations contained in the roadmap. To join EESCC Phase Two and to support efforts in the important area, fill out the participation response form and email it to [email protected]. To inform the EESCC about planned or ongoing work to close a standardization gap identified in the roadmap, please complete the EESCC Standardization Action Form.
In addition, ANSI recently launched the ANSI Network on Smart and Sustainable Cities (ANSSC) to gather input from local governments and stakeholder organizations on energy-related topics and other issues that cities face, while promoting discussion and awareness of standardization needs and efforts in this essential sector. The ANSSC recently held a web meeting to discuss ISO 50001:2011, Energy management systems - Requirements with guidance for use, which provides energy management guidelines for industrial plants, commercial facilities, and entire organizations, with the goal of assisting these groups to integrate energy efficiency into their management practices. The meeting featured Aimee T. McKane, chair of the ANSI-accredited U.S. Technical Advisory Group (TAG) to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) committee responsible for ISO 50001 [see related story]. ANSI serves as the Secretariat, in conjunction with ABNT, the Brazilian national standards body, for the ISO Project Committee (PC) that is specifically tasked with the work on ISO 500001 - ISO PC 242, Energy management.
ANSI also carries out energy-related work in connection with accreditation. ANSI and the ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board are recognized by the DoE as the third-party accreditors for certification bodies that conduct SEP audits under the DOE's Superior Energy Performance (SEP) program. This program provides existing industrial facilities from a broad range of industries that are ISO 50001:2011-certified with a roadmap for achieving ongoing energy performance gains without sacrificing financial competitiveness. For more information about ANSI Accreditation Services, visit www.ansi.org/accreditation.
ANSI is proud to promote the importance of energy efficiency across the nation through these and other activities and initiatives. To learn more about National Energy Action Month, visit its official website.