The process of planning the EnMS starts at a strategic level and, based upon the analysis performed in this task, finishes in tactical actions that are described in subsequent 50001 Ready Navigator tasks. The analysis conducted in this tasks makes use of the outputs from Task 1 An EnMS and Your Organization and Task 2 People and Legal Requirements Affecting the EnMS to determine the strategic risks and opportunities that can affect what you want to achieve with your EnMS; in other words, the strategic business risks and opportunities that need to be addressed to prevent or reduce negative impacts on the EnMS and to ensure that the EnMS is continually improved and energy performance improvement is achieved.

The phrase “risks and opportunities” broadly refers to something that poses a threat having a detrimental or negative effect, or alternatively, something that has the potential for a beneficial or positive effect. Your organization decides on the means or method to determine what are and are not risks and opportunities. The identification process can be formal or informal, quantitative or qualitative. The optional Playbook worksheet can be used to assess previously identified risks and opportunities associated with specific issues and interested parties’ requirements.

Consider adding the output of your analysis to the Task 1 An EnMS and Your Organization Playbook worksheet. Although documenting this information is not required by ISO 50001, it is helpful for future reference. Most organizations develop some kind of documented information to at least capture the planned actions. The Playbook worksheet for this task can be a helpful “one-stop shop” to capture the issues you identified in Task 1 An EnMS and Your Organization and the guidance in Task 2 People and Legal Requirements Affecting the EnMS, along with information on the associated risks and opportunities and actions to address them.

The risks and opportunities information should be developed by the energy team with input or review from top management. Your organization may have already performed risk and opportunities identification activities such as Strength/ Weakness/ Opportunities/ Threats (SWOT) analyses, PESTLE (political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environmental factors) analyses, “What If” analyses, and structured brainstorming.

Once the risks and opportunities arising from your organization’s strategic external and internal issues and legal and other requirements have been determined, actions to address them must be planned. However, before considering new actions, consider whether these risks are already managed or the opportunities are already being leveraged. Your organization may already have objectives, action plans, projects, programs, operational controls, or other relevant actions or initiatives in place.

Note that these different types of planned actions should use the processes and mechanisms within the EnMS. This is how the actions are best integrated into your EnMS. The optional Playbook worksheet illustrates one approach to capturing information on the planned actions, whether those actions are new or already in place.

There is no requirement that planned actions have to be action plans, as discussed in Task 13 Action Plans for Continual Improvement. Action plans can be a useful approach if the actions to be taken are new and it is appropriate to define more fully what is to be done, when, by whom, the resources required, and the method of verifying the results. But, in some cases, an operational control (e.g., documented procedure, physical device, training, competence of personnel) could be sufficient to mitigate a risk or leverage an opportunity.

Information on (or references to) the planned actions can be added to the optional Playbook worksheet.

Regardless of the approach taken, using the processes of the EnMS to implement the actions supports their integration into your organization’s daily activities and operations. When planning and implementing the actions to address risks and opportunities, be sure those actions are integrated into the EnMS and energy performance processes and evaluate them for effectiveness.

Evaluating effectiveness of the actions taken is concerned with whether the intended results have been or are being achieved (i.e., mitigation or elimination of the risk, taking advantage of the opportunities). Common approaches can include the use of measuring and monitoring techniques (see Task 20 Monitoring and Measurement of the EnMS, internal audits (see Task 22 Internal Audit and management review (see Task 23 Management Review).

Consider your stakeholders - have there been any changes that may introduce risks or opportunities?  Similarly, have there been any new regulations or directives that may introduce risks or opportunities?

Task 7 builds on Task 1 and 2. The planning for the EnMS must address risks and opportunities. The key to is do an intentional review to plan for possible hazards that could impact your EnMS and take action to avoid these.

A good question to ask here:

"Please show me an example of one of your risks to the EnMS and explain what the risk is, your actions to avoid it and the effectiveness of your actions. Did your planning, in fact, help you to avoid this risk?"

If you do not have an existing 50001 Ready-based EnMS and want to build one that helps your organization manage energy-related GHG emissions, for this task you should follow the guidance in the “Full Description” tab keeping the following in mind:

1. Identify the risks and opportunities pertaining to the EnMS. Make sure to include energy-related GHG emissions in Task 1: An EnMS and Your Organization and Task 2: People and Legal Requirements Affecting the EnMS.   Use the outputs from those two tasks, as well any of the documents or approaches listed above, to assess energy-related GHG emissions risks and opportunities
2. Plan and implement actions to address risks and opportunities.  Plan actions to address any new risks or opportunities.   However, before considering new actions, consider whether these risks are already managed or the opportunities are already being leveraged. Your organization may already have objectives, action plans, projects, programs, operational controls, or other relevant actions or initiatives in place.

If you have an existing 50001 Ready-based EnMS and want to adapt it to also manage energy-related GHG emissions, for this task you should:

1. Identify the risks and opportunities pertaining to the EnMS.  Make sure you have updated Task 1: An EnMS and Your Organization and Task 2: People and Legal Requirements Affecting the EnMS to include energy-related GHG emissions.  Use the outputs from those two tasks, as well any of the documents or approaches listed above, to assess energy-related GHG emissions risks and opportunities.  Update documentation where relevant to reflect results of this assessment.  If there are significant changes to the risks and opportunities, review the new list with top management and obtain necessary approvals.
2. Plan and implement actions to address risks and opportunities.  If needed, plan actions to address any new risks or opportunities.   However, before considering new actions, consider whether these risks are already managed or the opportunities are already being leveraged. Your organization may already have objectives, action plans, projects, programs, operational controls, or other relevant actions or initiatives in place.
3. Plan for how the actions taken will be evaluated.  For any new planned actions developed, be sure they are integrated into the EnMS and energy performance processes and evaluate them for effectiveness. Common approaches can include the use of measuring and monitoring techniques (see Task 20: Monitoring and Measurement of the EnMS), internal audits (see Task 22: Internal Audit) and management review (see Task 23: Management Review).

The guidance for this task is from the following sections from the ERP Framework: ERP Framework Milestone 1.

In parallel to defining evaluation criteria, stakeholders should identify internal and external strategic opportunities and risks that may impact or improve the organization’s ability to develop and achieve the intended outcomes of the ERP and work with stakeholders to implement actions to address these risks. Example opportunity and risk analysis may include the following (Milestone 1):

• Identify tax credits and incentives that can be leveraged for decarbonization projects.
• Review potential risks for increasing GHG emissions due to acquisitions or new construction.
• Identify current and future federal, state, and local legal and regulatory requirements that may apply to the organization’s building energy or GHG emissions, and ensure the ERP supports compliance.
• Assess voluntary commitments the organization has made and consider how they may overlap or conflict with planning, data collection, and governance of the ERP.

Risks to and opportunities for impactful emissions reduction may be significantly different than risks to and opportunities for a successful energy management system, and potentially in conflict.  So, care should be taken to identify all possible risks and opportunities and to properly plan how they will be addressed.

The guidance for Task 7 is found within the following sections of the ERP Industrial Framework:

Milestone 1:

Sustainability and project management teams can identify opportunities and provide risk assessments, and understand regulatory and reporting requirements.

An ERP should always be developed with all targets in mind, since the strategies to achieve short-term targets may not necessarily set an organization up to achieve their long-term targets cost-effectively.

Milestone 3:

Portfolio-level GHG Emissions Reduction Assessment – Conduct a portfolio-level GHG emissions reduction assessment to identify, quantify, and prioritize ERMs that are implemented, led, and/or approved at the portfolio level, such as strategic energy management, clean energy procurement, demand management/load flexibility, circular economy strategies, or strategic business changes.  This can also help companies understand the risks and opportunities associated with transitioning to a low-carbon economy.

Ongoing Implementation:

Develop a work plan for the ERP that outlines actions, sets timelines, and assigns personnel and capital. This provides accountability for the projects being implemented. Quantify risks and constraints for ERMs to predict potential delays in implementation. Build in time and resources for analysis, design, implementation, testing, and training for new projects.

Users may refer to 42 U.S. Code § 8258b to understand how data analysis procedures can contribute to communicating the likeliness of meeting specified energy reduction goals.

This task is a continuation of Task 1: An EnMS and Your Organization and Task 2: People and Legal Requirements Affecting the EnMS. Identifying the strategic internal and external issues related to water management in those tasks will help ensure you properly assess how to address those issues in this task.

A variety of approaches may be used to assess water-related risks and opportunities. If your organization has substantial sustainability initiatives or significant water reduction goals, it may have already developed assessment activities related to water management or corporate social responsibility, or on broader issues that can be adapted and leveraged for this task.

The Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) also recommends that organizations use scenario analysis to assess climate related risks and opportunities. If your organization has, or is planning to use, scenario analysis, the water management team can adapt and leverage the results of the analysis for this task.

In addition, various resources, including those listed below, summarize issues for corporate social responsibility (CSR) and/or environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives, which typically include water reduction initiatives. If your organization has a CSR or ESG initiatives, the strategic issues identified by this program can be adapted to assess whether those issues affect your water management and whether your organization’s practices already address some risks and opportunities that are relevant to your water management.

As the water management team completes this task, it will want to decide on a means or method to determine which water-related strategic business risks and opportunities to address. Before considering new actions to address risks or opportunities, consider whether some may already be managed or leveraged by other departments within your organization. Some of the broader issues listed in Task: 1 An EnMS and Your Organization may be important to include as context as to why the organization is managing water use.

There are several ways to mitigate risks that could hinder the successful implementation of water management. Use the following tips when planning water management activities.

Below are some water-specific examples that could mitigate risks and result in the successful implementation of water management.

• One way of mitigating risk to water management is to ensure water supply, wastewater, stormwater issues, and water efficiency best management practices are taken into account at the earliest stages of planning, designing, and construction of your facility.
• When developing the implementation plan, make sure that goals are realistic and achievable. To further reduce risks of implementation, target cost-effective water-efficiency measures. And assign someone to be responsible for tracking water use to evaluate the effectiveness of actions taken.
• Consider including water emergency and drought contingency plans that describe how your facility or agency will meet minimum water needs during emergencies, drought, or other water shortages. Consider assessing the site for future water availability risks that are associated with climate change. At the agency level, this information can be used to target sites that have or may have water availability risks to help prioritize sites for funding water-efficiency projects.

Additional guidance is available through EPA’s WaterSense at Work step 4 (Creating an Action Plan) and is summarized below.

The water management team also should consider developing an emergency contingency plan, which can be a stand-alone document or incorporated into the facility-specific action plan. The emergency contingency plan can help the team further prioritize actions and identify ways to prepare for and respond to significant drought or other water restrictions. When developing an emergency contingency plan, consider the following tips:

• Describe how the facility will meet minimum water needs in an emergency or minimum water use requirements in a drought or water shortage. This may require determining the highest-priority water use needs at the facility and planning for how those needs will continue to be met in an emergency.
• Work with the local water utility and other regional and state associations to ensure that plans are compliant with all requirements and that water use will be reduced regionally as needed.
• Refer to the emergency water supply planning guide for water outages for hospitals and health care facilities developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Water Works Association for examples of issues to consider when developing a facility-specific plan.

Tools and Resources

• Use the FEMP Water Vulnerability Assessment Tool (WaterVAT) to understand water supply trends and water vulnerabilities. (https://www.arcgis.com/apps/dashboards/3b1e28bf76b84710955f26d586c1e962)

This task is closely tied in with task 1, ”An EnMS and Your Organization”.

The Playbook for task 1 is where you will complete most of task 7. (see the “Outputs for Task 7” columns in the “Risks and Opportunity Register” in task 1.  Fill in those columns as part of task 7.)

The focus of tasks 1 and 7 is to understand your organization and identify risk and opportunities that could impact your ability to successfully implement and execute your EnMS.

Risks should be scored, ranked, prioritized, and addressed. Task 1 provides a table to assist with this.

Selected risks in task 1 must include an action plan to mitigate the risk and, later you must evaluate the effectiveness of your action plan.

A periodic review of these risks, action plans, and evaluations is required and annually is typically a good choice. When identifying risks, consider any resilience-related risks that could impact success of the EnMS. 

Requirements for determining and taking action to address risks and opportunities is common text from the ISO’s High Level Structure. As such, ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015, and other ISO management system standards contain similar requirements, but the details can vary. For example, ISO 14001 additionally requires the determination of risks and opportunities related to environmental aspects. The approaches or methods used to identify the risks and opportunities that need to be addressed likely can be applied across the various management systems. The same is true for how associated actions are planned, implemented, and evaluated for effectiveness.

The ENERGY STAR^® Guidelines for Energy Management does not specifically address the determination of strategic risks and opportunities that can affect the intended outcomes of the EnMS and energy performance improvement.