Industrial Energy Management Systems in Italy: state of the art and perspective.

Despite the economic crisis, the impact of industry sector share on the total primary energy demand in Italy is still significant. The certification of companies according to the standard ISO 50001:2011 ("Energy management systems - Requirements and guidelines for use"), can represent a key element in the achievement of objectives set in the 20-20-20 Climate-Energy Package. This paper illustrates the state of implementation of ISO 50001 certifications in Italy, reporting on the results of a questionnaire carried out as a part of a master's thesis project at Sapienza, University of Rome in collaboration with FIRE (Italian Federation for the Rational Use of Energy) that included the major certification bodies, certified companies and consultants. The purpose is to outline the current situation, identify the perspectives and highlight the pros and cons related to the implementation of an Energy Management System (EnMS). The big picture shows that Italy, one of the leading countries in energy efficiency policies, suffers from a significant delay in the implementation of the EnMS in industry with respect to Germany. The results of the survey also show that the definition of energy performance indicators, as well as the individuations of an energy baseline and a monitoring plan constitute the requirements most critical to comply with for companies than for consultants. It also appears that more than 35% of companies already ISO 50001 certified have received benefits in terms of cumulative energy saving above 5%, and that the main reason why they have implemented an EnMS is related to the potential impact on increasing the competitiveness of the core business. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]