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Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), offers a Canadian bilingual version of the U.S. 50001 Ready program.

The 50001 Ready program is a self-guided approach for facilities to establish an energy management system and self-attest to the structure of ISO 50001, a voluntary global standard for energy management systems in industrial, commercial, and institutional facilities. Central to the 50001 Ready program is the 50001 Ready Navigator tool (Navigator tool), which provides step-by-step guidance that helps you implement your energy management system. The 50001 Ready program offers:

• A self-paced approach for any facility to implement an energy management system without certification.
• Guidance to identify and analyze facility-wide energy use and to develop action plans around energy performance improvements.
• NRCan recognition of Canadian facilities that self-attest to completion of the 25 tasks in the Navigator tool, without the need for external audits. NRCan’s 50001 Ready designation does not replace and is not a substitute for ISO 50001 certification and does not imply endorsement by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

The Navigator tool includes 25 tasks grouped into seven categories that align with the ISO 50001 energy management system standard. Once your facility has embraced the guidance of the 25 tasks in the Navigator tool and has completed the self-attestation form, you are ready to submit your application to be 50001 Ready recognized for your leadership. Recognition for 50001 Ready Canada does not require third-party audits or certification and there is no cost to applicants.

The 50001 Ready program was developed by the U.S. DOE and adapted for the Canadian context in collaboration with NRCan to align with the energy management system best practices outlined in ISO 50001.

Participating in the program ensures that your organization shares a consistent definition of energy management systems and facilitates a team-based approach to its implementation. The Navigator tool is designed to help your organization build towards all parts of ISO 50001, so that you can self-attest to being “50001 Ready” or pursue ISO 50001 and subsequently Superior Energy Performance (SEP) 50001 certification. The SEP program is currently administered by the U.S. DOE but will soon be available in Canada.

An energy management system positions your organization to achieve and sustain energy and cost savings through informed and systematic decision-making. Structuring the management of energy, like most organizations already do with finance, personnel, inventory, production, and quality improves certainty in outcomes and reduces the risk of unexpected energy-related financial obligations. Following implementation of an energy management system, business leaders in all types of organizations have seen substantial improvements in facility energy performance.

By becoming 50001 Ready, cutting-edge organizations will be early leaders in gaining the value of structured energy management systems, and your experiences and input will help guide NRCan as it supports the adoption of these systems and unlocks the resultant savings for the Canadian economy.

The 50001 Ready Navigator tool has multi-site functionality, but recognition is issued at the facility level. (Note that a facility may include multiple buildings or structures, as defined in the Scope and Boundaries task). The 50001 Ready multi-site functionality allows tracking of multiple sites at the corporate/enterprise level and for completion of tasks at the corporate/enterprise level with the ability to “push” the completed task to each site for final approval.

To create a multi-site project, go to My Project Overview, select “New Project”, and then “New Multi-Site Project”. If you have existing projects and want to incorporate them into a multi-site project, contact the 50001 Ready Help Desk at 50001ready@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca.

NRCan will email an official congratulatory letter and a certificate with the NRCan and 50001 Ready Canada program visual identifiers to all 50001 Ready recognized facilities. Additionally, NRCan will maintain a public listing of all 50001 Ready facilities on its web site, and may develop case studies, social media posts, and other written materials that highlight the successes of participating organizations, and publicly recognize facilities as opportunities arise.

Note: While the 50001 Ready Navigator tool is open to all, NRCan recognition for the 50001 Ready Canada program is currently only available to facilities located in Canada. If you have facilities that are located in the U.S., you can find the U.S. 50001 Ready program at https://navigator.canada.lbl.gov.

This can vary widely depending on the complexity of the facility, current energy management activities, resources provided by top management, the availability of energy data, and the extent to which energy improvement opportunities have already been explored.

A typical timeframe for a site is approximately 6 to 12 months. Sites with existing energy or other management systems may be able to complete the implementation within a shorter timeframe.

The 50001 Ready Navigator tool contains extensive guidance on how to complete all the necessary tasks, with worksheets, templates, and other resources available depending on the activity. Key resources are consolidated into the 50001 Ready Playbook, a downloadable workbook companion to the 50001 Ready Navigator.

Additionally, NRCan has established a help desk support function accessible through the Navigator providing e-mail assistance for any questions or concerns you may have while working through the implementation tasks. The help desk is staffed by members from NRCan’s technical team and administrators familiar with the 50001 Ready Canada program. Informative slide decks for each activity grouping are also available in the Navigator on their respective task pages.

There are no direct, financial costs associated with setting up a 50001 Ready management system. NRCan resources are freely available to all. Organizations will need to invest the time of their responsible staff as well as decide whether to invest in energy improvements that sometimes require upfront costs.

The 50001 Ready Canada program offers NRCan recognition for the self-attested achievement of implementing an energy management system in line with the requirements of ISO 50001, without requiring any third-party audits or verification.

Achieving the 50001 Ready designation involves three key steps:

1. Complete the 25 tasks in the 50001 Ready Navigator tool

   Follow the guidance and track your progress through four topic areas (Planning, Energy Review, Continual Improvement, and System Management) in the Navigator tool, an online guide provided by NRCan. The U.S. Department of Energy is responsible for clarifying and updating technical content in the Ready Navigator tool to reflect ISO 50001 standard, even in instances where the Navigator is hosted on another organization’s server. This ensures the quality of the guidance. Any suggested edits or clarifications should be brought to NRCan’s attention. NRCan will work with DOE to address them. A formal collaboration agreement between NRCan and the DOE allows for a consistent cooperative approach to updates done in the Canadian version of the Ready Navigator tool.

2. Self-attest to their completion

   Have your energy management team lead and a senior management representative sign a simple self-attestation form to confirm the establishment of an energy management system once all tasks in the 50001 Ready Navigator tool are completed.

3. Measure and improve energy performance over time

   Use the resources provided in the 50001 Ready Navigator tool. If you currently track energy data in RETScreen or the ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager to model, compare and report energy performance between years, there are instructions for using this data to complete the Energy Performance Improvement Report (EPIR), which is one of the two forms required for 50001 Ready recognition.

NRCan recognition for becoming 50001 Ready is currently only available to facilities located in Canada. If you have facilities in the U.S., please explore the U.S. 50001 Ready program at https://navigator.canada.lbl.gov. For more information, please contact the 50001 Ready Help Desk at 50001ready@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca.

Yes, NRCan recognizes that variances in the timing of EnMS implementation and the requesting of 50001 Ready recognition may skew performance outcomes. Therefore, for initial recognition, a facility may receive the 50001 Ready designation by providing a baseline year of energy consumption.

For subsequent years, providing year-on-year energy performance improvement is required. A facility may have a negative improvement for one year and still maintain NRCan recognition. See the Recognition Requirements page for more details.

The 50001 Ready designation is valid for one year starting from the date that NRCan issues recognition. Following that initial NRCan designation, a facility may choose to renew a total of two times in the two consecutive years immediately following the date of initial designation by submitting, through the Navigator an updated self-attestation form confirming that the EnMS has been maintained along with documentation of energy performance improvement.

After having received initial designation, then renewed designation twice, the facility must re-confirm completion of all 25 tasks by actively marking each task as completed in the Navigator and submitting, through the Navigator an updated self-attestation form confirming that the EnMS has been maintained along with documentation of energy performance improvement.

No, 50001 Ready does not require use of any particular building software or hardware, though an energy management information system (EMIS) and related building management tools could certainly be beneficial in systematizing data collection, monitoring, and auditing.

No, 50001 Ready does not require any public reporting of policies or outcomes. NRCan will list only company names and the location (city, province) of 50001 Ready facilities in its online listing of recognized facilities. Performance data reported through the 50001 Ready program will only be disclosed by NRCan at a program-wide, aggregate level. Organizations will be given the opportunity to share more information about their 50001 Ready experience through case studies and other materials, but this is not required for recognition.

Once the self-attestation form and the energy performance improvement report (EPIR) are submitted through the Navigator tool and the facility has requested 50001 Ready recognition, NRCan program administrators will send an email within two business days acknowledging the receipt of the request and request a short phone meeting to confirm basic information.

Once this “green light” call has been completed, NRCan will do a detailed review of your energy data and will contact you if there are further questions. You can expect your request for 50001 Ready recognition to be processed within 30 business days of receiving your last response to any questions we may have about the information you have submitted.

Some of the information NRCan program administrators will need to verify is below.

1. Are all documents complete?
2. Is energy performance confirmed?
3. Is energy data within 23 months of the submission date?
4. Are personnel and signatories confirmed?
5. Is the facility name confirmed?
6. Is the facility building address confirmed?
7. Is the type of industrial facility or type of commercial/institutional building(s) documented?
8. Is the required energy data provided?

Once your facility is approved for 50001 Ready recognition, your facility status in the Navigator tool is changed to “Approved” and your facility is added to NRCan’s registry of 50001 Ready Canada recognized facilities.

You will receive a letter of congratulations and a 50001 Ready Canada certificate from NRCan.

Follow-up interviews with facility staff may be conducted to inform promotional material and activities or to develop case studies. Participation in these follow up calls is voluntary.

Members of NRCan’s technical and program delivery team familiar with the 50001 Ready Canada program, staff the help desk. Program staff can assist with any questions you might have during the startup and implementation of a 50001 Ready Canada project.

You can reach the help desk by emailing 50001ready@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca.

50001 Ready is a designation from NRCan for facilities that have self-attested to the implementation of an energy management system (EnMS) according to the guidance provided in the 50001 Ready Navigator tool. 50001 Ready is not a certification and is issued solely at the discretion of NRCan. 50001 Ready Canada recognition does not indicate that your 50001 Ready project is conformant to ISO 50001 or will pass an ISO 50001 audit, although becoming 50001 Ready recognized is good preparation for ISO 50001 certification.

ISO 50001 is an international standard of operation that integrates energy efficiency into management practices to increase awareness of energy use, reinforce good energy management behaviors and make better use of existing energy-consuming assets and processes. It also helps organizations to evaluate and prioritize the implementation of new energy-efficient technologies. It requires a third-party audit to confirm the ISO 50001 standards are adopted.

Superior Energy Performance (SEP) is an advanced verification process that attests that ISO 50001 is being used effectively and verifiable energy savings are being realized, and incremental, verifiable energy improvements are being made over time. It requires third-party verification that ISO 50001 standards are in place and energy improvements can be verified. Both ISO 50001 and SEP are administered by the U.S. DOE. NRCan intends to offer a SEP program, adapted for the Canadian context in the near future.

Yes, guidance for 50001 Ready has been designed to match the structure and content of ISO 50001. This means that facilities that achieve 50001 Ready recognition will have an energy management system in place that conforms to ISO 50001 and will be in great position to complete the additional third-party audit to achieve full certification.

Superior Energy Performance (SEP) 50001 certification has additional requirements for third-party verification of energy performance improvement which include both a top-down and bottom-up calculation of energy improvement during the SEP 50001 achievement period. The bottom up calculation, which is not required by 50001 Ready, sums completed energy improvement projects to verify the top down results. The SEP 50001 energy performance improvement bottom up results use linear regression modeling to estimate energy performance improvement. The SEP program is currently only available for facilities in the U.S. but will soon be available in Canada.

50001 Ready Canada recognition does not indicate that your 50001 Ready project is conformant to ISO 50001 or will pass an ISO 50001 audit but is an excellent way to prepare for ISO 50001 certification. The 50001 Ready program is a self-guided approach for facilities to establish an energy management system and self-attest to the structure of ISO 50001. Recognition for 50001 Ready Canada does not require third-party audits or certification and there is no cost to applicants.

Costs and time to achieve ISO 50001 will vary widely depending on organizational complexity. For ISO 50001 certification, NRCan encourages contacting a third-party auditor or certification body for further information. The initial steps to prepare for adopting ISO 50001 are detailed below:

• Purchase ISO 50001
• Take preparatory steps toward establishing an energy management system (EnMS)
• Develop an energy policy that includes commitment to the EnMS from top management
• Identify a management representative to lead implementation of the EnMS
• Establish a team of representatives from major functional areas of the organization
• Decide on the boundaries of the EnMS
• Once prepared, get started with implementing an EnMS:
• Undertake an energy review to identify significant energy uses, their energy consumption, and opportunities for improvement
• Establish an energy baseline
• Identify energy performance indicators for tracking energy performance improvement against the baseline

For additional guidance, NRCan and other organizations offer technical resources to assist with implementation.

An organization would need to become ISO 50001 certified in order to qualify for SEP certification. SEP will be coming soon to Canada.

Becoming 50001 Ready is a good first step in establishing and sustaining an energy management culture in your organization. Achieving ISO 50001 certification and then SEP certification would be the next steps in becoming increasingly rigorous thus achieving more energy, cost and GHG emissions savings.

Many organizations have found that the third-party verification and additional rigor in documenting improvement are beneficial in achieving their energy performance and cost reduction goals. Third-party certifications may also add transparency and credibility to your organization’s energy management and social responsibility leadership claims in communications with customers, investors, and other stakeholders.

If your facility is already ISO 50001 certified, then you have already exceeded the requirements for implementing 50001 Ready Canada. At the enterprise level, you may be interested in working through the 50001 Ready Navigator application to encourage other facilities in your organization or supply chain to pursue the 50001 Ready designation.

50001 Ready designation itself will have no effect on your ability to get recertified to ISO 50001. However, maintenance of your EnMS processes and procedures as outlined in the 50001 Ready Navigator application could certainly help uphold a culture of continually improved energy management, with completion of the Ready recognition process providing a useful organizational status check in preparation for ISO re-certification.

The ISO 50001 standard was updated in 2018 and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has revised the procedures and tasks in the 50001 Ready Navigator application in order to ensure that the 50001 Ready structure aligns more closely with the standard’s recent revisions.

Facilities with an active 50001 Ready designation will not be required to attest to completion of the updated tasks until their designation expires. The Navigator has been updated to reflect changes made to the ISO 50001:2018 energy management standard.

The ENERGY STAR Guidelines for Energy Management follow a similar structure as ISO 50001. Those organizations that use these guidelines will have a head start in completing the tasks contained in the 50001 Ready Navigator. For example, they will already have completed the important steps of establishing an energy team; instituting an energy policy, analyzing energy data, determining potential improvement areas, implementing actions plans, and securing management commitment.

Some additional areas required for 50001 Ready recognition that may not be fully addressed by using the ENERGY STAR guidelines include such things as addressing legal requirements, monitoring and measurement plans, preventive actions, training, procurement, and energy considerations in design. The 50001 Ready Navigator contains built-in ENERGY STAR Energy Management transition tips to help facilities that have utilized ENERGY STAR guidelines understand which 50001 Ready steps they have already satisfied and which may require a little more work or a different approach.

ENERGY STAR certification notes impressive energy performance compared to similar facilities but is not by itself an indication of having an energy management system in place. The energy data required to achieve ENERGY STAR certification can be used to satisfy the reporting requirements under 50001 Ready. Implementing a 50001 Ready EnMS will contribute to energy performance improvements that may be reflected in improved ENERGY STAR scores over time.

The 50001 Ready Navigator tool application is designed for use by any industrial, commercial, including multiunit residential buildings, and institutional organizations looking to implement a structured energy management system (EnMS) at their facilities.

No, the 50001 Ready Navigator is freely available for public use. You do not need to pursue the 50001 Ready designation to set up an account or access the guidance. All guidelines in the Navigator may be used by any entity as they see fit, independent of the NRCan recognition.

No, the 50001 Ready Navigator tool does not provide the ability to upload or store any proprietary or sensitive information. All worksheets and forms provided in the Navigator's resource database are intended for your internal use only and are not to be shared with NRCan or the U.S. Department of Energy through the Navigator or otherwise.

Although the EPIR (energy performance data) is submitted through the 50001 Ready tool, the information is not stored, uploaded or saved in the tool itself but rather, sent directly to an NRCan email box located and maintained in Canada.

The Navigator tool data is used to track 50001 Ready program updates and progress. A limited number of systems administrators have access to the following data in Navigator.

• Project name and contact information
• Facility type and location
• Affiliation with related programs
• Assignment of users to projects and tasks
• Task status
• Task notes inputted by users

Step-by-step guidance is provided within each of the Navigator tasks. The 50001 Ready Navigator worksheets are optional resources for teams to use as they work through the Navigator tasks. These companion resources can be used as needed and on an individual task basis or they can be used collectively by functioning as a comprehensive 50001 Ready repository that we refer to as the Playbook. This 50001 Ready Navigator Playbook enables users to organize, save, and track completed documents on a local drive or network. Users can open, edit, and save forms related to Navigator tasks and track completed actions by checking boxes and recording their progress in the Playbook worksheets. Some activities embedded in the Playbook address several combined tasks and have been distilled to more simplified versions compared to the guidance embedded in the Navigator.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and NRCan are currently developing additional resources to provide guidance for using 50001 Ready Navigator tool. If you have specific requests, suggestions, or questions, please connect with the 50001 Ready Help Desk at 50001ready@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca.

Your assistance in improving these tools is extremely valuable and much appreciated. Please send your comments to the 50001 Ready Navigator management team through the 50001 Ready Help Desk at 50001ready@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca.

The 50001 Ready Navigator tool has been developed by the U.S. Department of Energy and adapted for the Canadian context in collaboration with Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) to align with the energy management system best practices outlined in ISO 50001. Use of the Navigator ensures that your organization shares a consistent definition of energy management systems and facilitates a team-based approach to its implementation. The Navigator tool is designed to help your organization build towards all parts of ISO 50001, so that you can self-attest to being “50001 Ready” or pursue ISO 50001 and subsequently Superior Energy Performance (SEP) 50001 certification (coming soon to Canada).

The 50001 Ready Navigator is comprised of 25 tasks, with each task corresponding directly with establishing the energy management system requirements specified in ISO 50001. Each task includes three tabs that describe the high level 'Getting It Done', general synopsis 'Task Overview', and technical requirements 'Full Description', to help you complete the task.

Once logged in, you can use the Navigator to track your progress on the completion of each task, and of the project as a whole. You can set up multiple projects in Navigator, with each project being a facility as defined in the Navigator’s Scope and Boundaries task. You can also assign tasks to members of your energy team and use the 50001 Ready Navigator to coordinate and streamline your team’s efforts. Find out more about how to use Navigator by exploring the tool (no login required) or reading through the other Frequently Asked Questions.

Have the creator of that project go to the "assignments" tab of each task and select that person as the "approver". That person will need to be on the project team.