Lawrence Berkeley Lab team receives prestigious award for ISO 50001 research and development

The Industrial Applications Team (IAT) at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) is the recipient of the Lab’s prestigious 2017 Director’s Award for Exceptional Societal Impact Achievement, in recognition of its contributions to the development and advancement of ISO 50001, the global standard for energy management business practices. IAT’s accomplishments include leading research that has resulted directly in the development of the 50001 Ready program introduced by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) this year.

IAT is a world-renowned leader in the research and advancement of energy management, engaging with industry and DOE since 2007 to develop a system of energy efficient business practices to advance the global competitiveness of U.S. manufacturing. In June 2016, IAT’s Global Impact Estimation of ISO 50001 Energy Management Systems research publication was cited at the seventh Clean Energy Ministerial meeting as an internationally accepted methodology to calculate potential energy savings from ISO 50001, contributing significantly to dismantling the barrier of unknown potential savings. Results from this study demonstrate potential annual emissions reductions equivalent to 215 million passenger vehicles in the year 2030.

Based on this research, IAT has continued to develop software tools, policies, and programs to bring actionable and measurable improvement to energy management practices in the industrial sector. Policies and outreach efforts have directly resulted in national and corporate commitments to the Clean Energy Ministerial “Drive to 50001” campaign. In May, IAT and DOE introduced the 50001 Ready program, a self-paced, no-cost recognition program to accelerate uptake of ISO 50001-based business principles. To date, over 200 organizations and 350 users have begun implementation through 50001 Ready. DOE and IAT continue to work together to accelerate adoption of ISO 50001.

The 2017 Lab Director’s Award for Exceptional Societal Impact recognizes IAT for outstanding research on barriers limiting adoption of ISO 50001, development of methodologies and actions to combat these barriers, and the resultant national and corporate commitments to adopt energy management practices and reduce emissions—a prime example of bringing science solutions to the world, and translating foundational research to real-world policy and results.

LBNL’s Director’s Award program recognizes significant achievements of Lab employees. Awards are issued each year for accomplishments, leadership, collaboration, multidisciplinary science, cross-divisional projects, and commitment to excellence in support of the Lab’s mission and strategic goals. More information and laureates can be found at recognition.lbl.gov.

IAT team members accepting this award are Bunmi Adesola, Arian Aghajanzadeh, Jingjing Liu, William Miller, Prakash Rao, Paul Sheaffer, Peter Therkelsen, Vestal Tutterow, and Christine Wu. Find out more about IAT’s areas of expertise, publications, and activities at industrialapplications.lbl.gov.