"Facilities certified to Superior Energy Performance® (SEP™) are leaders in energy management and productivity improvement. The facilities in SEP have met the ISO 50001 standard and have improved their energy performance up to 25% over three years or up to 40% over 10 years.
SEP provides guidance, tools, and protocols to drive deeper, more sustained savings from ISO 50001. To become certified, facilities must implement an energy management system that meets the ISO 50001 standard and demonstrate improved energy performance. An independent third party audits each facility to verify achievements and qualify it at the Silver, Gold, or Platinum level, based on energy performance improvement. This certification emphasizes measureable savings through a transparent process.
SEP-certified facilities note that investing the extra effort in SEP—beyond ISO 50001—is clearly worth it. Cost-benefit assessments find that SEP helps facilities in a wide range of industries and large energy users. Results to date:
- Annual savings of $87,000 to $984,000 using no-cost or low-cost operational measure
- 10% reduction in energy costs within 18 months of SEP implementation (on average)
- 6% to 25% improvement in energy performance over three years
- Paybacks of less than two years (in facilities with energy costs > $1.5 million annually)"
Read DOE's full description here.