BSI Japan issues BSI Group’s first BS ISO 50001 certificate to Yamazaki-jari-shoten
Press release - 07 July 2011
BSI Japan is pleased to announce that it certified Yamazaki-jari-shoten to BS ISO 50001:2011 Energy Management Systems on 07 July 2011.
Yamazaki-jari-shoten became the first organization to be certified to BS ISO 50001 in Japan. Yamazaki-jari-shoten focuses on stone crushing, industrial waste treatment, contaminated soil recycling, recycling, and civil engineering and construction.
BS ISO 50001 is an international standard which specifies requirements for an energy management system. An energy management system can reduce energy consumption, leading to: reduced energy costs, reduced carbon emissions, a more secure supply of energy and improved reputation when implemented with certification
Yamazaki-jari-shoten already holds certification for four ISO management systems, quality: ISO 9001, environmental: ISO 14001, information security: ISO/IEC 27001, and health and safety: BS OHSAS 18001. In addition to these four management systems, the company introduced energy: ISO 50001 with the aim of systematically deploying initiatives for more efficient energy consumption that were previously being implemented at the plant or divisional level throughout the company.
Due to the nature of Yamazaki-jari-shoten’s business, large amounts of energy are consumed by the operation of plants and use of equipment. This means that improving energy efficiency is one of the key factors for business success.
Further, in order to utilize the funding available from financial institutions associated with the Ministry of the Environment’s No-Interest Financing/Interest Subsidy Delivery Project for Special Support to Achieve the Kyoto Protocol Target, the company has also made efforts for CO2 emission reductions and carbon offsets by increasing the efficiency of energy use.
By conducting energy reviews, which is one of the requirements of ISO 50001, the company was able to make an objective judgment on the amount of energy used at each of its plants and facilities, and identify plants that were using large amounts of energy.
This was an extremely valuable exercise, as it made clear that increased efficiency of energy use at such energy-consuming plants leads to major improvements in the entire company’s energy efficiency. In terms of energy conservation and energy saving, the focus tends to be placed on one’s surroundings such as lighting, air conditioning and office equipment.
However, ISO 50001’s requirement for an energy review and the subsequent prioritization of opportunities for improvement in energy efficiency was a positive point in deriving benefit from Yamazaki-jari-shoten’s energy management system.
