ESOS Action Plan: how to build one and what’s in it for you
Following the ESOS phase 3 submission, an Action Plan must now be put together. The Environment Agency (EA) has also published some useful Q&As to assist organisations in completing their Action Plan. The portal (MESOS) to submit your Action Plan is now open.
So, what is the Action plan and what is the update?
An ESOS Action Plan allows an organisation to make a public commitment to reducing energy consumption for the period 6th December 2023 to 5th December 2027. It details the actions, when each action will be completed and the expected energy savings. It must be signed off by a board-level director (or equivalent), so the best course of action is to align it with your company’s strategy. After submission, yearly updates against this plan will need to be submitted. Although non-submission will not incur fines, not submitting a plan will mean that the ESOS participant is in breach of the legal requirement and the EA has powers to take enforcement action to require compliance.
All information submitted on the MESOS portal will be published. As the legislation is not prescriptive about how measures must be described, there is practically a level of flexibility around how savings can be described to avoid potential confidentiality issues. There is no legal requirement to implement the measures submitted in the Action Plan but organisations are required to report on progress annually.
The benefits of an Action Plan
Building a credible ESOS Action Plan, backed by a robust ESOS assessment, increases the chances of good, “no-regret” projects being implemented in line with the timescales in the plan. An Action Plan helps to make senior leaders directly aware of these investment opportunities and secure their commitment but also challenge the business ambition for energy efficiency and decarbonisation.
Milestones to keep in mind
The milestones regarding your ESOS Action Plan for the next ESOS Phase are as follows:
Add the progress update 1 deadline to your calendar – click here.
Add the progress update 2 deadline to your calendar – click here.
How to confidently plan ahead
Developing a specific four-year plan for energy savings (including timescales) may require considerable effort, but you can effectively reduce the stress of this by seeking guidance from an experienced Lead Assessor, informing the board of upcoming approvals and mobilising the relevant champions in the organisation in a timely way.
It's also important to secure funding. In the short term, there may be limited opportunities, especially concerning projects to be implemented in subsequent years. Planning for annual budget cycles, looking out for government incentives and getting your financial director on board early in the process are going to be critical.
Verco can provide valuable expertise on the approach, deliverables and timescales for your Action Plan, ensuring it aligns with ESOS compliance requirements and can be used for effective internal reporting.