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What is an ESOS Lead Assessor?

Posted in
Date
06/12/2021
what is an esos lead assessor?

Appointing an ESOS Lead Assessor is the first step for any business that meets the Energy Savings Opportunities Scheme’s eligibility criteria. In this post, we’ll outline the role of an ESOS Assessor and how to appoint the right one for your company.

Who needs an ESOS Assessor?

First of all, it’s important to be clear on which companies need an ESOS Lead Assessor. In other words, whether your organisation meets the ESOS criteria of:

  • Employing 250 people or more
  • Having an annual turnover of £44.1+ million and a balance sheet of £37.9+ million

These large undertakings need to appoint an ESOS Lead Assessor as well as carrying out the following:

  • Calculating energy consumption of your business and assets
  • Identifying areas of significant energy consumption
  • Notifying the Environment Agency of your assessment
  • Maintaining accessible records of all assessments and reports

Why? Primarily, because you could receive a penalty of up to £500 per day if you fail to submit your audit on time or as much as £50,000 if you don’t submit one. On top of that, you’ll be missing out on the energy and cost savings that ESOS can bring.

What does an ESOS Lead Assessor do?

At the very minimum, ESOS Lead Assessors need to sign off a company’s ESOS report. This proves your organisation’s compliance with the scheme, with assessors required to attend and pass an ESOS training course to get them on the ESOS-approved register.

Your lead assessor can carry out the ESOS assessment themselves including all audits. Or they can supervise audits and check that they meet the requirements, even if they’re not done by registered assessors.

More broadly, however, it’s the Lead Assessor’s responsibility to oversee the entire ESOS assessment process. That starts with approving the approach before auditing begins and continues through to the final review of your assessment to recommend changes going forward. Some responsibilities include:

  • Assessing energy use profiles
  • Choosing an approach for sampling
  • Designing an auditing process
  • Creating a timetable for auditing
  • Identifying opportunities to save energy
  • Calculating the potential energy savings and cost savings from those opportunities
  • Presenting recommendations to stakeholders
  • Compiling all data in your ESOS evidence pack to prove your compliance

This highlights the importance of having a good ESOS Assessor. Rather than simply going through the motions, they can make a concerted effort to reduce your energy output. The result is not just compliance, but also energy savings, a greener image for your business and reduced energy bills going forward.

Choosing an ESOS Lead Assessor

Your ESOS Assessor can be appointed internally – either an existing member of staff who attends and passes the training course, or a new hire who is already on the ESOS-approved register.

Internal ESOS Assessors

There are a few different routes onto the ESOS-approved register for internal members of staff or new hires. Namely, candidates must complete a training course to be registered with one of the following approved organisations:

  • Association of Energy Engineers
  • Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers
  • Elmhurst Energy Systems
  • Energy Institute
  • Energy Managers Association
  • Institution of Chemical Engineers
  • Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment
  • Institution of Environmental Sciences
  • Quidos
  • Stroma Certification Ltd

Training courses range from one day to a working week, with different entry requirements for each organisation. For example, the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment requires applicants to be an environmental auditor with two years of experience in professional energy assessment. In other words, you can’t just nominate any member of staff to take on the role of ESOS Lead Assessor.

what is an esos lead assessor?

External ESOS Assessors

Alternatively, you can appoint an external ESOS Lead Assessor who will complete all of the same duties on behalf of your company. This is advantageous as not many companies have a member of staff on an ESOS-approved register, or even someone who’s eligible to take the course.

Even those who do face the temporary disruption of sending staff for training and the cost of doing so. Then what if your ESOS Lead Assessor moves to another company? You’re back to square one having paid for the training that another company now benefits from.

By outsourcing ESOS assessment, you benefit from a wealth of experience on your side without the hassle of internal management. There’s no risk of your ESOS Assessor leaving, so you can tick something off your to-do list year upon year.

What to look for beyond training

As well as being ESOS-approved through the training course, you should look for a Lead Assessor who has plenty of experience. It’s one thing having the knowledge, but it’s another kettle of fish putting it into practice. This is typically more difficult with an internal member of staff, as they will be limited to their experience at a single company.

Consider their track record too. Not all assessments are good assessments. Numerous businesses have been forced to take corrective measures for ESOS in the past, which can be time-consuming and disruptive. Ask Assessors about previous jobs, compliance rates and references for past clients.

Yorkshire’s ESOS experts

With the right Lead Assessor, your business can go beyond ESOS compliance to actually benefit from the scheme by saving energy in the long run. If you’re looking for an ESOS Assessor you can trust in Yorkshire, Volta Compliance ticks every box.

Our experienced ESOS-approved team can act on your behalf to carry out an energy audit, notify the Environment Agency and maintain records to keep you compliant. We’ll also create a strategy to reduce your energy output and minimise your bills going forward.

Our team can manage the entire process, arranging site visits on dates that fit with your schedule to minimise disruption. So, there’s no need to stress about hiring, training or keeping hold of an ESOS Lead Assessor internally.

Sound good? Contact us today on 0113 397 1361 for a quote.

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Richard Carr Volta Compliance
Richard Carr
Managing Director
Richard is the Director of Volta Compliance. He is a fully qualified approved electrician graded with the JIB. Richard has over 20 years electrical experience working on commercial and industrial installations.
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