In 2015 Donegal County Council (Ireland) embarked on a process of designing and implementing an Energy management System which would achieve ISO 50001 accreditation. An Energy Policy was adopted by Senior Management, an Energy Review carried out to demonstrate a clear understanding of where energy is used in our organisation, what drives its consumption and what we can do in order to improve its performance.

This allowed us to identify the types of energy being used and the identification of Significant Energy Users. Energy Performance Indicators were developed to allow for monitoring and tracking performance, an Opportunities Register was compiled among to allow for a the development of detailed Action Plan. This Action Plan has identified significant Energy Reduction projects in Organisational/People/Technical areas which now inform the organisation as it strives to continuously improve on Energy Performance Reduction.

Donegal County Council is only the second Local Authority in Ireland and among the first in Europe to have developed and implemented an Energy management System which has achieved ISO 50001 accreditation.