The Environmental Agency’s new Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) was launched last summer as part of the UK government's response to new EU Energy Efficiency Directives, calling on companies to identify and improve their energy efficiency.

The mandatory scheme requires UK organisations with over 250 employees or an annual turnover in excess of €50m (£38.9m) and an annual balance sheet total in excess of €43m (£33.5m) to ensure a qualified ESOS Lead Assessor measures or audits their energy consumption across all areas of their business, including buildings, transport and industrial activities, in order to identify cost-effective energy savings.

This formal ESOS Assessment must then be submitted to the Environment Agency ahead of the official deadline on 5 December 2015 with fines for non-compliance.

Julie Palmer, partner at BTG Green, said: ‘Since the scheme was quietly launched last summer, awareness of the ESOS requirements remains worryingly low, with nearly 16,000 of the affected companies either unaware that they need to take part or dragging their feet.

‘The ESOS energy audit itself will be a major compliance and administrative burden, particularly for companies working across multiple sites and regions, so with just seven months to complete it, companies need to make this an urgent priority or risk significant financial and reputational repercussions if they miss the upcoming deadline.’

BTG Green says that companies who undertake the assessment stand to identify tangible financial savings, as well as meeting regulatory requirements.

Palmer said: ‘We estimate that a £5,000 audit could identify savings worth £120,000, while a £50,000 audit could identify savings worth £1.2m.

‘Indeed DECC has estimated that, if ESOS participants implement the energy efficiencies identified in their assessment, the UK economy could benefit by as much as £2.8bn per year.’