The book addresses the needs of two important groups of readers:
- Academics and managers desiring an overview of “energy and business administration,” with ISO 50001 being only one field of application; and
- Business people, seeking a practical tool, involved in implementing ISO 50001.
Unfortunately, ISO 50001 is not really helpful to cover both interests. The approach of ISO does not fit the structure of a management book nor does it reflect the departments of a company, at least at first sight. The reason is that it is in line with the ISO 9000 series (quality management, QM) and the ISO 14000 series (environmental management, EM). Therefore, the tables of contents (ToC) of ISO 50001 has grown historically. To solve this problem, this book will develop its own structure linking ISO 50001 and business administration, as the following table illustrates.
The first two parts are dedicated to background knowledge, and the last one is an outlook beyond a company’s border. Clearly, the most extensive part is covered in Part III. In Chapter 9, a more detailed table of several pages shows the ToC of ISO 50001 as a framework for the contents “energy and business administration.” Both target groups of the book should be able to navigate easily and find the contents of greatest interest quickly. Readers interested only in the implementation may go straight to Chapter 3. Those following a more comprehensive approach should read from the beginning.
Table Overview of the book
|
Chapter |
Topic |
Contents and explanation |
|
1–3 |
Part I: Understanding ISO 50001 |
• Certified management systems |
|
4–8 |
Part II: Megatrends and Background Theory |
• Resource depletion and global warming |
|
9–28 |
Part III: ISO and Business Functions |
In this main part, the theories and applications are explained following the chapters of ISO 50001. See the table with a detailed overview at the beginning of Chapter 9. |
|
29 and 30 |
Part IV: Conclusions and Outlook |
The practical implementation of ISO 50001 as a project of change management (practical view) and an alternative structure for energy-oriented business administration (academia) |
Experiences Teaching Energy Management in a Master’s Degree Program in Business
When I started teaching energy in our masters degree program in business in 2006, the syllabus was similar to this book, starting with the background theory. This structure wasnt very successful: I lost the students explaining climate change and Pigovian tax and had to rewin their attention by showing the applicability and benefits for their future job. Consequently, I turned the syllabus upside down, starting with the examples, the knowledge obviously valuable for a manager, e.g., exemplifying how an energy review can push cost accounting or how portfolio management in electricity procurement may cut costs (Chapter 20). Then I focused on background trends because strategic management is needed to develop operational applications.
The appreciative reader of this book is probably aware of the problem of applicability, so the traditional way (theory first) sets the structure of the book.