ISO 50001 is a standard that follows the same management system model of continual improvement as other popular standards, like ISO 9001 or ISO 14001. This makes it simpler for companies to include energy management in their overall efforts to improve quality and environmental management.

ISO 50001 provides organizations with a set of requirements to:

Establish a policy for more efficient use of energy
Establish targets and objectives to meet the policy
Use data to gain better understanding and make informed decisions about energy use
Measure results
Review the effectiveness of the policy, and
Continually improve energy management.
Certification to ISO 50001 is optional, like other ISO management system standards. Some companies implement the standard for its benefits alone, while others seek certification to demonstrate to external parties that they have implemented an energy management system. ISO itself does not perform certification.