Italian National Observatory 1st Meeting   

Introduction

The meeting addressed strengthening Energy Management Systems (EnMS) in line with the upcoming transposition of Article 11 of the Energy Efficiency Directive. It also highlighted the importance of audit quality and its impact on the implementation of energy efficiency measures, including the role of financial instruments in enabling such interventions.

Attendance

24 organisations were represented at the meeting, with a total of 27 external participants alongside 7 representatives from ENEA. 

Stakeholder type	Participating stakeholders
🏛 Policy Makers	3
👩‍💼 Professional Associations	7
💰 Funding & Regulation Bodies	2
🏦 Financial Institutions	1
🏭 Business Associations	6
🎓 Academia & Research	3
⚙️ Utilities & Multi-utilities	2

Agenda

1. Welcome and Opening  

• Institutional welcome and introduction to the LEAPto11 project –  ENEA 📄

2. Morning session: Energy Efficiency and Management Systems  

• Energy efficiency for businesses in the revised EU Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) – ENEA  

• Conformity assessments in the energy sector – ACCREDIA📄

• The evolving role of Energy Management Systems: overcoming barriers and enabling solutions – ENEA📄

• Roundtable DisEussion: The evolving role of Energy Management Systems  

3. Afternoon session: Audits, Action Plans and SME Financing  

• Survey findings: “Credit for SMEs to support energy efficiency” – ABI Lab📄

• Audit quality and implementation of measures: Toward effective Action Plans – ENEA📄

• Roundtable Discussion: Energy audits and implementation of measures  

4. Summary and closing remarks – Led by ENEA  

Key Outcomes     

• Leadership and corporate culture are critical to the success of Energy Management Systems (EnMS).  

• Integrating ISO 50001 with sustainability reporting can help meet growing ESG demands.  

• Technical standards, practical tools, and on-the-job support enhance EnMS effectiveness.  

• Better coordination of accreditation databases across Europe is needed to improve certification traceability and trust.  

• High-quality energy audits are essential for impactful measures, shared responsibility lies with both the auditor and the company.  

• Auditors should have a strategic, ongoing role beyond the audit phase, supporting implementation and improvement.  

• Energy efficiency culture remains underdeveloped and low priority among many companies.  

• The link between energy audits/EnMS and access to finance requires clearer guidance and regulation.  

• Financial institutions’ green investment disclosure requirements create new opportunities for funding energy efficiency projects.  

• Presentation PDF

  Meeting on EnMS and the importance of audit quality