Energy managers need to be trained and get qualifications as the industry lacks standards.

That’s the view of Lord Rupert Redesdale, who recently launched the Energy Managers Association (EMA) to encourage people get formal training in energy management. He claims 95% of people who call themselves energy managers have no formal qualification in management.

He told ELN: “The rules of the game have changed. Our projection is energy will double in price in the next five years. The reality is we actually need to train people because companies are actually going to go out of business because of their energy costs. We can prove that if you take training an individual in a company can save 20% of their energy costs and that’s going to have a big impression on the bottom line.

“Energy is no longer a CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) issue it’s an FD issue. If the FD realises there’s a cost to every employee then why wouldn’t he train them?”

The EMA will not run any course directly but is linked to the Carbon Management Association which will approve all carbon and energy management courses provided by other institutions.

Lord Redesdale will be attending the Energy Live 2012 conference next Thursday on November 1.