#233 Clyde & Co Achieves ISO 50001 – Setting the Standard for Energy Management within the Legal Sector

When thinking of sectors that need effective energy management, the ones that typically come to mind include the likes of transportation and manufacturing. However, energy management is something that any business can benefit from.

Such is the case with today’s feature, Clyde & Co, a global law firm who made the decision to Implement ISO 50001 energy management to tackle the largest part of their sustainability impact.

In this episode, Ian Battersby is joined by Paul Barnacle, Head of Health, Safety, Security and Environment at Clyde & Co, to discuss their journey towards ISO 50001, including the challenges associated with implementation and benefits gained from certification.  

You’ll learn

• Who is Paul Barnacle?
• Who is Clyde & Co?
• What was the main driver behind obtaining ISO 50001?
• How long did it take to achieve certification?
• What was the biggest gap found during the Gap Analysis?
• What has Paul learned as a result of ISO 50001 Implementation?
• What are the benefits of gaining ISO 50001 certification?
• Paul’s top tip

Resources

• Clyde & Co
• ISO 50001
• Isologyhub

In this episode, we talk about:

[00:25] Episode Summary – We invite guest Paul Barnacle, Head of Health, Safety, Security and Environment at Clyde & Co, onto the show to share his journey with implementing ISO 50001, including the associated challenges and benefits from gaining certification.

[02:50] Who is Paul Barnacle? Paul is theHead of Health, Safety, Security and Environment at Clyde & Co , and was the lead for the ISO 50001 Implementation project.

One thing that many may not know about Paul is that he’s an avid angler, whether rain or shine, he’s dedicated to getting the next big catch.

[04:45] Who are Clyde & Co? Clyde & Co are a global law firm that helps organisations navigate risk and maximise opportunities across sectors such as insurance, professional services, aviation, marine, construction and energy.

The firm has over 500 partners with a total headcount of 5,500 people operating across 70 offices around the world.

[05:40] Who is included within the ISO 50001 scope for Clyde & Co? For those that aren’t aware, an ISO scope can be against an entire business, a single department or even against a specific product / service.

For Clyde & Co, their ISO 50001 scope extends across 9 offices in the UK and Republic or Ireland.

[06:15] What were the main drivers behind ISO 50001 Implementation? – One of the main drivers links back to Clyde & Co’s Net Zero Strategy, which included the need to identify which sustainability focused ISO Standard would help them the most.

Following a lot of internal conversation with their Chief Sustainability Officer, they settled on ISO 50001 as they were seeking more visibility on their energy consumption and help with identifying opportunities for improvement. Ultimately taking the first steps to tackle their scope 1 and 2 emissions.

[07:05] Why ISO 50001 over ISO 14001? ISO 14001 Environmental Management was considered, however they don’t have any industrial processes, so other environmental factors outside of energy aren’t very applicable to a business like Clyde & Co.

Seeing as energy was their largest environmental expenditure, ISO 50001 naturally seemed like the best fit.

[08:10] How long did it take to achieve ISO 50001? Paul started the Implementation journey back in early August of 2024, and completed the Stage 2 Assessment by April 11^th 2025, so a total of nine months.

[09:00] What was the biggest gap identified during the Gap Analysis? Paul highlights how key the Gap Analysis was to the whole process, as it gave them a clear picture of the amount of work involved with completing the implementation.

One of the biggest gaps identified was the fact that they didn’t have a structured management system in place. There was a lack of knowledge when it came to ISO implementation, so some of the terminology was a bit lost on Paul to start with! They also lacked key documentation such as continual improvement log and Register of Energy Saving Opportunities.

[10:10] What were the benefits of ISO 50001 implementation? There are a number of benefits, including:-

• ISO 50001 allows a business to have a lot more visibility on their energy consumption
• ISO 50001 certification demonstrates a proactive approach for energy management to clients and prospects.
• The data provided by ISO 50001 allows for more informed decisions on energy saving and reduction opportunities, allowing you to target your biggest emission sources and spot any anomalies.

[11:45] Client influence:  Clyde & Co were seeing an increase in requests from clients regarding their energy performance indicators and related KPI’s. They were also being asked about what they were doing in relation to reducing their scope 1 and 2 emissions.

This exercise allowed them to address both, in addition to setting up the infrastructure to continuously monitor this year on year.

As a result of ISO 50001 implementation, Clyde & Co now plan to communicate the reduction in their energy consumption on a quarterly basis with staff across all regions.

[13:50] Additional Improvement as a result of ISO 50001:  Paul enjoys the renewed communication between teams that hadn’t really interacted prior to ISO 50001 implementation. Previously the energy management team were fairly siloed in the business, but now they’re getting tech champions involved and asking anyone to contribute to the energy performance indicators.

It’s created a connected culture that encourages new ideas from all corners of the business.

They’ve helped to facilitate this through the use of their intranet with dedicated mailboxes where people can submit any questions or suggestions for improvement. They’ve also got QR codes set-up for easy access for mailbox submissions.

[15:55] Paul’s Top Tip: Get a copy of whichever Standard you intend to Implement and read it thoroughly. It’s key that you understand what the Standard is asking for.

If you’re struggling with the ISO terminology, the Standards will include a glossary of terms and definitions to help you. You can also do what Clyde & Co did, which is hire ISO consultants that specialise in ISO implementation. They will help you interpret the Standard and help you establish a Management system that is both compliant with the Standard and also integrates with the way you work.

For ISO 50001 specifically, Paul highlights the need for strong data. Energy monitoring will require some number crunching, so you need those figures to be as accurate as possible to get the best results.

[15:55] Paul’s book recommendation: Sustainable Energy – Without The Hot Air by David MacKay

[15:55] Paul’s favourite quote: “The best way to predict the future, is to create it.” – Abraham Lincoln  

If you’d like to learn more about Clyde & Co, check out their website.

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