Objectives:
Presentation of system energy management (SZE) as an example of sustainable development. Analyzing the number of valid ISO 50001: 2011 certificates in the world, mainly in European Union countries.

Material and methods:
Secondary research materials were used - literature on the subject and data from the survey conducted by ISO.

Results:
The number of issued ISO 50001: 2011 certificates annually increases. This applies to most countries of the European Union. The largest number of valid certificates concerns the sector of metals and metal products, the food products sector and the sector of rubber and plastic products. The countries of the European Union with the largest number of valid certificates are Germany, Great Britain and Italy.

Conclusions:
Obtaining the ISO 50001 certificate means introducing in the enterprise systemic energy management and implementation of the assumptions of the seventh goal of sustainable development: clean and available energy. With this type of action it is possible to reduce the cost of doing business, reduce energy consumption in the enterprise, and reduce emissions of environmentally harmful substances.