The article examines the issues of increasing the energy efficiency of Russian enterprises and organizations of any production orientation and form of ownership against the backdrop of complex geopolitical factors, aggravated by the instability of production and the seriousness of the environmental situation. It is shown that in order to increase energy efficiency and competitiveness of the Russian economy, a transition to a socially oriented, innovative path of development is necessary, allowing companies to implement management decisions adequate to the first quarter of the 21st century. The need for significant activation of Russian companies in the direction of implementing an energy management system based on the requirements of the ISO 50001 standard is shown. It has been argued that today success in overcoming current global challenges is closely related to how a complex of environmental, social and governance factors (ESG principles) will be incorporated into the company’s strategy, that is, ESG-business transformation and the energy management system are two mutually complementary and mutually conditioning processes that provide the prerequisites for the emergence of a synergistic effect. The author's vision of setting up an energy management system in enterprises and organizations is proposed.