THE EUROPEAN ECOMANAGEMENT AND AUDIT SCHEME

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THE EUROPEAN ECO-MANAGEMENT AND AUDIT SCHEME

• Performance, Credibility, Transparency

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General presentation of EMASSteps towards EMAS
registration
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EMAS Regulation

• First EMAS Regulation in 1993
• Novelty voluntary tool
• Alternative to traditional command-control
  legislation
• For industrial sector
• Second EMAS Regulation in 2001
• EMAS opens to all private and public sector
  organisations
• Third EMAS Regulation in 2010?

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Development of EMAS
EMAS adopted by the European Council (EMAS
I) EMAS open for participation by industrial
companies Commission proposal for a Council
Regulation allowing for the voluntary
participation of organisations in an
eco-management and audit scheme (revision EMAS
I) New Regulation adopted by the Council and
the EP Publication and entry into force of the
new Regulation (EC) N761/2001 (EMAS II) EMAS
revision process
29 June 1993 1995 30 October 1998 19
March 2001 24 and 27 April 2001 2006-2009
EMAS I
EMAS II
EMAS III
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EMAS objectives

• Aim
• Help organisations to improve their environmental
  performance
• Means
• Tools allowing to assess, manage and control
  environmental aspects of activities
  (implementation of an EMS), and to establish a
  report on environmental performance in a credible
  way
• Outcomes
• Better management of environmental issues and
  credible information on these issues

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Who can participate in EMAS?

• Any organization, private or public, dedicated to
  improving its overall environmental performance
• 27 EU Member States European Economic Area
  (Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein)
• Candidate countries (Croatia, The Former Yugoslav
  Republic of Macedonia and Turkey)

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EMAS II the current legislation

• Participation open to all sectors, public and
  private
• Compatibility with EN ISO 14001
• Communication tools EMAS logo environmental
  statement
• Involvement of employees
• Environmental legal compliance
• Increased credibility and transparency

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EMAS II 1 logo - 2 versions
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Why choose EMAS?

• Most robust management scheme on the market
• Good environmental management
• Compliance with environmental legislation
• Resources savings and cost reduction
• Credibility environmental info validated by
  independent organism controlled by Member States
• Marketing tool EMAS logo environmental
  declaration improved image, confidence and
  transparency
• Access to new markets/ customers
• Improved relations with public authorities, other
  businesses, customers, citizens, regulator
• Improved work environment, employee motivation
• Get incentives in some Member States

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Pillars of EMAS
EMAS
Public Reporting
Employees Participation
ISO/EN ISO 14001 (2004)
Performance improvement
Legal Compliance
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Main stages of EMAS

• To receive EMAS registration an organisation must
  comply with the following steps
• conduct an environmental review
• establish an effective environmental management
  system
• carry out an environmental audit
• provide an environmental statement
• The environmental review, EMS, audit procedure
  and the environmental statement must be approved
  by an accredited EMAS verifier

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How does EMAS work?

• Based on the Plan Do Check Act cycle

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Going for EMAS
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EMAS credible checking process
ISO 14001

• Accreditation Body

External auditor
ORGANISATION
Competent Body
EMAS
Registration
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EMAS IIIMain changes in the provisions of the
new EMAS regulation
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Revision process

• After 5 years of EMAS II
• EMAS leads to good environmental performance for
  individual organisation,
• but
• uptake in EU (about 7500 sites) below its
  potential, because
• regulation not user-friendly
• not sufficiently attractive for organisations
• sometimes difficult for SMEs (administrative/fina
  ncial)

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Pillars for Revision

• Reinforcement through strengthening rules on
• Legal compliance and
• Reporting
• Raise attractiveness for participating
  organisations
• Increase user-friendliness

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Reinforcement

• Strengthening rules on legal compliance
• Member States to ensure that
• Information and assistance is given (upon
  request)
• Enforcement authorities reply to requests from
  organisations
• Strengthening rules on reporting
• Steering performance improvement by use of core
  performance indicators (obligatory)
• helping organisations by developing reference
  documents for specific sectors (voluntary)
• benchmarks and performance indicator
• best environmental management practices

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Raise attractiveness

• Allow registration from outside EU organisations
• Corporate registration
• Cluster approach
• Reducing burdens
• Reporting and validation
• Environmental statement every 3 years
• Updated env. Statement every year
• Derogations possible for small organisations(4
  and 2 years)
• verification and validation of small
  organisations
• specific characteristics to be taken into account

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Raise attractiveness

• Improve EMAS promotion, technical assistance
• Member States to define promotion strategy
• Encouraging organisations to implement EMS
• Encouraging step-by-step approach
• Increase incentives at Member States and EU level
• Proportionate fees / no fees
• Regulatory relief
• Deregulation

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Increase user-friendliness

• Incorporate main elements of the existing
  non-binding EMAS guidelines in the
  Regulation,(legal certainty - clarity of
  requirements)
• Commission to produce a users guide in all
  official languages

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Revision process - planning
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EMAS III Foreseen changes

• Report on core performance indicators
• Development of reference documents for specific
  sectors
• EMAS global
• Cluster approach and corporate registration
• Reduction of administrative burdens for small
  organisations
• Improve promotion
• Harmonisation
• Increase incentives
• Simplify the use of the logo

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Further information

• http//ec.europa.eu/environment/emas
• EMAS Helpdesk emas_at_ec.europa.eu
• EMAS register www.emas-register.eu