EMAS, a premium

environmental management
tool for organisations
Benefits & registration process

Environmnt
 EMAS in 7 questions…
1. What is EMAS?
2. What are the benefits of EMAS registration?
3. Who can participate?
4. How to be EMAS-registered?
5. What are the costs?
6. How is performance assessed?
7. How is EMAS different from other tools?
8. EMAS’ premium services
9. Statistics about EMAS
 What is EMAS?
It is a voluntary environmental management instrument designed by the
European Union
• Voluntary environmental management tool
Aim
Continuous improvement in the environmental
operative since 1995performance of
companies and other organisations

Means
Management system enabling organisations to evaluate, improve,
measure and report on their environmental performance

Outcomes
Lower environmental impact, better efficiency and credible information
on these issues
 What is EMAS?
3 core elements

Performance
Actions implemented by the organisation improve environmental performance and
legal compliance, in line with policy targets.

Transparency
These achievements are made public through the annual environmental statement.

Credibility
The environmental statement is verified by independent environmental verifiers
who guarantee the value of the information disclosed.
 What are the benefits of EMAS registration ?
Improved environmental performance: 70% of registered organisations show
1
improvement on nearly ALL environmental indicators*

2 Improved legislative compliance and hence less risk of sanctions

3 Better identification of overall corporate responsibilities: Better-defined roles and

responsibilities, stronger awareness of teams

4 Fewer environmental accidents

5 Cost savings: Achieved through reuse, recycling, and decrease in resource use

Improved relations with stakeholders: Employees are more committed and external
6
stakeholders value the transparency of the organisation

Regulatory relief: In some Member States, authorities provide advantages to EMAS-

7
registered organisations, such as reductions in inspections or taxes
*Source: EMAS Evaluation Study, 2015
 Who can participate?
Organisations operating in all economic spheres (including local
I authorities, NGOs, etc.), of any size, including multiple sites

Size of EMAS-registered
organisations – Oct. 2017
EMAS Helpdesk

II Organisations with sites worldwide*

* EU Member States may permit registration of organisations located outside the EU, EEA and Accession
Countries. Please visit www.emas.eu for further information.
How to be EMAS-registered
 How to be EMAS-registered
• Contact your local Competent Body to get customised technical support (e.g. a
list of qualified EMAS consultants) and information about funding
1 opportunities.

• Carry out an initial environmental review to identify your direct and indirect
environmental impacts, your current performance, and the legal
requirements. This initial assessment sets the benchmark to measure your
2 future success in reducing environmental impacts.

• As the first structuring phase of your Environmental Management System

(EMS), your leadership (top management) will step up to define an
3 environmental policy and environmental programme that are consistent with
your organisation’s strategy.
 How to be EMAS-registered

•Implement your EMS by adapting your structure and processes to achieve

your environmental policy and objectives.
4

•Check the effectiveness of your EMS: follow appropriate indicators, including

EMAS core indicators, and conduct an internal environmental audit.
5

•Your top management will review the EMS to ensure its capacity to meet the
goals set forth in the environmental policy and programme, and will decides
6 on the next steps to foster continual improvement.
 How to be EMAS-registered
•Prepare your environmental statement to effectively communicate your
environmental performance to stakeholders.
7

•Have an accredited or licensed independent environmental verifier validate

your environmental statement and verify your EMS.
8

•Submit your registration to the Competent Body.

9
Celebrate EMAS and use it to
show your environmental
commitment !
 New !
Registration for multi-site organisations – including outside
EU borders

Organisation with multiple sites can now register more easily.

1 audit per site (over the 3-year audit cycle)
1 ORGANISATION BEFORE Þ Time-consuming and costly for large
organisations, but very extensive
1 audit of the headquarters + √n audits (sample of
sites)
Þ Sampling methodology ensuring reliability of the
scheme
NOW Þ Time and resource savings for large organisations
n sites
Þ Organisations can register more sites and
maximise the benefits of EMAS
 Shared corporate policy
 Mutualised costs
The procedure is described in the EMAS user’s guide.
 What are the costs of EMAS registration?
Costs vary with the size and the sector of the organisation. They include:

A Fixed costs Assumed to be unrelated to staff numbers (e.g. registration fees, IT

support-related costs)

B Internal costs Incurred by organisation staff to implement, administer and report

on EMAS (e.g. environmental coordinator, internal audit team, etc.)
External costs Incurred by employing external consultancy to support EMAS
C implementation, for example (e.g. employee training), and for
verifiers

Some Member States have introduced financial incentives for EMAS-registered organisations, for
example reduced administrative fees related to permits. A reported 30% of organisations who
benefit from this incentive enjoy annual savings in the range of €40,000 to €50,000*.

Þ For detailed information about the costs of EMAS implementation and financial incentives,
please contact your national Competent Body.

*Source: RAVE Study, 2017

 How is performance assessed?
Six core indicators that reflect direct environmental aspects are assessed over time. They
are included in the environmental statement and calculated per output.

Key area Input/impact Output/activity

Energy Direct energy use
efficiency Renewable energy use

Material Mass flow of different materials used (excluding

efficiency energy carriers and water) Production sector: Annual
gross value added or
Water Annual water consumption annual physical output
Waste Annual generation of waste
Services or public sector:
Annual generation of hazardous waste
Number of employees
Biodiversity Land use (built-up area)
Emissions Annual emissions of greenhouse gases (CO2 eq.)
Annual air emissions
 How is it different from other tools?

EMAS
Registration by Employee involvement
public authority from initial assessment
ISO 14 001

Publicly available Strong check on legal

environmental Informal compliance
statement management
systems

Core indicators
Performance improvement providing benchmark
checked by independent verifier
 How is it different from other tools?
• Over 70% of environmental verifiers perceive
EMAS to be more effective than ISO 14001 in
ensuring legal compliance.

• 72% of verifiers consider EMAS more

effective than ISO 14001 in ensuring the
transparency, trustworthiness and
completeness of environmental reports and
documentation.
• 69% of EMAS-registered organisations feel that EMAS helps them achieve legal
compliance more easily and completely than ISO 14001 alone (80% of them have
both EMAS and ISO 14001)

Source: RAVE Study, 2017

 They chose EMAS
Without any doubt, the first reason is
communication. We chose EMAS We see it [EMAS] as the GOLD standard in
registration because of the possibility to best environmental practice. Our goal was to
actively and transparently communicate to demonstrate a leadership position in our
the public and to all stakeholders the industry – EMAS supports this objective. It’s
environmental performance of our plants. transparent and requires specific measurable
objectives that actually make a real difference.
Large, multi-site company in Italy
Small printing company in the UK

Certifications drive the organisation towards

more structured management with pre- We decided to adopt EMAS because we
determined prerequisites, which benefit the were already ISO 14001-certified and we
internal organisation of the company. This is realised that, with EMAS, we could achieve
the first reason. Second is the external further advantages in terms of compliance
visibility for commercial purposes, as such with energy management regulations and
prerequisites are requested by clients. with the auditing process.

Small waste sector company in Italy Large manufacturing company in Germany

Transparent communication, visibility, reputation, credibility and legitimacy emerge as the top
priorities underlining EMAS registration.
 EMAS’ premium services: Sectoral Reference Documents
Retail trade Food and beverage
manufacturing
Tourism Agriculture Construction

Public Electrical and Car Telecommunication Fabricated metal

administration electronic manufacturing and ICT services products
Equipment Manufacturing
Manufacturing

Waste
 Sectoral Reference Documents are available to enable organisations to
management identify best environmental management practices before deciding on
their action plan.
 These documents include sector-specific performance indicators.
 They provide benchmarks of excellence for organisations.
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/emas/emas_publications/sectoral_reference_documents_en.htm
 New !
EMAS premium services: Tools to implement
EMAS
Practical tools are available to help
organisations implement EMAS:
• 4 tools in Excel format:
 Tool 1 summarises the organisation’s
key activities
 Tool 2 is used to identify its
environmental aspects and impacts
 Tool 3 structures responsibilities
 Tool 4 calculates key indicators and
monitors progress
• 1 Instruction manual
 Highlights where the tools fit into the
implementation of EMAS

http://ec.europa.eu/environment/emas/emas_publications/guidance_tools/tools_en.htm
 EMAS premium services: EMAS logo… and
communication!

TOP
PERFORMERS
HONOURED
Quality mark:
Can only be
used by
registered
organisations http://ec.europa.eu/environment/emas/emasperformers_en.htm#_Manufacturing
Top performers that you might encounter in everyday life
EMAS premium services: Guidance, fact sheets,
Helpdesk, awards…

http://ec.europa.eu/environment/emas/emas_publications
A wealth of information on the official EMAS
website

www.ec.europa.eu/environment/emas
 EMAS statistics
Almost 4,000 organisations and 10,000 sites are EMAS-registered*.

www.emas-register.eu
*Source: National Competent Bodies, Oct. 2017
 Why not you?
Feel free to contact your national Competent Body with
any questions you may have:
http://
ec.europa.eu/environment/emas/emas_contacts/competent_bodi
es_en.htm

Or contact the EMAS Helpdesk:

Email: [email protected]
Tel: +49 (30) 89 000 68 - 285
Fax: +49 (30) 89 000 68 – 10
The Helpdesk is operated by adelphi in cooperation with EMAS Club Catalonia, the Environment Agency Austria
and 21 Solutions on behalf of the European Commission, Environment DG

EMAS Website: ec.europa.eu/environment/emas