Еуропалық экологиялық басқару және аудит жүйесі (EMAS)

The Eco Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) is a voluntary environmental management instrument, which was developed in 1993 by the European Commission. It enables organizations to assess, manage and continuously improve their environmental performance. The scheme is globally applicable and open to all types of private and public organizations. In order to register with EMAS, organisations must meet the requirements of the EU EMAS Regulation. Currently, more than 4,600 organisations and more than 7,900 sites are EMAS registered.

The EU Eco Management and Audit Scheme provides core indicators or key performance indicators (KPIs) with which registered organisations can measure their environmental performance and monitor their continual environmental improvement against set targets.

Entered into force in January 2010, EMAS III requires registered organisations to report on key performance indicators in six key environmental areas. The indicators focus on direct environmental aspects and apply to all EMAS registered organisations.

All organisations listed in the EMAS Register run an environmental management system according to the EMAS requirements. Because ISO 14001 is an integral part of EMAS, these organisations automatically comply with the requirements that the international standard demands as well. However, EMAS registered organisations fulfill requirements that go beyond the scope of ISO 14001. EMAS registered organisations demonstrate:
Credibility: the proper implementation of EMAS is assessed by qualified and independent environmental verifiers. Transparency: by periodically reporting on their environmental performance. Those reports include information on key performance indicators. The reports must be validated by an environmental verifier. Continuous improvement process: by committing themselves to continuous improvement of their actual environmental performance. This performance is also evaluated by an environmental verifier. ISO 14001 only requires improving the environmental management system itself. Compliance: by fully complying with applicable environmental legislation. Stakeholder engagement: by involving employees and other stakeholders in order to benefit from their commitment, ideas, skills and experiences.

EMAS is a comprehensive and demanding premium label, whose implementation requires some financial and personnel resources. In return, EMAS provides organisations with many advantages that can easily outweigh these costs. As EMAS is tailored to individual performance improvements, each organisation has to consider different environmental and economic factors. Given the heterogeneity of registered organisations, calculating average benefits and costs of EMAS is nearly unfeasible. The financial benefits of an EMAS registered organisation can differ per country. For example, some countries offer substantial reductions of waste fees, lower permitting costs, faster licensing procedures, etc. Nevertheless, several studies have been undertaken to provide reference points on the benefits and costs. In 2009, the European Commission published the Study on the Costs and Benefits of EMAS to Registered Organisations. The results of this study are summarised in a factsheet.

Environmental and financial performance through a systematic framework: e. g. increased resource and energy efficiency, waste reduction. Risk and opportunity management: e. g. legal compliance, regulatory relief. Credibility, transparency and reputation: e. g. environmental statement, key performance indicators, verification and validation through independent environmental verifiers. Employee empowerment and motivation: e. g. improved involvement of staff, higher awareness, often leading to innovations.

Fixed costs: validation/verification fees, registration fees, integrating EMAS logo into corporate design. External costs: consultancy expertise to support implementation and reporting, even if not mandatory, is often necessary. Internal costs: personnel and technical resources needed for implementing, administering and reporting.

The EMAS Awards praise efforts on environmental protection made by EMAS registered organisations. The European Commission has handed out these awards every year since 2005. EMAS Awards in environmental management are handed out annually companies and public authorities in six categories. EMAS Awards have a different focus every year. Each year, the EMAS Awards winners are cited for their achievements in a specific area of their environmental performance. Past themes have encompassed a variety of topics, including resource efficiency and waste management. The theme of the 2011 EMAS Awards is Stakeholder involvement leading to continuous improvement.

The first EMAS Regulation (EMAS I) was adopted in 1993 and became operational in 1995. It was originally restricted to companies in industrial sectors. With the first revision of the EMAS Regulation in 2001 (EMAS II), the scheme opened to all economic sectors including public and private services. In addition, EMAS II was strengthened by the integration of the environmental management requirements of ISO 14001; by adopting a new EMAS logo to signal engagement to stakeholders; and by considering more strongly indirect effects such as those related to financial services or administrative and planning decisions. The latest revision of EMAS came into effect on 11 January 2010 (EMAS III). With the introduction of EMAS III, the scheme is globally applicable and no longer limited to EU Member States. With EMAS III the EU also introduced obligatory Key Performance Indicators (KPI) in order to harmonize reporting on environmental performance. The number of EMAS registered organisations increased from 2,140 in 1997 to 4,659 in 2011.