EMAS
The Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) is a voluntary EC Regulation with a key aim of encouraging organisations to manage their impact on the environment and to publicly report progress on their environmental performance.
Verification to EMAS is one way in which you can meet the growing expectations from your stakeholders – financial institutions and investors, local communities, customers, employees and consumers – for verified environmental reporting.
How can EMAS benefit my organisation?
A key aim of this voluntary Regulation is to recognise those organisations that go beyond minimum legal compliance and continuously improve their environmental performance. It is therefore ideal for those wanting to demonstrate credibility in the environmental field.
The Regulation, revised in April 2001, offers organisations significant benefits:
- Based on ISO 14001 – making it easier for ISO 14001 certified organisations to progress to EMAS
- Public disclosure – transparency and regular provision of environmental information are key elements in differentiating EMAS and helps you respond to growing market expectations for verified environmental reporting
- Independent assessment – validation of the environmental statement by an accredited verifier – such as LRQA – gives stakeholders additional confidence in the reliability of the information being reported
- Improved communications – increased flexibility in targeting relevant information to stakeholders
- Compliance with legislative and other requirements – demonstrates they have identified the implications of all relevant legislation and have made provision for compliance
- Continual improvement – committed to the continual improvement of environmental performance
- Use of distinctive logo – to symbolise your commitment in the environmental field
- Applicable to more organisations – the revised version is now open to all types of organisation
How can we gain registration to EMAS?
The Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA) is the competent body in the UK responsible for registering, suspending or deleting sites. For an explanation of how to gain registration see Your route to EMAS registration.
What services can LRQA provide me with?
LRQA have a range of service options for organisations wanting verification to EMAS which you can discuss more fully with one of our business advisors on 0800 783 2179. These include a gap analysis and preliminary assessment. We have three service options for your formal verification:
- A complete EMAS verification and validation for those organisations that have already implemented an EMS but not yet had it certified. LRQA verifiers will undertake at least two on-site visits to examine the management system’s conformance with the EMAS requirements, including assessment of the organisation’s compliance with relevant legislation and in addition, to validate the information within the environmental statement.
- Verification and validation to EMAS together with certification to a recognised environmental management system - normally ISO 14001.
- Verification and validation to EMAS following certification to a recognised environmental management system, normally ISO 14001 and usually as part of an extended certificate routine surveillance visit.
Background to EMAS
As part of the action programme in the early 1990s, primarily to focus on promoting environmental responsibility and improvement in industrial/manufacturing sectors, the EU developed the Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) Regulation. The Regulation is binding on member states but voluntary on industry/manufacturing organisations.
The development of the original EMAS commenced in late 1990, was adopted by the EU Council of Ministers in June 1993 and came into force in April 1995.
The key points of EMAS are:
- third party verification
- compliance with legal requirements
- managing environmental impacts
- improving environmental performance
- provision of information to the public
The latter point separates EMAS from the environmental management systems.
The EMAS regulation has been revised. A new version has been agreed between the EU Parliament and the EU Council of Ministers and has been published in the EU official journal in April 2001 and is now in force.
For further information on EMAS visit: www.iema.org.uk Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment
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