EMAS, the Environmental Management and Audit Scheme (Eco-Management and Audit Scheme), is one of the voluntary environmental management systems in the European Union.
Its purpose is to support organizations in evaluating and improving their environmental performance, as well as to inform the public about the organization itself and its ongoing efforts to improve its environmental performance. EMAS shares many common elements with the globally recognized ISO 14001 standard but includes additional requirements, and thus its prestige exceeds that of ISO 14001; only companies with the best environmental performance are eligible to participate. It has been amended twice since its initial introduction; currently, the legislation in force is “Regulation (EC) No. 1221/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the voluntary participation of organizations in the Community eco-management and audit scheme (EMAS) (effective as of January 11, 2010).”
Implementing EMAS can take months and poses a significant challenge. Once implemented, the system strengthens and supports the organization’s efforts to fulfill its environmental obligations, prevent and reduce environmental pollution, monitor environmental impacts, provide greater assurance of compliance with laws and regulatory requirements, and raise environmental awareness among stakeholders.
EMAS can also be verified by independent verifiers registered in Hungary and the EU. Following a successful audit, the organization is registered and becomes eligible to display the EMAS logo, which certifies the system’s operation and effectiveness, and may even contribute to gaining a competitive advantage in the market.
KÖVET played a key role in introducing EMAS in Hungary and has since been doing everything in its power to help as many organizations as possible achieve registration. Currently, the names of 20 certified organizations in Hungary are listed on the official website (emas.kvvm.hu), but we hope this number will gradually increase. We implement European Union-funded programs that assist in the implementation of environmental management systems. Our first such project was called EMAS Easy, which is also the name of the methodology we promote. Its success is evidenced by the fact that some of the participating organizations did not stop at registration; in fact, some have even successfully completed the first recertification review, which is due every three years.
References:
Systems established during EMAS projects: References:
- EMAS 4 countries
- EMAS Easy I.
- EMAS Easy II.
- BeSmarter
- EMAS 8 countries
EMAS Simply 2.0 – 2017
The KÖVET Association has been promoting and teaching the EMAS Simply method since 2001. The essence of the method is that it summarizes the documentation and records of the Environmental Management System, in accordance with the EMAS Regulation, in an Excel spreadsheet.
The Excel spreadsheet itself is the EMAS Made Simple 2.0 – 2017 tool.
Its update was supported in 2016 by the Ministry of Agriculture’s Green Source program. EMAS Made Simple 2.0 incorporates the requirements of the ISO 14001:2015 standard. In doing so, we have effectively anticipated EU legislation; the EMAS Regulation is expected to be issued in 2018, which will replace the currently valid Regulation (EC) No. 1221/1993 and will incorporate the requirements of the ISO 14001:2015 standard. The “EMAS Simply 2.0” tool is available to all organizations operating, planning, or implementing an EMAS-compliant environmental management system; we request feedback on the tool’s download, use, and your experiences with it at info@kovet.hu.
The KÖVET Association’s “EMAS – Simply for Everyone 2.0” project received 1,049,000 Ft in funding from the Ministry of Agriculture’s Green Source grant program.
