The EMAS 'Eco-Management and Audit Scheme' Regulation, EC Regulation No. 1221/2009 and subsequent amendments, concerns the voluntary participation of organizations in a Community eco-management and audit system. The Regulations require participating organizations to adopt environmental management systems (EMS) based on policies, programs, procedures and objectives to reduce their own impact on the environment and publish an Environmental Declaration (a real site environmental balance).

EMAS Registration

EMAS is a management tool developed by the European Commission for organizations wishing to evaluate, monitor and improve their environmental performance. The goal of EMAS is to promote continuous improvements in the environmental performance of organizations also by:
the introduction and implementation by organizations of an environmental management system;
information on environmental performance and an open dialogue with the public and other interested parties, including through the publication of an environmental statement.
The environmental management system required by EMAS is based on the ISO 14001 standard of which all the requirements are referred to, while the open dialogue with the public is pursued by requiring organizations to publish (and keep updated) an Environmental Declaration in which information and salient data of the organization regarding its environmental aspects and impacts.

How to obtain the EMAS Registration

To obtain EMAS registration an organization must:
Carry out an environmental analysis, examining the environmental impacts of the activities carried out;
Implement an environmental management system aimed at realizing its environmental policy and achieving improvement objectives;
Carry out an environmental audit, to assess the effectiveness of the management system and environmental performance in relation to the policy, improvement objectives, environmental programs of the organization and current regulations;
Prepare an Environmental Declaration, that is, a document that describes the results achieved with respect to the environmental objectives set and indicates how the organization plans to continuously improve its environmental performance;
Obtain verification from an accredited EMAS verifier (such as Cm Group) who, after evaluating the environmental analysis, the environmental management system, the audit activities and the Environmental Declaration, validates the latter;
The environmental declaration validated by the verifier must then be sent to the Ecolabel and Ecoaudit Committee, EMAS Italy Section, together with the registration application. Once registered - the organization receives a number that identifies it in the European register - it has the possibility to use the EMAS logo and must make its Environmental Declaration available to the public.
Cm Group is Accredited Verifier n. IT-V-0017 for the verification and validation of Environmental Declarations for the purposes of EMAS Registration.

The advantages of EMAS registration

It is an effective tool for environmental communication
Allows you to keep compliance with the laws under control Reduces the risk of environmental accidents, thanks to proper management of environmental impacts related to the organization's activities
It can allow you to obtain economic and financial benefits
It improves the corporate image both towards customers and suppliers (by using the EMAS logo and the Environmental Declaration made available to the public)
It allows to obtain competitive advantages and can be requested as a prerequisite or preferential requirement in the context of tenders.