Welcome
European
Conference
The EU Eco-Management and Audit Scheme
(EMAS)
Benefits and Challenges of EMAS II
Brussels, 26 / 27 June 2002
The EU Eco-Management
and Audit Scheme (EMAS) is a management tool for companies and
other organisations to evaluate, report and improve their environmental
performance. The scheme has been available for participation by
companies since 1995 and was originally restricted to companies
in industrial sectors.
Since 2001 EMAS is
open to all economic sectors including public and private services.
In addition, EMAS was strengthened by: the integration of EN/ISO
14001 as the environmental management system required by EMAS;
by adopting an attractive EMAS logo for demonstrating EMAS registration
to the outside world; and by considering more strongly indirect
effects such as those related to financial services or administrative
and planning decisions.
Furthermore, Member
States and the European Union are now asked to create new benefits
and incentives for registered organisations, for example in the
areas of public procurement and by reducing unnecessary duplication
of efforts in relation to other environmental legislation (deregulation).
Therefore, the European
Commission's Directorate-General Environment asked Ecologic -
Institute for International and European Environmental Policy
in partnership with the Institute for Ecological Economy Research
(IÖW) to prepare this Conference as an important step in
the promotion and development of EMAS.
Simultaneous translation into English, French and German will
be provided. The attendance at the conference is free of charge.
More detailed information on EMAS is available
at: http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/emas/
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