2001R0761 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 001.001 — 1
This document is meant purely as a documentation tool and the institutions do not assume any liability for its contents
►B REGULATION (EC) No 761/2001 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE
COUNCIL
of 19 March 2001
allowing voluntary participation by organisations in a Community eco-management and audit
scheme (EMAS)
(OJ L 114, 24.4.2001, p. 1)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►A1 Act concerning the conditions of accession of the Czech Republic, the
Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of Latvia,
the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic ofMalta, the Republic of Poland, the Republic of Slovenia and the SlovakRepublic and the adjustments to the Treaties on which the EuropeanUnion is foundedL 236 33 23.9.2003
Corrected by:
►C1 Corrigendum, OJ L 327, 4.12.2002, p. 10 (761/2001)
▼B
REGULATION (EC) No 761/2001 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIA-
MENT AND OF THE COUNCIL
of 19 March 2001
allowing voluntary participation by organisations in a Community
eco-management and audit scheme (EMAS)
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE
EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and
in particular Article 175(1) thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1),
Having regard to the Opinion of the Economic and Social
Committee (2),
After consulting the Committee of the Regions,Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of
the Treaty (
3), in the light of the joint text approved by the Conciliation
Committee on 20 December 2000,
Whereas:
(1) Article 2 of the Treaty stipulates that the Community shall have
among its tasks to promote throughout the Community sustain-able growth and the Resolution of 1 February 1993 (
4) stresses
the importance of such sustainable growth.
(2) The programme ‘Towards Sustainability’, presented by the
Commission and approved as to its general approach by the
Resolution of 1 February 1993, underlines the role and responsi-bilities of organisations, both to reinforce the economy and toprotect the environment throughout the Community.
(3) The programme ‘Towards Sustainability’ calls for broadeningthe range of instruments in the field of environmental protection
and for using market-mechanisms to commit organisations to
adopt a pro-active approach in this field beyond compliancewith all relevant regulatory requirements regarding the environ-ment.
(4) The Commission should promote a coherent approach between
the legislative instruments developed at Community level in the
field of environmental protection.
(5) Council Regulation (EEC) No 1836/93 of 29 June 1993 allowingvoluntary participation by companies in the industrial sector in aCommunity eco-management and audit scheme (
5) demonstrated
its effectiveness in promoting improvements of the environ-
mental performance of industry.
(6) The experience gathered from the implementation of Regulation
(EEC) No 1836/93 should be used to enhance the ability of theCommunity eco-management and audit scheme (EMAS) to bringabout an improvement in the overall environmental performanceof organisations.2001R0761 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 001.001 — 2
(1) OJ C 400, 22.12.1998, p. 7 and OJ C 212 E, 25.7.2000, p. 1.
(2) OJ C 209, 22.7.1999, p. 43.
(3) Opinion of the European Parliament of 15 April 1999 (OJ C 219, 30.7.1999,
p. 385), confirmed on 6 May 1999 (OJ C 279, 1.10.1999, p. 253), Council
Common Position of 28 February 2000 (OJ C 128, 8.5.2000, p. 1) and Deci-
sion of the European Parliament of 6 July 2000 (not yet published in the
Official Journal). Decision of the European Parliament of 14 February
2001 and Decision of the Council of 12 February 2001.
(4) Resolution of the Council and the Representatives of the Governments of
the Member States, meeting within the Council of 1 February 1993 on a
Community programme of policy and action in relation to the environment
and sustainable development (OJ C 138, 17.5.1993, p. 1).
(5) OJ L 168, 10.7.1993, p. 1.
▼B
(7) EMAS should be made available to all organisations having
environmental impacts, providing a means for them to manage
these impacts and to improve their overall environmental perfor-mance.
(8) In accordance with the principles of subsidiarity and proportion-ality referred to in Article 5 of the Treaty, the effectiveness ofEMAS in contributing to improved environmental performanceof European organisations can be better achieved at Communitylevel. This Regulation limits itself to ensuring an equal imple-mentation of EMAS throughout the Community by providing
for common rules, procedures and essential requirements
regarding EMAS whilst the measures that can be adequatelyperformed at national level are left to the Member States.
(9) Organisations should be encouraged to participate in EMAS on avoluntary basis and may gain added value in terms of regulatorycontrol, cost savings and public image.
(10) It is important that small and medium-sized enterprises partici-pate in EMAS and that their participation should be promotedby facilitating access to information, to existing support fundsand to public institutions and by establishing or promoting tech-nical assistance measures.
(11) The information provided by Member States should be used bythe Commission to assess the need for developing specificmeasures aimed at greater participation in EMAS by organisa-
tions, in particular small and medium-sized enterprises.
(12) The transparency and credibility of organisations implementingenvironmental management systems are enhanced when their
management system, audit programme and environmental state-ment are examined to verify that they meet the relevantrequirements of this Regulation and when the environmentalstatement and its subsequent updates are validated by accreditedenvironmental verifiers.
(13) It is therefore necessary to ensure and steadily improve thecompetence of the environmental verifiers by providing for anindependent and neutral accreditation system, retraining and an
appropriate supervision of their activities in order to ensure the
overall credibility of EMAS. Close cooperation between thenational accreditation bodies should accordingly be set up.
(14) Organisations should be encouraged to produce and makepublicly available periodic environmental statements providingthe public and other interested parties with information on theirenvironmental performance.
(15) The Member States could create incentives to encourage organi-sations to participate in EMAS.
(16) The Commission should provide technical support to accessioncandidate countries in the setting up of the necessary structuresfor the application of EMAS.
(17) In addition to the general requirements of the environmentalmanagement system EMAS places special significance on thefollowing elements: legal compliance, improvement of environ-mental performance and also external communication andemployee involvement.
(18) The Commission should adapt the Annexes to this Regulation,with the exception of Annex V, recognise European and interna-
tional standards for environmental issues of relevance to EMAS
and establish guidelines in partnership with EMAS interestedparties for the purpose of ensuring consistent implementation ofthe EMAS requirements across Member States. In drafting suchguidelines, the Commission should take account of Communitypolicy on the environment and in particular Community legisla-
tion as well as international commitments where relevant.
(19) The measures necessary for the implementation of this Regula-
tion should be adopted in accordance with Council Decision2001R0761 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 001.001 — 3
▼B
1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for
the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commis-sion (
1).
(20) This Regulation should be revised, if appropriate, in the light ofexperience gained after a certain period of operation.
(21) The European institutions should endeavour to adopt the princi-ples laid down in this Regulation.
(22) This Regulation takes over and replaces Regulation (EEC) 1836/93 which should therefore be repealed,
HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
The eco-management and audit scheme and its objectives
1. A Community eco-management and audit scheme allowing volun-
tary participation by organisations, hereafter referred to as ‘EMAS’, ishereby established for the evaluation and improvement of the environ-mental performance of organisations and the provision of relevantinformation to the public and other interested parties.
2. The objective of EMAS shall be to promote continual improve-
ments in the environmental performance of organisations by:
(a) the establishment and implementation of environmental manage-
ment systems by organisations as described in Annex I;
(b) the systematic, objective and periodic evaluation of the perfor-
mance of such systems as described in Annex I;
(c) the provision of information on environmental performance and an
open dialogue with the public and other interested parties;
(d) the active involvement of employees in the organisation and appro-
priate initial and advanced training that makes active participationin the tasks referred to under (a) possible. Where they so request,any employee representatives shall also be involved.
Article 2
Definitions
For the purposes of this Regulation:
(a) ‘environmental policy’ shall mean an organisation's overall aims
and principles of action with respect to the environment including
compliance with all relevant regulatory requirements regarding the
environment and also a commitment to continual improvement ofenvironmental performance; the environmental policy provides theframework for setting and reviewing environmental objectives andtargets;
(b) ‘continual improvement of environmental performance’ shall mean
the process of enhancing, year by year, the measurable results of
the environmental management system related to an organisation'smanagement of its significant environmental aspects, based on itsenvironmental policy, objectives and targets; the enhancing of theresults need not take place in all spheres of activity simulta-neously;
(c) ‘environmental performance’ shall mean the results of an organisa-
tion's management of its environmental aspects;
(d) ‘prevention of pollution’ shall mean use of processes, practices,
materials or products that avoid, reduce or control pollution, whichmay include recycling, treatment, process changes, controlmechanisms, efficient use of resources and material substitution;2001R0761 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 001.001 — 4
(1) OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23.
▼B
(e) ‘environmental review’ shall mean an initial comprehensive
analysis of the environmental issues, impact and performancerelated to activities of an organisation, (Annex VII);
(f) ‘environmental aspect’ shall mean an element of an organisation's
activities, products or services that can interact with the environ-
ment, (Annex VI); a significant environmental aspect is anenvironmental aspect that has or can have a significant environ-mental impact;
(g) ‘environmental impact’ shall mean any change to the environment,
whether adverse or beneficial, wholly or partially resulting from anorganisation's activities, products or services;
(h) ‘environmental programme’ shall mean a description of the
measures (responsibilities and means) taken or envisaged toachieve environmental objectives and targets and the deadlines
for achieving the environmental objectives and targets;
(i) ‘environmental objective’ shall mean an overall environmental
goal, arising from the environmental policy, that an organisationsets itself to achieve, and which is quantified where practicable;
(j) ‘environmental target’ shall mean a detailed performance require-
ment, quantified where practicable, applicable to the organisationor parts thereof, that arises from the environmental objectives andthat needs to be set and met in order to achieve those objectives;
(k) ‘environmental management system’ shall mean the part of the
overall management system that includes the organisational struc-ture, planning activities, responsibilities, practices, procedures,
processes and resources for developing, implementing, achieving,
reviewing and maintaining the environmental policy;
(l) ‘environmental audit’ shall mean a management tool comprising a
systematic, documented, periodic and objective evaluation of theperformance of the organisation, management system andprocesses designed to protect the environment with the aim of:
(i) facilitating management control of practices which may have
an impact on the environment;
(ii) assessing compliance with the environmental policy, including
environmental objectives and targets of the organisation
(Annex II);
(m) ‘audit cycle’ shall mean the period of time in which all the activ-
ities in an organisation are audited, (Annex II);
(n) ‘auditor’ shall mean an individual or a team, belonging to the
organisation personnel or external to the organisation, acting onbehalf of the organisation's top management, possessing, individu-ally or collectively, the competences referred to in Annex II,point 2.4 and being sufficiently independent of the activities they
audit to make an objective judgment;
(o) ‘environmental statement’ shall mean the information detailed in
Annex III point 3.2 ((a) to (g));
(p) ‘interested party’ shall mean an individual or group, including
authorities, concerned with or affected by the environmentalperformance of an organisation;
(q) ‘environmental verifier’ shall mean any person or organisation
independent of the organisation being verified, who has obtainedaccreditation, in accordance with the conditions and proceduresreferred to in Article 4;
(r) ‘accreditation system’ shall mean a system for the accreditation
and supervision of environmental verifiers operated by an impar-tial institution or organisation designated or created by the
Member State (accreditation body), with sufficient resources and
competency and having appropriate procedures for performing thefunctions defined by this Regulation for such a system;
(s) ‘organisation’ shall mean a company, corporation, firm, enterprise,
authority or institution, or part or combination thereof, whetherincorporated or not, public or private, that has its own functionsand administrations.2001R0761 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 001.001 — 5
▼B
The entity to be registered as an organisation under EMAS shall
be agreed with the environmental verifier and, where appropriate,the competent bodies, taking account of Commission guidance,
established in accordance with the procedure laid down in
Article 14(2), but shall not exceed the boundaries of one MemberState. The smallest entity to be considered shall be a site. Underexceptional circumstances identified by the Commission in accor-dance with the procedure laid down in Article 14(2), the entity to
be considered for registration under EMAS may be smaller than a
site, such as a sub-division with its own functions.
(t) ‘site’ shall mean all land at a distinct geographic location under
the management control of an organisation covering activities,products and services. This includes all infrastructure, equipment
and materials;
(u) ‘competent bodies’ shall mean the bodies designated by Member
States, whether national, regional or local, in accordance withArticle 5, to perform the tasks specified in this Regulation.
Article 3
Participation in EMAS
1. EMAS shall be open to the participation of any organisation dedi-
cated to improving its overall environmental performance.
2. In order for an organisation to be registered under EMAS it shall:
(a) Conduct an environmental review of its activities, products and
services in accordance with Annex VII addressing the issuescontained in Annex VI and, in the light of the results of thatreview, implement an environmental management system coveringall the requirements referred to in Annex I, in particular the
compliance with the relevant environmental legislation.
However, organisations which have a certified environmental
management system, recognised according to the requirements ofArticle 9, do not need to conduct a formal environmental reviewwhen moving on to EMAS implementation, if the necessary infor-
mation for the identification and evaluation of the environmental
aspects set out in Annex VI is provided by the certified environ-mental management system.
(b) carry out, or cause to be carried out, environmental auditing in
accordance with the requirements set out in Annex II. The audits
shall be designed to assess the environmental performance of the
organisation;
(c) prepare, in accordance with Annex III, point 3.2, an environmental
statement. The statement shall pay particular attention to the resultsachieved by an organisation against its environmental objectives
and targets and the requirement of continuing to improve its envir-
onmental performance, and shall consider the information needs ofrelevant interested parties;
(d) have the environmental review, if appropriate, management system,
audit procedure and environmental statement examined to verify
that they meet the relevant requirements of this Regulation and
have the environmental statement validated by the environmentalverifier to ensure it meets the requirements of Annex III;
(e) forward the validated environmental statement to the competent
body of the Member State in which the organisation seeking regis-
tration is located and, after registration, make it publicly available.
3. In order for an organisation to maintain registration to EMAS it
shall:
(a) have the environmental management system and audit programme
verified in accordance with the requirements of Annex V, point 5.6;
(b) forward the yearly necessary validated updates of its environmental
statement to the competent body and make them publicly available.Deviations from the frequency with which updates shall beperformed can be made under circumstances laid down in Commis-2001R0761 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 001.001 — 6
▼B
sion guidance adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down
in Article 14(2), in particular for small organisations and smallenterprises according to Commission Recommendation 96/280/
EC (
1) and when there is no operational change in the environ-
mental management system.
Article 4
Accreditation system
1. Member States shall establish a system for the accreditation of
independent environmental verifiers and for the supervision of their
activities. To this end, Member States may either use existing accredi-tation institutions or the competent bodies referred to in Article 5 ordesignate or set up any other body with an appropriate status.
Member States shall ensure that the composition of these systems is
such as to guarantee their independence and neutrality in the executionof their tasks.
2. Member States shall ensure that these systems are fully opera-
tional within 12 months following the date of entry into force of this
Regulation.
3. Member States shall ensure appropriate consultation of parties
involved, in setting up and directing the accreditation systems.
4. The accreditation of environmental verifiers and supervision of
their activities shall be in accordance with the requirements ofAnnex V.
5. Environmental verifiers accredited in one Member State may
perform verification activities in any other Member State in accordancewith the requirements laid down in Annex V. The start of the verifica-
tion activity shall be notified to the Member State in which it is being
performed and the activity shall be subject to supervision by the latter'saccreditation system.
6. Member States shall inform the Commission of the measures
taken pursuant to this Article and communicate relevant changes in
the structure and procedures of the accreditation systems.
7. The Commission shall, in accordance with the procedure laid
down in Article 14(2), promote collaboration between Member States
in order, in particular, to avoid inconsistency between Annex V andthe criteria, conditions and procedures which the national accreditationbodies apply for the accreditation and supervision of environmentalverifiers to ensure a consistent quality of environmental verifiers.
8. A forum, constituted of all accreditation bodies, shall be set up by
the accreditation bodies with the aim of providing the Commissionwith the elements and means to fulfil its obligation underparagraph (7). It shall meet at least once per year in the presence of a
representative of the Commission.
The forum shall as appropriate develop guidance on issues in the field
of accreditation, competence and supervision of environmental veri-fiers. Guidance documents produced shall be submitted to the
procedure laid down in Article 14(2).
In order to ensure a harmonised development of the functioning of
accreditation bodies and the verification process in all the Member
States, the forum shall develop procedures for a peer review process.
The aim of the peer review shall be to ensure that the accreditationsystems of Member States meet the requirements of this Regulation.A report of the peer review activities shall be transmitted to theCommission which shall forward it for information to the Committeereferred to in Article 14(1) and make it publicly available.2001R0761 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 001.001 — 7
(1) OJ L 107, 30.4.1996, p. 4.
▼B
Article 5
Competent bodies
1. Within 3 months of the entry into force of this Regulation, each
Member State shall designate the competent body responsible forcarrying out the tasks provided for in this Regulation, in particular inArticles 6 and 7 and shall inform the Commission thereof.
2. Member States shall ensure that the composition of the competent
bodies is such as to guarantee their independence and neutrality and
that the competent bodies apply the provisions of this Regulation in aconsistent manner.
3. Member States shall have guidelines for suspension and deletion
of the registration of organisations, for the use of competent bodies.Competent bodies shall, in particular, have procedures for:
— considering observations from interested parties concerning regis-
tered organisations, and
— refusal of registration, deletion or suspension of organisations from
registration.
4. The competent body shall be responsible for the registration of
organisations under EMAS. It shall therefore control the entry and
maintenance of organisations on the register.
5. Competent bodies from all Member States shall meet, at least
once per year in the presence of a representative of the Commission.The objective of these meetings is to ensure the consistency of proce-dures relating to the registration of organisations under EMAS,including suspension and deletion of registration. A peer review
process shall be put in place by the competent bodies for the purpose
of developing a common understanding of their practical approachtowards registration. A report of the peer review activities shall betransmitted to the Commission which shall forward it for informationto the Committee referred to in Article 14(1), and make it publicly
available.
Article 6
Registration of organisations
Registration of organisations shall be dealt with by competent bodies
on the basis of the following cases:
1. If a competent body
— has received a validated environmental statement and
— has received a completed form, which includes at least the
minimum information set out in Annex VIII, from the organisa-
tion and
— has received any registration fee that may be payable under
Article 16 and
— is satisfied, on the basis of evidence received, and in particular
through inquiries made at the competent enforcement authorityregarding the compliance of the organisation with the relevant
environmental legislation, that the organisation meets all the
requirements of this Regulation,
it shall register the applicant organisation and give it a registration
number. The competent body shall inform the organisation'smanagement that the organisation appears on the register.
2. If a competent body receives a supervision report from the accredi-
tation body which gives evidence that the activities of the
environmental verifier were not performed adequately enough toensure that the requirements of this Regulation are met by the appli-cant organisation, registration shall be refused or suspended asappropriate until assurance of the organisation's compliance withEMAS is obtained.2001R0761 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 001.001 — 8
▼B
3. If an organisation fails to submit to a competent body, within three
months of being required to do so,
— the yearly validated updates of the environmental statement, or
— a completed form, which includes at least the minimum informa-
tion set out in Annex VIII from the organisation, or
— any relevant registration fees,
the organisation shall be suspended or deleted from the register, as
appropriate, depending on the nature and scope of the failure. The
competent body shall inform the organisation's management of thereasons for the measures taken.
4. If, at any time, a competent body concludes, on the basis of
evidence received, that the organisation is no longer complyingwith one or more of the conditions of this Regulation, the organisa-
tion shall be suspended or deleted from the register, as appropriate,
depending on the nature and scope of the failure.
If a competent body is informed by the competent enforcement
authority of a breach by the organisation of relevant regulatoryrequirements regarding environmental protection, it shall refuseregistration of that organisation or suspend it from the register as
appropriate.
5. Refusal of registration, suspension or deletion of organisations from
the register shall require the consultation of the appropriate inter-ested parties, in order to provide the competent body with thenecessary elements of evidence for taking its decision. The compe-tent body shall inform the organisation's management of the reasons
for the measures taken and of the process of discussion with the
competent enforcement authority.
6. Refusal or suspension shall be lifted if the competent body has
received satisfactory information that the organisation is in compli-ance with the requirements of EMAS or if it has receivedsatisfactory information from the competent enforcement authority
that the breach has been rectified and that the organisation has
made satisfactory arrangements with the aim of ensuring that itdoes not recur.
Article 7
List of registered organisations and environmental verifiers
1. The accreditation body shall establish, revise and update a list of
environmental verifiers and their scope of accreditation in theirMember State and shall directly, or via the national authorities as
decided by the Member State concerned, communicate changes in this
list each month to the Commission and to the competent body.
2. The competent bodies shall establish and maintain a list of regis-
tered organisations in their Member State and update this list on amonthly basis. The competent bodies shall directly, or via the nationalauthorities as decided by the Member State concerned, communicatechanges in this list each month to the Commission and may organisea system of information exchanges by economic sector and area of
competence in the network of delegated local bodies.
3. The register of environmental verifiers and EMAS registered
organisations shall be maintained by the Commission which shall
make it publicly available.
Article 8
Logo
1. Organisations participating in EMAS may use the logo set out in
Annex IV only if they have a current EMAS registration. Technicalspecifications regarding the reproduction of the logo shall be adoptedin accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 14(2) andpublished by the Commission.2001R0761 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 001.001 — 9
▼B
2. The EMAS logo may be used by organisations in the following
cases:
(a) on validated information as described in Annex III, point 3.5, under
circumstances defined in Commission guidance adopted under theprocedure laid down in Article 14(2) which shall ensure that thereis no confusion with environmental product labels (version 2 of the
logo, as given in Annex IV, shall be used in this case);
(b) on validated environmental statements (version 2 of the logo, as
given in Annex IV, shall be used in this case);
(c) on registered organisations' letterheads (version 1 of the logo, as
given in Annex IV, shall be used in this case);
(d) on information advertising an organisation's participation in EMAS
(version 1 of the logo, as given in Annex IV, shall be used in thiscase);
(e) on or in adverts for products, activities and services, only under
circumstances defined in Commission guidance adopted in accor-
dance with Article 14(2) which shall ensure that there is noconfusion with environmental product labels.
3. The logo shall not be used in the following cases:
(a) on products or their packaging,
(b) in conjunction with comparative claims concerning other products,
activities and services.
The Commission shall however, as a part of the evaluation provided
for in Article 15(3), consider under which exceptional circumstancesthe logo may be used and, for these cases, shall adopt rules in accor-
dance with the procedure laid down in Article 14(2) which shall ensure
that there is no confusion with environmental product labels.
Article 9
Relationship with European and international standards
1. Organisations implementing European or international standards
for environmental issues relevant to EMAS and certified, according to
appropriate certification procedures, as complying with those standardsshall be considered as meeting the corresponding requirements of thisRegulation, provided that:
(a) the standards are recognised by the Commission acting in accor-
dance with the procedure laid down in Article 14(2);
(b) the accreditation requirements for the certification bodies are
recognised by the Commission acting in accordance with the proce-dure laid down in Article 14(2).
The references of the recognised standards (including the relevant
sections of EMAS to which they apply) and recognised accreditationrequirements shall be published in the Official Journal of the European
Communities .
2. To enable organisations referred to in paragraph 1 to be registered
under EMAS, the organisations concerned shall demonstrate to theenvironmental verifier compliance with requirements not covered by
the recognised standards.
Article 10
Relationship with other environmental legislation in the Commu-
nity
1. EMAS shall be without prejudice to:
(a) Community law, or
(b) national laws or technical standards not governed by Community
law and
(c) the duties of organisations under those laws and standards
regarding environmental controls.2001R0761 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 001.001 — 10
▼B
2. Member States should consider how registration under EMAS in
accordance with this Regulation may be taken into account in theimplementation and enforcement of environmental legislation in order
to avoid unnecessary duplication of effort by both organisations and
competent enforcement authorities.
Member States shall inform the Commission of the measures taken in
this regard. The Commission shall transmit the information receivedfrom Member States to the European Parliament and to the Council assoon as available and at least on a three-yearly basis.
Article 11
Promotion of organisations' participation, in particular of small
and medium-sized enterprises
1. Member States shall promote organisations' participation in
EMAS and shall, in particular, consider the need to ensure the partici-pation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by
— facilitating access to information, support funds, public institutions
and public procurement, without prejudice to the Community rulesgoverning public procurement,
— establishing or promoting technical assistance measures, especially
in conjunction with initiatives from appropriate professional or localpoints of contact (e.g. local authorities, chambers of commerce,trade or craft associations),
— ensuring that reasonable registration fees encourage higher partici-
pation.
In order to promote participation of SMEs, including those concen-
trated in well defined geographical areas, local authorities, inparticipation with industrial associations, chambers of commerce andinterested parties may provide assistance in the identification of signif-
icant environmental impacts. SMEs may then use this in defining their
environmental programme and setting the objectives and targets oftheir EMAS management system. In addition, programmes designed toencourage the participation of SMEs, such as a step by step approachwhich will eventually lead to EMAS registration, may be developed atregional or national level. The system shall operate with the objective
of avoiding unnecessary administrative burden for participants, in parti-
cular small organisations.
2. In order to encourage organisations' participation in EMAS the
Commission and other institutions of the Community as well as otherpublic authorities at national level should consider, without prejudice toCommunity law, how registration under EMAS may be taken intoaccount when setting criteria for their procurement policies.
3. Member States shall inform the Commission of the measures
taken under this Article. The Commission shall transmit the informa-
tion received from Member States to the European Parliament and to
the Council as soon as available and at least on a three-yearly basis.
Article 12
Information
1. Each Member State shall take appropriate measures to ensure
that:
(a) organisations are informed of the content of this Regulation;
(b) the public is informed of the objectives and principal components
of EMAS.
Member States shall, where appropriate, in cooperation with, amongst
others, industrial associations, consumer organisations, environmentalorganisations, trade unions and local institutions, in particular useprofessional publications, local journals, promotion campaigns or anyother functional means to promote general awareness of EMAS.
2. Member States shall inform the Commission of the measures
taken under this Article.2001R0761 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 001.001 — 11
▼B
3. The Commission shall be responsible for promoting EMAS at
Community level. It shall, in particular, examine in consultation withthe members of the Committee referred to in Article 14(1) the possibi-
lity of disseminating best practice by appropriate ways and means.
Article 13
Infringements
Member States shall take appropriate legal or administrative measures
in case of non-compliance with the provisions of this Regulation and
communicate these measures to the Commission.
Article 14
Committee
1. The Commission shall be assisted by a committee.2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Articles 5 and 7 of
Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, having regard to the provisions of
Article 8 thereof.
The period referred to in Article 5(6) of Decision 1999/468/EC shall be
set at three months.
3. The Committee shall adopt its rules of procedure.
Article 15
Revision
1. The Commission shall review EMAS in the light of the experi-
ence gained during its operation and international developments no
later than five years after the entry into force of this Regulation, andshall, if necessary, propose to the European Parliament and Councilthe appropriate amendments.
2. All the Annexes to this Regulation, with the exception of
Annex V, shall be adapted by the Commission, acting in accordancewith the procedure laid down in Article 14(2) in the light of experience
gained in the operation of EMAS and in response to identified needs
for guidance on EMAS requirements.
3. The Commission shall in particular evaluate, in cooperation with
the Member States, no later than 5 years after the entry into force ofthis Regulation, the use, recognition and interpretation, especially bythe public and other interested parties, of the EMAS logo and assesswhether there is a need to revise the logo and the requirements for its
use.
Article 16
Costs and fees
1. A system of fees in accordance with arrangements established by
Member States may be set up for the administrative costs incurred in
connection with the registration procedures for organisations and the
accreditation and supervision of environmental verifiers and otherrelated costs of EMAS.
2. Member States shall inform the Commission of the measures
taken under this Article.
Article 17
Repeal of Regulation (EEC) No 1836/93
1. Regulation (EEC) No 1836/93 shall be repealed as from the date
of entry into force of this Regulation, subject to paragraphs 2 to 5 ofthis Article.
2. National accreditation systems and competent bodies set up
pursuant to Regulation (EEC) No 1836/93 shall remain in force.Member States shall modify the procedures followed by accreditation2001R0761 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 001.001 — 12
▼B
systems and competent bodies under the corresponding provisions of
this Regulation. Member States shall ensure that these systems are fullyoperational within 12 months following the date of entry into force of
this Regulation.
3. Environmental verifiers accredited in accordance with Regulation
(EEC) No 1836/93 may continue to perform their activities in accor-dance with the requirements established by this Regulation.
4. Sites registered in accordance with Regulation (EEC) No 1836/93
will remain on the EMAS register. The new requirements of this Regu-lation shall be checked at the time of the next verification of a site. If
the next verification is to be carried out sooner than 6 months after
entry into force of this Regulation, the date of the next verificationmay be extended by 6 months in agreement with the environmentalverifier and the competent bodies.
5. Paragraphs 3 and 4 shall also apply to environmental verifiers
accredited and sites registered in accordance with Article 14 of Regula-
tion (EEC) No 1836/93, provided that the responsible accreditation
bodies and competent bodies have agreed that the environmental veri-fiers and registered sites comply with all the requirements ofRegulation (EEC) No 1836/93 and notify this to the Commission.
Article 18
Entry into force
This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day following that of
its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities .
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable
in all Member States.2001R0761 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 001.001 — 13
▼B
ANNEX I
A.ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
The environmental Management system shall be implemented according to the
requirements given below (section 4 of EN ISO 14001:1996) (*):
I-A Environmental Management System Requirements
I-A.1. Ge n e r a l r e q u i r e m e n t s
The organisation shall establish and maintain an environmental
management system, the requirements of which are described in this
annex.
I-A.2. E n v i r o n m e n t a l p o l i c y
Top management shall define the organisation's environmental policy
and ensure that it
(a) is appropriate to the nature, scale and environmental impacts of its
activities, products and services;
(b) includes a commitment to continual improvement and prevention
of pollution;
(c) includes a commitment to comply with relevant environmental
legislation and regulations, and with other requirements to which
the organisation subscribes;
(d) provides the framework for setting and reviewing environmental
objectives and targets;
(e) is documented, implemented and maintained and communicated to
all employees;
(f) is available to the public.
I-A.3. Pl a n n i n g
I-A.3.1. Environmental aspects
The organisation shall establish and maintain (a) procedure(s) to iden-
tify the environmental aspects of its activities, products or services that
it can control and over which it can be expected to have an influence,
in order to determine those which have or can have significant impacts
on the environment. The organisation shall ensure that the aspects
related to these significant impacts are considered in setting its environ-
mental objectives.
The organisation shall keep this information up-to-date.
I-A.3.2. Legal and other requirements
The organisation shall establish and maintain a procedure to identify
and have access to legal and other requirements to which the organisa-
tion subscribes, that are applicable to the environmental aspects of its
activities, products or services.
I-A.3.3. Objectives and targets
The organisation shall establish and maintain documented environ-
mental objectives and targets, at each relevant function and level
within the organisation.
When establishing and reviewing its objectives, an organisation shall
consider the legal and other requirements, its significant environmental
aspects, its technological options and its financial, operational and busi-
ness requirements, and the views of interested parties.
The objectives and targets shall be consistent with the environmental
policy, including the commitment to prevention of pollution.
I-A.3.4. Environmental management programme(s)
The organisation shall establish and maintain (a) programme(s) for
achieving its objectives and targets. It shall include
(a) designation of responsibility for achieving objectives and targets at
each relevant function and level of the organisation;2001R0761 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 001.001 — 14
(*) The use of the text of the national standard reproduced in this Annex is made with the
permission of CEN. The full text of the national standard can be purchased from the
national standard bodies the list of which is given in this Annex.
▼B
(b) the means and timeframe by which they are to be achieved.
If a project relates to new developments and new or modified activities,
products or services, programme(s) shall be amended where relevant to
ensure that environmental management applies to such projects.
I-A.4. I m p l e m e n t a t i o n a n d o p e r a t i o nI-A.4.1. Structure and responsibility
Roles, responsibility and authorities shall be defined, documented and
communicated in order to facilitate effective environmental manage-
ment.
Management shall provide resources essential to the implementation
and control of the environmental management system. Resources
include human resources and specialised skills, technology and finan-
cial resources.
The organisation's top management shall appoint (a) specific manage-
ment representative(s) who, irrespective of other responsibilities, shall
have defined roles, responsibilities and authority for
(a) ensuring that environmental management system requirements are
established, implemented and maintained in accordance with this
International Standard;
(b) reporting on the performance of the environmental management
system to top management for review and as a basis for improve-
ment of the environmental management system.
I-A.4.2. Training, awareness and competence
The organisation shall identify training needs. It shall require that all
personnel whose work may create a significant impact upon the envir-
onment, have received appropriate training.
It shall establish and maintain procedures to make its employees or
members at each relevant function and level aware of
(a) the importance of conformance with the environmental policy and
procedures and with the requirements of the environmental
management system;
(b) the significant environmental impacts, actual or potential, of their
work activities and the environmental benefits of improved
personal performance;
(c) their roles and responsibilities in achieving conformance with the
environmental policy and procedures and with the requirements of
the environmental management system, including emergency
preparedness and response requirements;
(d) the potential consequences of departure from specified operating
procedures.
Personnel performing the tasks which can cause significant environ-
mental impacts shall be competent on the basis of appropriate
education, training and/or experience.
I-A.4.3. Communication
With regard to its environmental aspects and environmental manage-
ment system, the organisation shall establish and maintain procedures
for
(a) internal communication between the various levels and functions of
the organisation;
(b) receiving, documenting and responding to relevant communication
from external interested parties.
The organisation shall consider processes for external communication
on its significant environmental aspects and record its decision.
I-A.4.4. Environmental management system documentation
The organisation shall establish and maintain information, in paper or
electronic form, to
(a) describe the core elements of the management system and their
interaction;
(b) provide direction to related documentation.2001R0761 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 001.001 — 15
▼B
I-A.4.5. Document control
The organisation shall establish and maintain procedures for controlling
all documents required by this International Standard to ensure that
(a) they can be located;
(b) they are periodically reviewed, revised as necessary and approved
for adequacy by authorised personnel;
(c) the current versions of relevant documents are available at all loca-
tions where operations essential to the effective functioning of the
environmental management system are performed;
(d) obsolete documents are promptly removed from all points of issue
and points of use, or otherwise assured against unintended use;
(e) any obsolete documents retained for legal and/or knowledge preser-
vation purposes are suitably identified.
Documentation shall be legible, dated (with dates of revision) and
readily identifiable, maintained in an orderly manner and retained for
a specified period. Procedures and responsibilities shall be established
and maintained concerning the creation and modification of the various
types of document.
I-A.4.6. Operational control
The organisation shall identify those operations and activities that are
associated with the identified significant environmental aspects in line
with its policy, objectives and targets. The organisation shall plan these
activities, including maintenance, in order to ensure that they are
carried out under specified conditions by
(a) establishing and maintaining documented procedures to cover situa-
tions where their absence could lead to deviations from the
environmental policy and the objectives and targets;
(b) stipulating operating criteria in the procedures;
(c) establishing and maintaining procedures related to the identifiable
significant environmental aspects of goods and services used by
the organisation and communicating relevant procedures and
requirements to suppliers and contractors.
I-A.4.7. Emergency preparedness and response
The organisation shall establish and maintain procedures to identify
potential for and respond to accidents and emergency situations, and
for preventing and mitigating the environmental impacts that may be
associated with them.
The organisation shall review and revise, where necessary, its emer-
gency preparedness and response procedures, in particular, after the
occurrence of accidents or emergency situations.
The organisation shall also periodically test such procedures where
practicable.
I-A.5. C h e c k i n g a n d c o r r e c t i v e a c t i o n
I-A.5.1. Monitoring and measurement
The organisation shall establish and maintain documented procedures
to monitor and measure, on a regular basis, the key characteristics of
its operations and activities that can have a significant impact on the
environment. This shall include the recording of information to track
performance, relevant operational controls and conformance with the
organisation's environmental objectives and targets.
Monitoring equipment shall be calibrated and maintained and records
of this process shall be retained according to the organisation's proce-
dures.
The organisation shall establish and maintain a documented procedure
for periodically evaluating compliance with relevant environmental
legislation and regulations.
I-A.5.2. Nonconformance and corrective and preventive action
The organisation shall establish and maintain procedures for defining
responsibility and authority for handling and investigating nonconfor-
mance, taking action to mitigate any impacts caused and for initiating
and completing corrective and preventive action.
Any corrective or preventive action taken to eliminate the causes of
actual and potential nonconformances shall be appropriate to the2001R0761 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 001.001 — 16
▼B
magnitude of problems and commensurate with the environmental
impact encountered.
The organisation shall implement and record any changes in the docu-
mented procedures resulting from corrective and preventive action.
I-A.5.3. Records
The organisation shall establish and maintain procedures for the identi-
fication, maintenance and disposition of environmental records. These
records shall include training records and the results of audits and
reviews.
Environmental records shall be legible, identifiable and traceable to the
activity, product or service involved. Environmental records shall be
stored and maintained in such a way that they are readily retrievable
and protected against damage, deterioration or loss. Their retention
times shall be established and recorded.
Records shall be maintained, as appropriate to the system and to the
organisation, to demonstrate conformance to the requirements of this
International Standard.
I-A.5.4. Environmental management system audit
The organisation shall establish and maintain (a) programme(s) and
procedures for periodic environmental management system audits to
be carried out, in order to
(a) determine whether or not the environmental management system
(1) conforms to planned arrangements for environmental manage-
ment including the requirements of this International Standard;
and
(2) has been properly implemented and maintained; and
(b) provide information on the results of audits to management
The organisation's audit programme, including any schedule, shall be
based on the environmental importance of the activity concerned and
the results of previous audits. In order to be comprehensive, the audit
procedures shall cover the audit scope, frequency and methodologies,as well as the responsibilities and requirements for conducting audits
and reporting results.
I-A.6. Ma n a g e m e n t r e v i e w
The organisation's top management shall, at intervals that it determines,
review the environmental management system, to ensure its continuing
suitability, adequacy and effectiveness. The management review
process shall ensure that the necessary information is collected to allow
management to carry out this evaluation. This review shall be docu-
mented.
The management review shall address the possible need for changes to
policy, objectives and other elements of the environmental management
system, in the light of environmental management system audit results,
changing circumstances and the commitment to continual improvement.
List of national standard bodies
B: IBN — BIN (Institut Belge de Normalisation — Belgisch Instituut voor
Normalisatie)
CZ: Rada programu EMAS
DK: DS (Dansk Standard)
D: DIN (Deutsches Institut für Normung e.V.)
EE: EVS (Eesti Standardikeskus)
EL: ELOT ( Ελληνικός οργανισµός τυποποίησης)
E: AENOR (Asociación Española de Normalización y Certificación)
F: AFNOR (Association Française de Normalisation)
IRL: NSAI (National Standards Authority of Ireland)
I: UNI (Ente Nazionale Italiano di Unificazione)2001R0761 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 001.001 — 17
▼A1
▼B
▼A1
▼B
▼A1
CY: Κυπριακός Οργανισµός Προώθησης Ποιότητας
LV: LATAK (Latvijas Nacion ālais Akredit ācijas birojs)
LT: LST (Lietuvos standartizacijos departamentas)
L: SEE (Service de l'Énergie de l'État) (Luxembourg)
HU: MSZT (Magyar Szabványügyi Testület)
MT: MSA (Awtorita' Maltija dwar l-Istandards / Malte Standards Authority)
NL: NEN (Nederlands Normalisatie-Instituut)
A: ON (Österreichisches Normunginstitut)
PL: PKN (Polski Komitet Normalizacyjny)
P: IPQ (Instituto Português da Qualidade)
SI: SIST (Slovenský inštitut za standardizacijo)
SK: SÚTN (Slovenský ústav technickej normalizácie)
FIN: SFS (Suomen Standardisoimisliitto r.y.)
S: SIS (Standardiseringen i Sverige)
UK: BSI (British Standards Institution)
B.ISSUES TO BE ADDRESSED BY ORGANISATIONS IMPLE-
MENTING EMAS
1. Legal compliance
Organisations shall be able to demonstrate that they:
(a) have identified, and know the implications to the organisation of,
all relevant environmental legislation;
(b) provide for legal compliance with environmental legislation; and
(c) have procedures in place that enable the organisation to meet these
requirements on an ongoing basis.
2. Performance
Organisations shall be able to demonstrate that the management system
and the audit procedures address the actual environmental performance
of the organisation with respect to the aspects identified from Annex VI.
The performance of the organisation against its objectives and targets
shall be evaluated as part of the management review process. The orga-
nisation shall also commit itself to the continual improvement of its
environmental performance. In doing so, the organisation may base its
action on local, regional and national environmental programmes.
The means to achieve the objectives and targets cannot be environ-
mental objectives. If the organisation comprises one or more sites,
each of the sites to which EMAS applies shall comply with all the
requirements of EMAS including the continual improvement of envir-
onmental performance as defined in Article 2(b).
3. External communication and relations
Organisations shall be able to demonstrate an open dialogue with the
public and other interested parties including local communities and
customers with regard to the environmental impact of their activities,
products and services in order to identify the public's and other inter-
ested parties' concerns.
4. Employee involvement
In addition to the requirements in Annex I — Section A employees
shall be involved in the process aimed at continually improving the
organisation's environmental performance. Appropriate forms of partici-2001R0761 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 001.001 — 18
▼B
▼A1
▼B
▼A1
▼B
▼A1
▼B
▼B
pation such as the suggestion-book system or project-based group
works or environmental committees should be used for this purpose.
Organisations shall take note of Commission guidance on best practice
in this field. Where they so request, any employee representatives shall
also be involved.2001R0761 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 001.001 — 19
▼B
ANNEX II
REQUIREMENTS CONCERNING INTERNAL ENVIRONMENTAL
AUDITING
2.1. General requirements
Internal audits ensure that the activities carried out by an organisation are
being conducted in accordance with established procedures. The audit may
also identify any problems with those established procedures or any oppor-
tunities for improving those procedures. The scope of audits carried out
within an organisation may vary from the audit of a simple procedure to
the audit of complex activities. Over a period of time all activities in a
particular organisation shall be subject to an audit. The period of time
taken to complete audits of all activities is known as the audit cycle. For
small non-complex organisations, it may be possible to audit all activities
at one time. For these organisations the audit cycle is the interval between
these audits.
Internal audits shall be carried out by persons sufficiently independent of
the activity being audited to ensure an impartial view. They may be carried
out by employees of the organisation or by external parties (employees
from other organisations, employees from other parts of the same organisa-
tion or consultants).
2.2. Objectives
The organisation's environmental auditing programme shall define in
writing the objectives of each audit or audit cycle including the audit
frequency for each activity.
The objectives shall include, in particular, assessing the management
systems in place, and determining conformity with the organisation's policy
and programme, which shall include compliance with relevant environ-
mental regulatory requirements.
2.3. Scope
The overall scope of the individual audits, or of each stage of an audit
cycle where appropriate, shall be clearly defined and shall explicitly
specify the:
1. subject areas covered;
2. activities to be audited;3. environmental criteria to be considered;
4. period covered by the audit.
Environmental audit includes assessment of the factual data necessary to
evaluate performance.
2.4. Organisation and resources
Environmental audits shall be performed by persons or groups of persons
with appropriate knowledge of the sectors and fields audited, including
knowledge and experience on the relevant environmental, management,
technical and regulatory issues, and sufficient training and proficiency in
the specific skills of auditing to achieve the stated objectives. The resources
and time allocated to the audit shall be commensurate with the scope and
objectives of the audit.
The top organisation management shall support the auditing.The auditors shall be sufficiently independent of the activities they audit to
make an objective and impartial judgment.
2.5. Planning and preparation for an audit
Each audit shall be planned and prepared with the objectives, in particular,
of:
— ensuring the appropriate resources are allocated,
— ensuring that each individual involved in the audit process (including
auditors, management, and staff) understands his or her role and respon-
sibilities.2001R0761 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 001.001 — 20
▼B
Preparation shall include familiarisation with activities of the organisation
and with the environmental management system established there and
review of the findings and conclusions of previous audits.
2.6. Audit activities
Audit activities shall include discussions with personnel, inspection of
operating conditions and equipment and reviewing of records, written
procedures and other relevant documentation, with the objective of evalu-
ating the environmental performance of the activity being audited to
determine whether it meets the applicable standards, regulations or objec-
tives and targets set and whether the system in place to manage
environmental responsibilities is effective and appropriate. Inter alia, spot-
checking of compliance with these criteria should be used to determine the
effectiveness of the entire management system.
The following steps, in particular, shall be included in the audit process:
(a) understanding of the management systems;
(b) assessing strengths and weaknesses of the management systems;
(c) gathering relevant evidence;
(d) evaluating audit findings;
(e) preparing audit conclusions;
(f) reporting audit findings and conclusions.
2.7. Reporting audit findings and conclusions
1. A written audit report of the appropriate form and content shall be
prepared by the auditors to ensure full, formal submission of the find-
ings and conclusions of the audit, at the end of each audit and audit
cycle.
The findings and conclusions of the audit shall be formally communi-
cated to the top organisation management.
2. The fundamental objectives of a written audit report are:
(a) to document the scope of the audit;
(b) to provide management with information on the state of compliance
with the organisations' environmental policy and the environmental
progress at the organisation;
(c) to provide management with information on the effectiveness and
reliability of the arrangements for monitoring environmental impacts
of the organisation;
(d) to demonstrate the need for corrective action, where appropriate.
2.8. Audit follow-up
The audit process shall culminate in the preparation and implementation of
a plan of appropriate corrective action.
Appropriate mechanisms shall be in place and in operation to ensure that
the audit results are followed up.
2.9. Audit frequency
The audit or audit cycle shall be completed, as appropriate, at intervals no
longer than 3 years. The frequency with which any activity is audited will
vary depending upon the
(a) nature, scale and complexity of the activities;
(b) significance of associated environmental impacts;
(c) importance and urgency of the problems detected by previous audits;
(d) history of environmental problems.
more complex activities with a more significant environmental impact shall
be audited more frequently.
An organisation shall define its own audit programme and audit frequency
taking account of Commission guidance adopted in accordance with the
procedure laid down in Article 14(2).2001R0761 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 001.001 — 21
▼B
ANNEX III
ENVIRONMENTAL STATEMENT
3.1. Introduction
The aim of the environmental statement is to provide environmental infor-
mation to the public and other interested parties regarding the
environmental impact and performance and the continual improvement of
environmental performance of the organisation. It is also a vehicle to
address the concerns of interested parties identified as a result of Annex I
— Section B.3 and considered as significant by the organisation (Annex VI,
point 6.4). Environmental information shall be presented in a clear and
coherent manner in printed form for those who have no other means of
obtaining this information. Upon its first registration and every three years
thereafter, the organisation is required to make available the information
detailed under point 3.2 in a consolidated printed version.
The Commission shall adopt guidance about the environmental statement in
accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 14(2).
3.2. Environmental statement
Upon its first registration an organisation shall produce environmental
information, taking into account the criteria of point 3.5 to be referred to
as the environmental statement, to be validated by the environmental veri-
fier. This information shall be submitted to the competent body following
validation, and then be made publicly available. The environmental state-
ment is a tool for communication and dialogue with the public and other
interested parties regarding environmental performance. The organisation
shall consider the information needs of the public and other interested
parties when writing and designing the environmental statement.
The minimum requirements for this information shall be as follows:
(a) a clear and unambiguous description of the organisation registering
under EMAS and a summary of its activities, products and services
and its relationship to any parent organisations as appropriate;
(b) the environmental policy and a brief description of the environmental
management system of the organisation;
(c) a description of all the significant direct and indirect environmental
aspects which result in significant environmental impacts of the organi-
sation and an explanation of the nature of the impacts as related to
these aspects (Annex VI);
(d) a description of the environmental objectives and targets in relation to
the significant environmental aspects and impacts;
(e) a summary of the data available on the performance of the organisation
against its environmental objectives and targets with respect to its
significant environmental impacts. The summary may include figures
on pollutant emissions, waste generation, consumption of raw material,
energy and water, noise as well as other aspects indicated in Annex VI.
The data should allow for year-by-year comparison to assess the devel-
opment of the environmental performance of the organisation;
(f) other factors regarding environmental performance including perfor-
mance against legal provisions with respect to their significant
environmental impacts;
(g) the name and accreditation number of the environmental verifier and
the date of validation.
3.3. Criteria for environmental performance reporting
The raw data generated by an environmental management system will be
used in a number of different ways to show the environmental performance
of an organisation. For this purpose organisations may use relevant existing
environmental performance indicators, making sure that the indicators
chosen:
(a) give an accurate appraisal of the organisations performance;
(b) are understandable and unambiguous;
(c) allow for year on year comparison to assess the development of the
environmental performance of the organisation;
(d) allow for comparison with sector, national or regional benchmarks as
appropriate;2001R0761 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 001.001 — 22
▼B
(e) allow for comparison with regulatory requirements as appropriate.
3.4. Maintenance of publicly available information
The organisation shall update the information detailed in point 3.2 and shall
have any changes validated by an environmental verifier, on a yearly basis.
Deviations from the frequency with which updates shall be performed may
be made under circumstances laid down in Commission guidance adopted
in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 14(2). After valida-
tion changes shall also be submitted to the competent body and be made
publicly available.
3.5. Publication of information
Organisations may wish to address different audiences or interested parties
with the information generated by its environmental management system
and use only selected information from the environmental statement. Any
environmental information published by an organisation may bear the
EMAS logo provided it has been validated by an environmental verifier as
being:
(a) accurate and non deceptive;
(b) substantiated and verifiable;
(c) relevant and used in an appropriate context or setting;
(d) representative of the overall environmental performance of the organi-
sation;
(e) unlikely to result in misinterpretation;
(f) significant in relation to the overall environmental impact,
and makes reference to the organisation's latest environmental statement
from which it was drawn.
3.6. Public availability
The information generated in point 3.2(a) to (g) which forms the environ-
mental statement for an organisation and the updated information specified
in point 3.4 shall be available to the public and other interested parties. The
environmental statement shall be made accessible to the public. To this
end, organisations are encouraged to use all methods available (electronic
publication, libraries etc.) The organisation shall be able to demonstrate to
the environmental verifier that anybody interested in the organisation's
environmental performance can easily and freely be given access to theinformation required in point 3.2(a) to (g) and point 3.4.
3.7. Local accountability
Organisations registering under EMAS may wish to produce one corporate
environmental statement covering a number of different geographic loca-
tions. The intention of EMAS is to ensure local accountability and thus
organisations shall ensure that the significant environmental impacts of
each site are clearly identified and reported within the corporate statement.2001R0761 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 001.001 — 23
▼B
ANNEX IV
Logo
Version 1 Version 2
The logo may be used by an EMAS registered organisation in any of the 20 languages provided the
following wording is used:
Version 1 Version 2
Spanish: ‘Gestión ambiental verificada’ ‘información validada’
Czech: ‘ov ěřený systém environmentálního řízení’ ‘platná informace’
Danish: ‘verificeret miljøledelse’ ‘bekræftede oplysninger’
German: ‘geprüftes Umweltmanagement’ ‘geprüfte Information’
Estonian: ‘tõestatud keskkonnajuhtimine’ ‘kinnitatud informatsioon’Greek: ‘ επιθεωρηµένη περιβαλλοντική διαχείριση ’‘ επικυρωµένες πληροφορίες ’
French: ‘Management environnemental vérifié’ ‘information validée’
Italian: ‘Gestione ambientale verificata’ ‘informazione convalidata’Latvian: ‘verific ēta vides vad ība’ ‘apstiprin āta inform ācija’
Lithuanian: ‘ įvertinta aplinkosaugos vadyba’ ‘patvirtinta informacija’
Hungarian: ‘hitelesített környezetvédelmi vezetési rendszer’ ‘hitelesített információ’Maltese: ‘Immani ġġjar Ambjentali Verifikat’ ‘Informazzjoni Konvalidata’
Dutch: ‘Geverifieerd milieuzorgsysteem’ ‘gevalideerde informatie’
Polish: ‘zweryfikowany system zarz ądzania
środowiskowego’‘informacja potwierdzona’
Portuguese: ‘Gestão ambiental verificada’ ‘informação validada’
Slovak: ‘overený systém environmentálneho riadenia’ ‘platná informácia’Slovenian: ‘Preverjen sistem ravnanja z okoljem’ ‘preverjene informacije’
Finnish: ‘vahvistettu ympäristöasioiden hallinta’ ‘vahvistettua tietoa’
Swedish: ‘Kontrollerat miljöledningssystem’ ‘godkänd information’2001R0761 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 001.001 — 24
▼A1
▼A1
Both versions of the logo shall always bear the registration number of the organisation.
The logo shall be used either:
— in three colours (Pantone No 355 Green; Pantone No 109 Yellow; Pantone No 286 Blue)
— in black on white or— in white on black.2001R0761 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 001.001 — 25
▼B
ANNEX V
ACCREDITATION, SUPERVISION AND FUNCTION OF THE ENVIR-
ONMENTAL VERIFIERS
5.1. General
The accreditation of environmental verifiers shall be based on the general
principles of competence set out in this Annex. Accreditation bodies may
choose to accredit individuals, organisations or both, as environmental
verifiers. The procedural requirements and detailed criteria for accrediting
environmental verifiers are defined pursuant to Article 4 by national
accreditation systems in accordance with these principles. Conformity
with these principles shall be ensured through the peer review process
established by Article 4.
5.2. Requirements for the accreditation of environmental verifiers
5.2.1. T h e f o l l o w i n g c o m p e t e n c e c o n s t i t u t e s t h e m i n i m u m r e q u i r e -
ments with which an environmental verifier, individual or
organisation, shall comply:
(a) knowledge and understanding of the Regulation, the general func-
tioning of environmental management systems, relevant standards
and guidance issued by the Commission, under Article 4 and 14(2),
for the use of this Regulation;
(b) knowledge and understanding of the legislative, regulatory and
administrative requirements relevant to the activity subject to verifi-
cation;
(c) knowledge and understanding of environmental issues, including the
environmental dimension of sustainable development;
(d) knowledge and understanding of the technical aspects, relevant to
environmental issues, of the activity subject to verification;
(e) understanding of the general functioning of the activity subject to
verification in order to assess the appropriateness of the management
system;
(f) knowledge and understanding of environmental auditing requirements
and methodology;
(g) knowledge of information audit (Environmental Statement).
Appropriate evidence of the verifier's knowledge and of his/her/its rele-
vant experience and technical capacities in the abovementioned fields
should be provided to the accreditation body to which the candidate veri-
fier has applied for accreditation
In addition, the environmental verifier shall be independent, in particular
of the organisation's auditor or consultant, impartial and objective in
performing his or her activities.
The individual environmental verifier or verification organisation shall
ensure that he or she or the organisation and its staff is free of any
commercial, financial or other pressures which might influence their
judgment or endanger trust in their independence of judgment and integ-
rity in relation to their activities, and that they comply with any rules
applicable in this respect.
The environmental verifier shall have documented methodologies and
procedures, including quality control mechanisms and confidentiality
provisions, for the verification requirements of this Regulation.
In case the environmental verifier is an organisation, the environmental
verifier shall have and make available on request an organisation chart
detailing structures and responsibilities within the organisation and a
statement of legal status, ownership and funding sources.
5.2.2. Sc o p e o f a c c r e d i t a t i o n
The scope of accreditation of environmental verifiers shall be defined
according to the classification of economic activities (NACE codes) as
established by Council Regulation (EEC) 3037/90 (1). The scope of
accreditation shall be limited by the competence of the environmental2001R0761 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 001.001 — 26
(1) OJ L 293, 24.10.1990, p. 1. Regulation as amended by Regulation (EEC) No 761/93
(OJ L 83, 3.4.1993, p. 1).
▼B
verifier. The scope of accreditation shall also take into account the size
and complexity of the activity, where appropriate; this will be assured
through supervision.
5.2.3. Ad d i t i o n a l r e q u i r e m e n t s f o r t h e a c c r e d i t a t i o n o f i n d i v i d u a l
environmental verifiers perfo rming verifications on their
own
Individual environmental verifiers performing verification on their own,
in addition to complying with the requirements of point 5.2.1 and 5.2.2
shall have:
— all the necessary competence to perform verifications, in their accre-
dited fields,
— a limited scope of accreditation dependant on their personal compe-
tence.
Compliance with these requirements shall be ensured through the assess-
ment carried out prior to the accreditation and through the supervisory
role of the accreditation body.
5.3. Supervision of environmental verifiers
5.3.1. Su p e r v i s i o n o f e n v i r o n m e n t a l v e r i f i e r s c a r r i e d o u t b y t h e
accreditation body which granted their accreditation
The environmental verifier shall immediately inform the accreditation
body of all changes which have a bearing on the accreditation or its
scope.
Provision shall be made, at regular intervals not exceeding 24 months, to
ensure that the environmental verifier continues to comply with the
accreditation requirements and to monitor the quality of the verifications
undertaken. Supervision may consist of office audit, witnessing in organi-
sations, questionnaires, review of environmental statements validated by
the environmental verifiers and review of verification report. It should
be proportionate with the activity undertaken by the environmental veri-
fier.
Any decision taken by the accreditation body to terminate or suspend
accreditation or curtail the scope of accreditation shall be taken only after
the environmental verifier has had the possibility of a hearing.
5.3.2. Su p e r v i s i o n o f e n v i r o n m e n t a l v e r i f i e r s p e r f o r m i n g v e r i f i c a -
tion activities in a Member State other than that where their
accreditation was granted
An environmental verifier accredited in one Member State, before
performing verification activities in another Member State, shall provide
to the accreditation body of the latter Member State, at least four weeks
in advance, notification of:
— his or her accreditation details, competences and team composition if
appropriate,
— when and where the verification will occur: address and contact
details of the organisation, measures taken to deal with legal and
language knowledge if necessary.
The accreditation body may request further clarification of the necessary
legal and language knowledge as detailed above.
This notification shall be communicated before each new verification.
The accreditation body shall not require other conditions which would
prejudice the right of the environmental verifier to provide services in a
Member State other than the one where accreditation was granted. In
particular, discriminatory fees for notification shall not be charged. The
accreditation body shall also not use the notification procedure to delay
the arrival of the environmental verifier. Any difficulty to supervise the
environmental verifier on the date communicated shall be adequately
justified. If costs for supervision arise, the accreditation body is allowed
to charge appropriate fees.
If the supervising accreditation body is not satisfied with the quality of
the work done by the environmental verifier, the supervision report shall
be transmitted to the environmental verifier concerned, the accreditation
body which granted the accreditation, to the competent body where the
organisation being verified is located and, in case of any further dispute,
to the forum of accreditation body.2001R0761 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 001.001 — 27
▼B
Organisations may not refuse the right of accreditation bodies to super-
vise the environmental verifier through witnessed assessments during the
verification process.
5.4. The function of environmental verifiers
5.4.1. The function of the environmental verifier is to check, without prejudice
to the enforcement powers of Member States in respect of regulatory
requirements:
(a) compliance with all the requirements of this Regulation: initial envir-
onmental review if appropriate, environmental management system,
environmental audit and its results and the environmental statement;
(b) the reliability, credibility and correctness of the data and information
in:
— the environmental statement (Annex III, point 3.2 and point 3.3),
— environmental information to be validated (Annex III, point 3.5).
The environmental verifier shall, in particular, investigate in a sound
professional manner, the technical validity of the initial environmental
review, if appropriate, or audit or other procedures carried out by the
organisation, without unnecessarily duplicating those procedures. Inter
alia, the environmental verifier should use spot-checks to determine
whether the results of the internal audit are reliable.
5.4.2. At the time of the first verification, the environmental verifier shall, in
particular, check that the following requirements are met by the organisa-
tion:
(a) a fully operational environmental management system in accordance
with Annex I;
(b) a fully planned audit programme, which had already begun in accor-
dance with Annex II so that at least areas with the most significant
environmental impact have been covered;
(c) completion of one management review;
(d) the preparation of an environmental statement in accordance with
Annex III, point 3.2.
5.4.3. L e g a l c o m p l i a n c e
The environmental verifier shall ensure that an organisation has proce-
dures in place to control those aspects of its operations subject to
relevant Community or national laws and that these procedures are
capable of delivering compliance. The checks of the audit, shall in parti-
cular, provide for evidence of the capability of the procedures in place to
deliver legal compliance.
The environmental verifier shall not validate the environmental statement,
if during the verification process he observes, for example through spot-
checks, that the organisation is not in legal compliance.
5.4.4. Or g a n i s a t i o n d e f i n i t i o n
When verifying the environmental management system and validating the
environmental statement, the environmental verifier shall ensure that the
components of the organisation are unambiguously defined and corre-
sponds to a real division of the activities. The content of the statement
shall clearly cover the different parts of the organisation to which
EMAS applies.
5.5. Conditions for the environmental verifier to perform his/her activities
5.5.1. The environmental verifier shall operate within his/her scope of accredi-
tation, on the basis of a written agreement with the organisation which
defines the scope of the work, enables the environmental verifier to
operate in an independent professional manner and commits the organisa-
tion to providing the necessary cooperation.
5.5.2. The verification shall involve examination of documentation, a visit to
the organisation including, in particular, interviews with personnel,
preparation of a report to the organisations' management and the organi-
sations' solution of the issues raised by the report.
5.5.3. The documentation to be examined in advance of the visit shall include
basic information about the organisation and activities there, the environ-
mental policy and programme, the description of the environmental2001R0761 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 001.001 — 28
▼C1
▼B
▼B
management system in operation in the organisation, details of the envir-
onmental review or audit carried out, the report on that review or audit
and on any corrective action taken afterwards, and the draft environ-
mental statement.
5.5.4. The environmental verifier shall prepare a report for the organisation's
management. This report shall specify:
(a) all issues relevant to the work carried out by the environmental veri-
fier;
(b) the starting point of the organisation towards implementation of an
environmental management system;
(c) in general, cases of nonconformity with the provisions of this Regula-
tion, and in particular:
— technical defects in the environmental review, or audit method, or
environmental management system, or any other relevant process,
— points of disagreement with the draft environmental statement,
together with details of the amendments or additions that should
be made to the environmental statement,
(d) the comparison with the previous statements and the performance
assessment of the organisation.
5.6. Verification frequency
In consultation with the organisation the environmental verifier shall
design a programme to ensure that all elements required for registration
with EMAS are verified in a period not exceeding 36 months. In addition
the environmental verifier shall at intervals not exceeding 12 months vali-
date any updated information in the environmental statement. Deviations
from the frequency with which updates shall be performed may be made
under circumstances laid down in Commission guidance adopted in
accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 14(2).2001R0761 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 001.001 — 29
▼B
ANNEX VI
ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTS
6.1. General
An organisation shall consider all environmental aspects of its activities,
products and services and decide, on the basis of criteria taking into
account the Community legislation, which of its environmental aspects
have a significant impact, as a basis for setting its environmental objectives
and targets. These criteria shall be publicly available.
An organisation shall consider both direct and indirect environmental
aspects of its activities, products and services.
6.2. Direct environmental aspects
These cover the activities of an organisation over which it has management
control and may include, but is not limited to:
(a) emissions to air;
(b) releases to water;
(c) avoidance, recycling, reuse, transportation and disposal of solid and
other wastes, particularly hazardous wastes;
(d) use and contamination of land;
(e) use of natural resources and raw materials (including energy);
(f) local issues (noise, vibration, odour, dust, visual appearance, etc.);
(g) transport issues (both for goods and services and employees);(h) risks of environmental accidents and impacts arising, or likely to arise,
as consequences of incidents, accidents and potential emergency situa-
tions;
(i) effects on biodiversity.
6.3. Indirect environmental aspects
As a result of the activities, products and services of an organisation there
may be significant environmental aspects over which it may not have full
management control.
These may include, but are not limited to:
(a) product related issues (design, development, packaging, transportation,
use and waste recovery/disposal);
(b) capital investments, granting loans and insurance services;
(c) new markets;
(d) choice and composition of services (e.g. transport or the catering
trade);
(e) administrative and planning decisions;
(f) product range compositions;
(g) the environmental performance and practices of contractors, subcon-
tractors and suppliers.
Organisations must be able to demonstrate that the significant environ-
mental aspects associated with their procurement procedures have been
identified and that significant impacts associated with these aspects are
addressed within the management system. The organisation should endea-
vour to ensure that the suppliers and those acting on the organisation's
behalf comply with the organisation's environmental policy within the remit
of the activities carried out for the contract.
In the case of these indirect environmental aspects, an organisation shall
consider how much influence it can have over these aspects, and what
measures can be taken to reduce the impact.
6.4. Significance
It is the responsibility of the organisation to define criteria for assessing the
significance of the environmental aspects of its activities, products and
services, to determine which have a significant environmental impact. The
criteria developed by an organisation shall be comprehensive, capable of
independent checking, reproducible and made publicly available.2001R0761 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 001.001 — 30
▼B
Considerations in establishing the criteria for assessing the significance of
an organisation's environmental aspects may include, but are not limited to:
(a) information about the condition of the environment to identify activ-
ities, products and services of the organisation that may have an
environmental impact;
(b) the organisation's existing data on material and energy inputs,
discharges, wastes and emissions in terms of risk;
(c) views of interested parties;
(d) environmental activities of the organisation that are regulated;
(e) procurement activities;
(f) design, development, manufacturing, distribution, servicing, use, re-use,
recycling and disposal of the organisation's products;
(g) those activities of the organisation with the most significant environ-
mental costs, and environmental benefits.
In assessing the significance of the environmental impacts of the organisa-
tion's activities the organisation shall think not only of normal operating
conditions but also of start-up and shutdown conditions and of reasonably
foreseeable emergency conditions. Account shall be taken of past, present
and planned activities.2001R0761 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 001.001 — 31
▼B
ANNEX VII
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
7.1. General
An organisation that has not supplied the necessary information needed to
identify and assess the significant environmental aspects according to
Annex VI must establish its current position with regard to the environment
by means of a review. The aim should be to consider all environmental
aspects of the organisation as a basis for establishing the environmental
management system.
7.2. Requirements
The review should cover five key areas:
(a) legislative, regulatory and other requirements to which the organisation
subscribes;
(b) an identification of all environmental aspects with a significant envir-
onmental impact in accordance with Annex VI, qualified and
quantified as appropriate, and compiling a register of those identified
as significant;
(c) a description of the criteria for assessing the significance of the envir-
onmental impact in accordance with Annex VI, point 6.4;
(d) an examination of all existing environmental management practices and
procedures;
(e) an evaluation of feedback from the investigation of previous incidents.2001R0761 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 001.001 — 32
▼B
ANNEX VIII
2001R0761 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 001.001 — 33