EN    EN  COMMISSION OF THE E UROPEAN COMMUNITIES 
Brussels, 9.11.2004 
COM(2004) 745 final 
  
REPORT FROM THE COMMISSI ON TO THE COUNCIL AND 
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 
ON INCENTIVES FOR EMAS REGISTERED ORGANISATIONS 
  
{SEC(2004)1375}  
 
EN 2   EN TABLE OF CONTENTS 
1. Introduction................................................................................................................ .. 3 
1.1. EMAS challenges......................................................................................................... 3  
2. Types of external incentives......................................................................................... 4  
2.1. Regulatory flexibility ................................................................................................... 4  
2.2. Promotional incentives................................................................................................. 6  
2.2.1. Public procurement ...................................................................................................... 6 
2.2.2. Support funding......................................................................................................... ... 7 
2.2.3. Technical and information support .............................................................................. 7  
3. Conclusions................................................................................................................. .8 
 
EN 3   EN 1. I NTRODUCTION  
The Eco-Management and Auditing Scheme (EMAS) is a voluntary environmental 
management system, under which organisa tions evaluate, manage and continuously 
improve their environmental performance.  
The two main purposes of this report are to  inform the European Parliament and the 
Council about the incentives currently in  Member States for EMAS-registered 
organisations and to raise the awareness of national authorit ies about different 
national practices. 
The report is designed to he lp government policy and regulatory decisions to become 
more knowledge-based so that incentives are provided in the most suitable way for 
each individual case. In addition, the informa tion covered in this report will be useful 
for the Commission during the forthcomi ng revision of the EMAS Regulation1 
(hereinafter “the  Regulation”). 
The report meets the requirement in the sec ond subparagraph of Ar ticle 10(2) and in 
Article 11(3) of the Regulation that  the European Commission shall transmit to the 
European Parliament and the Council information received from Member States in the following fields:  
– the avoidance of duplication of effort in the implementation and enforcement 
of environmental legislation by EM AS-registered organisations; and 
– the promotion of participati on of organisations in EMAS. 
This report starts by descri bing the context of EMAS and the challenges lying ahead. 
It then lists the incentive measures  provided by national authorities. 
1.1. EMAS challenges 
Since the Regulation took effect in 1995, it ha s been targeted at raising the quality 
threshold of environmental management sy stems. Its unique design, which aims at 
delivering high performance, transparency and credibility, make s EMAS a valuable 
tool which has the potential to cont ribute to environmental improvement by 
encouraging better environm ental performance from all type of organisations. 
EMAS incorporates a formal environmental management system (EN ISO 14001). 
Other less formal environmental management systems
2 are available in the market 
providing for different options for organi sations in search of environmental 
management. It is worth noting that EMAS goes beyond EN ISO 14001 and sets the 
strictest requirements of all and so may requi re more effort from organisations trying 
to meet them. This may explain the diffe rence between the statistics collected for 
EMAS and EN ISO 14001 registrations and certifications. 
                                                 
1 Regulation N° 761/2001 of 19 March 2001. 
2  BEST-Project 
http://europa.eu.int/comm/enterprise/environment/event s/sme_conference/present ations/best_report.pdf   
 
EN 4   EN Organisations can benefit in many ways from implementing EMAS. For example, 
more sustainable use of resources gives financial advantages; a better public image; reduced risk of non-compliance with envir onmental legislation; improved relations 
with environmental regulators and other stakeholders, and proper risk management, 
which in turn may prompt lenders and insu rers to offer better financial terms. But 
despite all these benefits, the scheme  is now facing se veral challenges: 
• The number of new registrations has declined over the last two years; 
• The business community is particularly critical about the lack of external 
incentives as well as of the unbalance between  costs and benefits; in particular for 
SMES; 
• Most registered companies are located in only a few Member States, presenting an 
incoherent picture of EMAS uptake in the EU; 
• In May 2004, the scheme became fully appli cable in the new Member States, thus 
enlarging the potential for new registrations. 
2. T
YPES OF EXTERNAL INCENTIVES  
The nature of the external incentives provided by national authorities can vary 
depending on the aims they are pursuing. Two main groups have been identified: those of a regulatory nature and those wh ich aim to promote wider uptake of the 
scheme through public procurement, fundi ng support and technical and information 
support.  
2.1. Regulatory flexibility 
Issue 
Article 10(2) of the Regulation provides the legal base for Member States to consider 
how EMAS registration can be taken in to account in the implementation and 
enforcement of environmental legislation. The aim of this provision is to avoid unnecessary duplication of effo rt by both organisations a nd enforcement authorities.  
Governments are committed to providing an  efficient, responsive and transparent 
regulatory framework that ensures complia nce with environmen t legislation. Until 
now, command and control  practices have been applied with different degrees of 
success. This may explain why, despite the us e of these practices, there is still a high 
level of non- environmental compliance.  
The issue is also linked to how enforcem ent authorities use what may be scarce 
resources. Often authorities are forced to optimise the use of their resources e.g. for 
monitoring sites. If resources are in short supply, this may prevent efficient 
monitoring and control, leading to un intentional failures of enforcement. 
The Regulation sets out stri ct requirements regarding co mpliance with environmental 
legislation since it requests th e independent and external ve rifiers to ensure that the 
organisation can demonstrate legal comp liance. In compensation, some Member 
 
EN 5   EN States have granted regulatory flexibility to EMAS-registered organisations so as to 
alleviate the burden of regulatory pressu re and streamline their own resources. 
Objectives 
The degree of regulatory flexib ility varies from one country to another, so for the 
purpose of this report the term regulatory flexibility  includes both regulatory relief,  
construed as substitution of legal requi rements without changes in environmental 
legislation as such, and deregulation,  which involves changes in the legislation itself. 
The main objectives of re gulatory flexibility are:  
– to simplify and reduce the regulatory framework in cases of redundancy; 
– to remove procedural impediments; 
– to reduce the need to submit unnecessary and repetitive documents to the 
regulator; 
– to foster responsible behaviour by operators. 
General types 
Regulatory flexibility has been applied by  some Member States in the following 
fields:  
– Information required for permits: streamlining applications 
Flexibility regarding permitting procedur es may be possible for registered 
companies. Much of the information requir ed for permit applications is already 
collected through the EMAS system. The e nvironmental information provided by it 
can be regarded as reliable, up to date and suitable for use. 
– Reduced reporting and monitoring requirements 
If an EMAS company can demonstrate si gnificant compliance history or superior 
performance over a period of time, then less information would need to be reported to the enforcement authorities to verify its performance. This could also justify 
requiring this information less frequently. 
– Consolidated reporting and monitoring requirements 
The implementation of EMAS presents the regulator with an opportunity to take 
advantage of the environmental inform ation available from the Environmental 
Statement. In fact, this Statement provide s the competent authorities with data and 
information that can be used for subse quent reporting and/or monitoring purposes 
thus, avoiding duplication of tasks.  
– Reduced inspections 
In some cases, national enforcement resources are scarce. Given that the 
implementation of EMAS facilitates the co mpliance with environmental legislation, 
 
EN 6   EN it could be suggested that registered co mpanies be subject to fewer inspections 
and/or inspections that are narrower in scope. 
2.2. Promotional incentives 
Introduction 
Article 11 of the Regulation lays down re quirements to ensure the promotion of 
organisations’ participation in EMAS by provi ding incentives in the fields of support 
funds, public procurement, technical and in formation support. This Article makes a 
special reference to the prom otion of EMAS amongst SMEs. 
There are three main areas where promo tional incentives can be provided:  
– Public procurement  
– Funding support 
– Technical and information support 
2.2.1. Public procurement 
Public purchasers and other entities covered by the public  procurement Directives 
constitute an important group of consumers; some €1,000 billion or about 16% of the Union’s GDP is spent on public procurement. Integrating environmental considerations alongside econom ic and social considerati ons into public procurement 
could substantially contribute to sustainabl e development. If, wherever appropriate, 
public purchasers referred to EMAS in their calls for tenders, this would help create 
awareness of the scheme and act as an incentive for contractors to join it. 
Taking into account environmental consider ations like environmental management 
systems in public procurement should be li nked to the subject matter of the contract 
and comply with the general principles of Community law such as the rule on transparency or equal treatment
3. 
Article 11(2) of the Regulation provides  the basis for promoting EMAS widely 
through procurement practices. To this end, it  requires public author ities to consider, 
without prejudice to Community law, how registration under EMAS could be taken 
into account when setting criteria  for their procurement policies.  
The European Commission interpretati ve Communication on public procurement4 
explains the existing possibilities for public  authorities to take EMAS registration 
into account during the tendering process. It states that environmental management systems such as EMAS cannot be specifica lly requested as a procurement criterion 
but, as proof of the organisation’s technica l capacity in dealing with environmental 
issues.  
                                                
 
3  “Buying Green” - A Handbook on environmental public procurement, Commission staff working 
document, SEC(2004) 1050 of 18 August 2004. 
4 COM(2001) 274 final of 4.7.2001. 
 
EN 7   EN This was confirmed by the amende d public procurement Directives,5 which is 
designed to simplify, clarify and modernise existing EU procurement legislation. The 
new public procurement directives have  introduced a new technical selection 
criterion whereby bidders have  to show, in appropriate ca ses and if it is requested by 
the public authorities that they can apply environmental management measures when 
executing specific works or service contracts e.g. a contract to bu ild a bridge in a 
nature reserve implies the need for c ontinuous environmental management and 
adoption of specific protection measures during the works. In these cases the 
Directives state that EMAS or any othe r equivalent environmental management 
system could be provided as evidence of compliance with the requirement to adopt 
environmental management measures.  
2.2.2. Support funding  
Article 11(1) of the Regulation emphasises the need for Member States to guarantee 
the participation of SMEs in  the scheme. One way of doing this is by facilitating 
support funds and ensuring r easonable registration fees. 
General types 
The main current areas for financia l support can be listed as follows:  
– Subsidies to new EMAS registrations in th e form of lump sums or a percentage 
of total costs incurred;.  
– Tax breaks on purchases designed to im prove environmental performance are 
an indirect way of providing funds;. 
– Special funds for technical assistance, staff training and external consulting; 
– Reduced registration fees; 
– Finally, preferable conditions for EMAS -registered companies negotiated with 
bankers and insurers.  
2.2.3. Technical and information support 
Article 11(1) of the Regulation not onl y invites Member States to promote 
participation in EMAS, but it also stresses th e need to ensure more participation by 
SMEs by providing proper technical assistan ce and facilitating access to information.  
General types 
On technical assistance  the main areas of support are as follows: 
– Educational programmes in co-operati on with relevant associations, e.g. 
Chambers of Industry and Commerce, or  under the supervision of the national 
EMAS body;  
                                                 
5 Directive 2004/17/EC and Directive 2004/18/EC of 31 March 2004.  
 
EN 8   EN – Phased implementation programmes es pecially designed for SMEs.. These 
systems are designed to help SMEs reach  environmental excellence at different 
levels depending on their particular needs; 
– Synergies involving all the actors in envi ronmental management systems, e.g. 
working groups, partnerships, peer reviews and customised coaching;  
– Short- and long-term investment by th e authorities to educate and train 
professionals through specialised programmes;  
– Guidelines and toolkits for specific sectors. 
On information the main areas are as follows: 
– Specific information programmes customised for economic operators, small 
industries and craft trades, trade uni ons, public authorities, and the general 
public, etc; 
– Information campaigns aimed at specific interest groups and the general public, 
supported by television campaigns, articles in specialist publications and local 
newspapers, promotional campaigns or any other means of promoting general 
awareness; 
– Conferences and workshops to foster ac tive participation, and exchange of 
experiences and best practices. 
3. C ONCLUSIONS  
By providing external incentives, national authorities can do much to ensure the 
success of EMAS. Through targeted polic ies and programmes, supported by valid 
incentives, they can attract organisations  and encourage new EMAS registrations. 
This report reveals that practically all Me mber States apply measures that provide 
some sort of external incentives for EMAS-registered organisations. The fact that the business community regularly complains abou t the shortage of substantial measures 
is an indicator that there is potential for improvement. Nevertheless, whatever combination of incentives a country decides to apply, they need to be designed in 
such a way that they meet the aspirations  of the organisations concerned and the 
needs of national regulators. 
Who does what? - A quantitative assessment 
Annex II gives an overview of the incen tives provided by each Member State. 
In addition to this quantitative assessm ent, there should also be a qualitative 
assessment of existing incentives. This will  require a detailed study which is being 
commissioned under the ongoing re vision of the Regulation. It  is expected that the 
study will show which incentiv es prove to be most be neficial and useful for 
operators.  
 
EN 9   EN Priorities need to be established by nati onal authorities. When  designing external 
incentives some Member States have gi ven EMAS more recognition and promotion 
than other formal (e.g. EN ISO 14001) and less formal environmental management 
systems while other countries took a diffe rent approach supporting systems other 
than EMAS. It is noted that, in general,  incentives are designe d for the benefit of 
private organisations. As EMAS is also availa ble to public organisations it is relevant 
that Member States provide also incentives in this sector especially to local authorities.  
Countries may learn from each other and wh ere necessary step up efforts to provide 
substantial incentives for EMAS organisa tions. Member States have developed 
policies on incentives together with long- term incentive programmes to encourage 
the best practices. Consultations with the main stakeholders e.g. the managers of 
organisations usually facilitate establishing future measures taking into account their 
needs and expectations. 
Newcomers 
With a couple of exceptions, incentives in the new Member States are negligible or 
even non-existent. These countries have had to implement a large body of EU environment law, and although administrative  capacity building and the transposition 
of legislation is now practically complete , national authorities and private operators 
alike now have to deal successfully  with the new legal obligations.  
Against this background, the authorities may consider EMAS as an adequate 
management tool for addressing these le gal issues and therefore encourage both 
public and private organisations to participate. Real incentives for EMAS implementation and registration ar e a powerful way of doing this.  
The Commission will continue to provide the technical assistance and information 
support necessary for the implementation of EMAS in private and public 
organisations.  
Turning challenges into opportunities 
This report identifies a number of challeng es being faced by the scheme that cannot 
be overlooked. 
The Commission has launched a revision of EMAS which will include, amongst 
other elements, looking at the legal require ments on incentives in order to strengthen 
their scope and efficiency. The revision pr ocess should ensure that all interested 
parties are consulted, thereby guaranteei ng that national regulators and operators 
alike will be able to provide their views. 
The revision of EMAS represents a turni ng point for the scheme, and an opportunity 
to make incentives play a crucial role. Th e Commission and national regulators need 
to work to identify the most appropriate  policy choices for encouraging efficient 
management and rational use of the environment.