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)
Date: 2001-03-19
Institutions: Council of the European Union, European Parliament
Subjects: European organisation, environmental monitoring, environmental policy, environmental protection, information system

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I

(Acts whose publication is obligatory)

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)

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE
EUROPEAN UNION,

(2)

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Com-
munity, 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 sustainable growth and the Resolution of
1 February 1993(4) stresses the importance of such
sustainable growth.

(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 Decision 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 Govern-
ments 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).

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 responsibilities of organisations, both to
reinforce the economy and to protect the environment
throughout the Community.

The programme ‘Towards Sustainability’ calls for broad-
ening the range of instruments in the field of environ-
mental protection and for using market-mechanisms to
commit organisations to adopt a pro-active approach in
this field beyond compliance with all relevant regulatory
requirements regarding the environment.

The Commission should promote a coherent approach
between the legislative instruments developed at Com-
munity level in the field of environmental protection.

Council Regulation (EEC) No 1836/93 of 29 June 1993
allowing voluntary participation by companies in the
industrial sector in a Community eco-management
and audit scheme (5) demonstrated its effectiveness in
promoting improvements of the environmental per-
formance of industry.

The experience gathered from the implementation of
Regulation (EEC) No 1836/93 should be used to enhance
the ability of the Community eco-management and audit
scheme (EMAS) to bring about an improvement in the
overall environmental performance of organisations.

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

(5) OJ L 168, 10.7.1993, p. 1.

(7)

(8)

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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 performance.

(14) Organisations should be encouraged to produce and
make publicly available periodic environmental state-
ments providing the public and other interested parties
with information on their environmental performance.

In accordance with the principles of subsidiarity and
proportionality referred to in Article 5 of the Treaty, the
effectiveness of EMAS in contributing to improved
environmental performance of European organisations
can be better achieved at Community level. This Regu-
lation limits itself to ensuring an equal implementation
of EMAS throughout the Community by providing for
common rules, procedures and essential requirements
regarding EMAS whilst
the measures that can be
adequately performed at national level are left to the
Member States.

(9) Organisations should be encouraged to participate in
EMAS on a voluntary basis and may gain added value in
terms of regulatory control, cost savings and public
image.

(10)

It is important that small and medium-sized enterprises
participate in EMAS and that their participation should
be promoted by facilitating access to information, to
existing support funds and to public institutions and by
establishing or promoting technical assistance measures.

(11) The information provided by Member States should be
used by the Commission to assess the need for
developing specific measures aimed at greater partici-
pation in EMAS by organisations, in particular small and
medium-sized enterprises.

(15) The Member States could create incentives to encourage

organisations to participate in EMAS.

(16) The Commission should provide technical support to
accession candidate countries in the setting up of the
necessary structures for the application of EMAS.

(17)

In addition to the general requirements of the environ-
mental management system EMAS places special signifi-
cance on the following elements:
legal compliance,
improvement of environmental performance and also
external communication and employee involvement.

(18) The Commission should adapt the Annexes to this
Regulation, with the exception of Annex V, recognise
European and international standards for environmental
issues of relevance to EMAS and establish guidelines in
partnership with EMAS interested parties for the purpose
of ensuring consistent implementation of the EMAS
requirements across Member States. In drafting such
guidelines, the Commission should take account of
Community policy on the environment and in particular
Community legislation as well as international commit-
ments where relevant.

(19) The measures necessary for the implementation of
this Regulation should be adopted in accordance with
Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying
down the procedures for the exercise of implementing
powers conferred on the Commission (1).

(12) The transparency and credibility of organisations
implementing environmental management systems are
enhanced when their management system, audit pro-
gramme and environmental statement are examined to
verify that they meet the relevant requirements of this
Regulation and when the environmental statement and
its subsequent updates are validated by accredited
environmental verifiers.

(20) This Regulation should be revised, if appropriate, in the
light of experience gained after a certain period of
operation.

(21) The European institutions should endeavour to adopt

the principles laid down in this Regulation.

(13)

It is therefore necessary to ensure and steadily improve
the competence of the environmental verifiers by provid-
ing for an independent and neutral accreditation system,
retraining and an appropriate supervision of their activi-
ties in order to ensure the overall credibility of EMAS.
Close cooperation between the national accreditation
bodies should accordingly be set up.

(22) This Regulation takes over and replaces Regulation (EEC)

1836/93 which should therefore be repealed,

(1) OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23.

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HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

The eco-management and audit scheme and its objectives

A Community eco-management and audit

1.
scheme
allowing voluntary participation by organisations, hereafter
referred to as ‘EMAS’, is hereby established for the evaluation
and improvement of the environmental performance of organ-
isations and the provision of relevant information to the public
and other interested parties.

2.
The objective of EMAS shall be to promote continual
improvements in the environmental performance of organis-
ations by:

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

the establishment and implementation of environmental
management systems by organisations as described in
Annex I;

the systematic, objective and periodic evaluation of the
performance of such systems as described in Annex I;

the provision of information on environmental perform-
ance and an open dialogue with the public and other
interested parties;

the active involvement of employees in the organisation
and appropriate initial and advanced training that makes
active participation in the tasks referred to under (a)
possible. Where they so request, any employee represen-
tatives shall also be involved.

Article 2

Definitions

For the purposes of this Regulation:

(a)

(b)

‘environmental policy’ shall mean an organisation’s over-
all aims and principles of action with respect to the
environment including compliance with all relevant regu-
latory requirements regarding the environment and also
a commitment to continual improvement of environmen-
tal performance; the environmental policy provides the
framework for setting and reviewing environmental
objectives and targets;

‘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’s management of its
significant environmental aspects, based on its environ-
mental policy, objectives and targets; the enhancing of
the results need not take place in all spheres of activity
simultaneously;

(c)

(d)

(e)

(f)

(g)

(h)

(i)

(j)

(k)

(l)

‘environmental performance’ shall mean the results of an
organisation’s management of its environmental aspects;

‘prevention of pollution’ shall mean use of processes,
practices, materials or products that avoid, reduce or
control pollution, which may include recycling, treat-
ment, process changes, control mechanisms, efficient use
of resources and material substitution;

‘environmental review’ shall mean an initial comprehen-
sive analysis of the environmental
issues, impact and
performance related to activities of an organisation,
(Annex VII);

‘environmental aspect’ shall mean an element of an
organisation’s activities, products or services that can
interact with the environment, (Annex VI); a significant
environmental aspect is an environmental aspect that has
or can have a significant environmental impact;

‘environmental
impact’ shall mean any change to the
environment, whether adverse or beneficial, wholly or
partially resulting from an organisation’s activities, prod-
ucts or services;

‘environmental programme’ shall mean a description
of the measures (responsibilities and means) taken or
envisaged to achieve environmental objectives and targets
and the deadlines for achieving the environmental objec-
tives and targets;

‘environmental objective’ shall mean an overall environ-
mental goal, arising from the environmental policy, that
an organisation sets itself
to achieve, and which is
quantified where practicable;

‘environmental target’ shall mean a detailed performance
requirement, quantified where practicable, applicable to
the organisation or parts thereof, that arises from the
environmental objectives and that needs to be set and
met in order to achieve those objectives;

‘environmental management system’ shall mean the part
of the overall management system that includes the
organisational structure, planning activities, responsibilit-
ies, practices, procedures, processes and resources for
developing,
reviewing and
maintaining the environmental policy;

implementing, achieving,

‘environmental audit’ shall mean a management tool
comprising a systematic, documented, periodic and objec-
tive evaluation of the performance of the organisation,
management system and processes designed to protect
the environment with the aim of:

(i)

(ii)

facilitating management control of practices which
may have an impact on the environment;

assessing compliance with the environmental policy,
including environmental objectives and targets of
the organisation (Annex II);

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(m)

‘audit cycle’ shall mean the period of time in which all the
activities in an organisation are audited, (Annex II);

(u)

‘competent bodies’ shall mean the bodies designated by
Member States, whether national, regional or local, in
accordance with Article 5, to perform the tasks specified
in this Regulation.

(n)

‘auditor’ shall mean an individual or a team, belonging to
the organisation personnel or external to the organisation,
acting on behalf of the organisation’s top management,
possessing, individually 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;

Article 3

Participation in EMAS

(o)

‘environmental statement’ shall mean the information
detailed in Annex III point 3.2 ((a) to (g));

1.
EMAS shall be open to the participation of any organis-
ation dedicated to improving its overall environmental per-
formance.

(p)

(q)

(r)

‘interested party’ shall mean an individual or group,
including authorities, concerned with or affected by the
environmental performance of an organisation;

‘environmental verifier’ shall mean any person or organis-
ation independent of the organisation being verified,
who has obtained accreditation, in accordance with the
conditions and procedures referred to in Article 4;

the
‘accreditation system’ shall mean a system for
accreditation and supervision of environmental verifiers
operated by an impartial
institution or organisation
designated or created by the Member State (accreditation
body), with sufficient resources and competency and
having appropriate procedures for performing the func-
tions defined by this Regulation for such a system;

(s)

‘organisation’ shall mean a company, corporation, firm,
enterprise, authority or institution, or part or combi-
nation thereof, whether incorporated or not, public or
private, that has its own functions and administrations.

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 Member State. The smallest entity
to be considered shall be a site. Under exceptional
circumstances identified by the Commission in accord-
ance 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.

In order for an organisation to be registered under EMAS

2.
it shall:

(a) Conduct an environmental review of its activities, prod-
ucts and services in accordance with Annex VII addressing
the issues contained in Annex VI and, in the light of the
implement an environmental
results of
the requirements
management
referred to in Annex I, in particular the compliance with
the relevant environmental legislation.

system covering all

that review,

However, organisations which have a certified environ-
mental management system, recognised according to the
requirements of Article 9, do not need to conduct a
formal environmental review when moving on to EMAS
implementation,
if the necessary information for the
identification and evaluation of the environmental aspects
set out in Annex VI is provided by the certified environ-
mental management system.

(b)

(c)

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;

prepare,
in accordance with Annex III, point 3.2, an
environmental statement. The statement shall pay par-
ticular attention to the results achieved by an organisation
against its environmental objectives and targets and the
requirement of continuing to improve its environmental
performance, and shall consider the information needs of
relevant interested parties;

(d) have the environmental review, if appropriate, manage-
ment system, audit procedure and environmental state-
ment examined to verify that they meet the relevant
requirements of this Regulation and have the environ-
mental statement validated by the environmental verifier
to ensure it meets the requirements of Annex III;

(t)

‘site’ shall mean all land at a distinct geographic location
under the management control of an organisation cover-
ing activities, products and services. This includes all
infrastructure, equipment and materials;

(e)

forward the validated environmental statement to the
competent body of the Member State in which the
organisation seeking registration is located and, after
registration, make it publicly available.

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In order for an organisation to maintain registration to

3.
EMAS it shall:

(a)

(b)

have the environmental management system and audit
programme verified in accordance with the requirements
of Annex V, point 5.6;

forward the yearly necessary validated updates of its
environmental statement to the competent body and
make them publicly available. Deviations from the fre-
quency with which updates shall be performed can be
made under circumstances laid down in Commission
guidance adopted in accordance with the procedure
laid down in Article 14(2),
in particular for small
organisations and small enterprises according to Com-
mission Recommendation 96/280/EC (1) and when there
is no operational change in the environmental manage-
ment system.

Article 4

Accreditation system

1. Member States shall establish a system for the accredita-
tion of
independent environmental verifiers and for the
supervision of their activities. To this end, Member States may
either use existing accreditation institutions or the competent
bodies referred to in Article 5 or designate 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 execution of their tasks.

2. Member States shall ensure that these systems are fully
operational 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.

6. Member States shall
inform the Commission of the
measures taken pursuant to this Article and communicate
the
relevant changes in the structure and procedures of
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 and the criteria, conditions and procedures
which the national accreditation bodies apply for the accredita-
tion and supervision of environmental verifiers 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 Commission with the elements and means to fulfil its
obligation under paragraph (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 verifiers. Guidance documents produced shall
be submitted to the procedure laid down in Article 14(2).

In order to ensure a harmonised development of the func-
tioning 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 accreditation systems of Member States meet
the requirements of this Regulation. A report of the peer
review activities shall be transmitted to the Commission which
shall forward it for information to the Committee referred to
in Article 14(1) and make it publicly available.

Article 5

Competent bodies

1. Within 3 months of the entry into force of this Regu-
lation, each Member State shall designate the competent body
responsible for carrying out the tasks provided for in this
Regulation, in particular in Articles 6 and 7 and shall inform
the Commission thereof.

4.
The accreditation of environmental verifiers and super-
vision of their activities shall be in accordance with the
requirements of Annex V.

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 a consistent manner.

5.
Environmental verifiers accredited in one Member State
may perform verification activities in any other Member State
in accordance with the requirements laid down in Annex V.
The start of the verification 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’s accreditation
system.

(1) OJ L 107, 30.4.1996, p. 4.

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 concern-

ing registered organisations, and

— refusal of registration, deletion or suspension of organis-

ations from registration.

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4.
The competent body shall be responsible for the regis-
tration of organisations under EMAS. It shall therefore control
the entry and maintenance of organisations on the register.

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

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 procedures 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 approach towards registration.
A report of the peer review activities shall be transmitted to
the Commission which shall forward it for information to 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
in

the minimum information set out

least
Annex VIII, from the organisation 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 authority regarding the compliance of
the organisation with the relevant environmental
legislation,
the
requirements of this Regulation,

the organisation meets all

that

— a completed form, which includes at

the
minimum information set out in Annex VIII from
the organisation, or

least

— 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 the reasons for the
measures taken.

If, at any time, a competent body concludes, on the basis
of evidence received, that the organisation is no longer
complying with one or more of the conditions of this
Regulation, the organisation 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 regulatory requirements regarding environmen-
tal protection, it shall refuse registration of that organis-
ation or suspend it from the register as appropriate.

Refusal of registration, suspension or deletion of organis-
ations from the register shall require the consultation of
the appropriate interested parties, in order to provide the
competent body with the necessary elements of evidence
for taking its decision. The competent 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.

Refusal or suspension shall be lifted if the competent
body has received satisfactory information that the organ-
isation is in compliance with the requirements of EMAS
or if it has received satisfactory information from the
competent enforcement authority that the breach has
been rectified and that the organisation has made satisfac-
tory arrangements with the aim of ensuring that it does
not recur.

4.

5.

6.

it shall register the applicant organisation and give it a
registration number. The competent body shall inform
the organisation
the organisation’s management
appears on the register.

that

2.

If a competent body receives a supervision report from
the accreditation body which gives evidence that the
activities of the environmental verifier were not perfor-
med adequately enough to ensure that the requirements
of this Regulation are met by the applicant organisation,
registration shall be refused or suspended as appropriate
until assurance of the organisation’s compliance with
EMAS is obtained.

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 their Member State and shall directly, or via the national
authorities as decided by the Member State concerned, com-
municate changes in this list each month to the Commission
and to the competent body.

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2.
The competent bodies shall establish and maintain a list
of registered organisations in their Member State and update
this list on a monthly basis. The competent bodies 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 may organise a 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 regis-
tered 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. Technical specifications regarding the repro-
duction of the logo shall be adopted in accordance with the
procedure laid down in Article 14(2) and published by the
Commission.

The EMAS logo may be used by organisations in the

2.
following cases:

(a)

on validated information as described in Annex III,
point 3.5, under circumstances defined in Commission
guidance adopted under the procedure laid down in
Article 14(2) which shall ensure that there is no confusion
with environmental product labels (version 2 of the logo,
as given in Annex IV, shall be used in this case);

The Commission shall however, as a part of the evaluation
provided for in Article 15(3), consider under which exceptional
circumstances the logo may be used and, for these cases, shall
adopt rules in accordance 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

Organisations implementing European or international
1.
standards for environmental
issues relevant to EMAS and
certified, according to appropriate certification procedures, as
complying with those standards shall be considered as meeting
the corresponding requirements of this Regulation, provided
that:

(a)

(b)

the standards are recognised by the Commission acting in
accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 14(2);

the accreditation requirements for the certification bodies
are recognised by the Commission acting in accordance
with the procedure laid down in Article 14(2).

The references of the recognised standards (including the
relevant sections of EMAS to which they apply) and recognised
accreditation requirements shall be published in the Official
Journal of the European Communities.

To enable organisations referred to in paragraph 1 to be
2.
registered under EMAS, the organisations concerned shall
demonstrate to the environmental verifier compliance with
requirements not covered by the recognised standards.

(b) on validated environmental statements (version 2 of the
logo, as given in Annex IV, shall be used in this case);

Article 10

(c)

on registered organisations’ letterheads (version 1 of the
logo, as given in Annex IV, shall be used in this case);

Relationship with other environmental legislation
in the Community

(d) on information advertising an organisation’s participation
in EMAS (version 1 of the logo, as given in Annex IV,
shall be used in this case);

(e)

on or in adverts for products, activities and services, only
under circumstances defined in Commission guidance
adopted in accordance with Article 14(2) which shall
ensure that there is no confusion with environmental
product labels.

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.

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.

2. Member States should consider how registration under
EMAS in accordance with this Regulation may be taken
into account
in the implementation and enforcement of
environmental legislation in order to avoid unnecessary dupli-
cation of effort by both organisations and competent enforce-
ment authorities.

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Member States shall inform the Commission of the measures
taken in this regard. The Commission shall transmit the
information 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

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 participation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)
by

— facilitating access to information, support funds, public
institutions and public procurement, without prejudice
to the Community rules governing public procurement,

— establishing or promoting technical assistance measures,
especially in conjunction with initiatives from appropriate
professional or local points of contact (e.g. local auth-
orities, chambers of commerce, trade or craft associ-
ations),

— ensuring that reasonable registration fees encourage

higher participation.

In order to promote participation of SMEs, including those
concentrated in well defined geographical areas, local auth-
orities, in participation with industrial associations, chambers
of commerce and interested parties may provide assistance in
the identification of significant environmental impacts. SMEs
may then use this in defining their environmental programme
and setting the objectives and targets of their EMAS manage-
ment system. In addition, programmes designed to encourage
the participation of SMEs, such as a step by step approach
which will eventually lead to EMAS registration, may be
developed at regional or national
level. The system shall
operate with the objective of avoiding unnecessary administrat-
ive burden for participants, in particular small organisations.

2.
In order to encourage organisations’ participation in
EMAS the Commission and other institutions of the Com-
munity as well as other public authorities at national level
should consider, without prejudice to Community law, how
registration under EMAS may be taken into account 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 information received from Member States to the
European Parliament and to the Council as soon as available
and at least on a three-yearly basis.

Each Member State shall take appropriate measures to

1.
ensure that:

(a)

(b)

organisations are informed of the content of this Regu-
lation;

the public is informed of the objectives and principal
components of EMAS.

Member States shall, where appropriate, in cooperation with,
industrial associations, consumer organis-
amongst others,
ations, environmental organisations, trade unions and local
institutions, in particular use professional publications, local
journals, promotion campaigns or any other functional means
to promote general awareness of EMAS.

2. Member States shall
measures taken under this Article.

inform the Commission of the

3.
The Commission shall be responsible for promoting
EMAS at Community level. It shall, in particular, examine in
consultation with the members of the Committee referred to
in Article 14(1) the possibility 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.

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Article 15

Revision

1.
The Commission shall review EMAS in the light of the
experience gained during its operation and international
developments no later than five years after the entry into force
of this Regulation, and shall,
if necessary, propose to the
European Parliament and Council the appropriate amend-
ments.

2.
All the Annexes to this Regulation, with the exception
of Annex V, shall be adapted by the Commission, acting in
accordance with 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 require-
ments.

3.
The Commission shall in particular evaluate, in cooper-
ation with the Member States, no later than 5 years after the
entry into force of this Regulation, the use, recognition and
interpretation, especially by the public and other interested
parties, of the EMAS logo and assess whether there is a need
to revise the logo and the requirements for its use.

Article 16

Costs and fees

A system of

1.
fees in accordance with arrangements
established by Member States may be set up for the adminis-
trative costs incurred in connection with the registration
procedures for organisations and the accreditation and super-
vision of environmental verifiers and other related costs of
EMAS.

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 of this 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 accreditation systems and competent bodies under the
corresponding provisions of this Regulation. Member States
shall ensure that these systems are fully operational 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 accordance 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 Regulation 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 verification may be extended
by 6 months in agreement with the environmental verifier 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 Regulation (EEC) No 1836/93, provided that the
responsible accreditation bodies and competent bodies have
agreed that the environmental verifiers and registered sites
comply with all
the requirements of Regulation (EEC)
No 1836/93 and notify this to the Commission.

Article 18

Entry into force

2. Member States shall
measures taken under this Article.

inform the Commission of the

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.

Done at Brussels, 19 March 2001.

The European Parliament

The President

N. FONTAINE

For the Council

The President

A. LINDH

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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.

G e 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.

P l a n n i n g

I-A.3.1.

Environmental aspects

The organisation shall establish and maintain (a) procedure(s) to identify 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
environmental 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 organisation 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 environmental objectives and targets, at each
relevant function and level within the organisation.

(*) 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.

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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 business 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;

(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 n

I-A.4.1.

Structure and responsibility

Roles, responsibility and authorities shall be defined, documented and communicated in order to facilitate
effective environmental management.

Management shall provide resources essential to the implementation and control of the environmental
management system. Resources include human resources and specialised skills, technology and financial
resources.

The organisation’s top management shall appoint (a) specific management representative(s) who,
irrespective of other responsibilities, shall have defined roles, responsibilities and authority for

(a)

(b)

ensuring that environmental management system requirements are established, implemented and
maintained in accordance with this International Standard;

reporting on the performance of the environmental management system to top management for
review and as a basis for improvement 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 environment, 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)

(b)

(c)

the importance of conformance with the environmental policy and procedures and with the
requirements of the environmental management system;

the significant environmental
environmental benefits of improved personal performance;

impacts, actual or potential, of

their work activities and the

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.

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Personnel performing the tasks which can cause significant environmental 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 management 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.

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)

(c)

(d)

(e)

they are periodically reviewed, revised as necessary and approved for adequacy by authorised
personnel;

the current versions of relevant documents are available at all locations where operations essential
to the effective functioning of the environmental management system are performed;

obsolete documents are promptly removed from all points of issue and points of use, or otherwise
assured against unintended use;

any obsolete documents retained for legal and/or knowledge preservation 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 situations where their absence could
lead to deviations from the environmental policy and the objectives and targets;

(b)

stipulating operating criteria in the procedures;

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(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 emergency 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
include the recording of information to track performance, relevant
the environment. This shall
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 procedures.

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 nonconformance, 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 the magnitude of problems and commensurate with the environmental impact
encountered.

The organisation shall implement and record any changes in the documented procedures resulting from
corrective and preventive action.

I-A.5.3.

Records

The organisation shall establish and maintain procedures for the identification, 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.

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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 management 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

including any schedule, shall be based on the environmental
The organisation’s audit programme,
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.

M a 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 documented.

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)

DK:

DS (Dansk Standard)

D:

EL:

E:

F:

DIN (Deutsches Institut für Normung e.V.)

ELOT (¯ºº(cid:231)(cid:237)ØŒ(cid:239)·(cid:242) (cid:239)æªÆ(cid:237)Ø(cid:243)(cid:236)(cid:239)·(cid:242) (cid:244)ı(cid:240)(cid:239)(cid:240)(cid:239)Ø·(cid:231)(cid:243)(cid:231)(cid:242))

AENOR (Asociacio´ n Espan˜ ola de Normalizacio´ n y Certificacio´ n)

AFNOR (Association Française de Normalisation)

IRL:

NSAI (National Standards Authority of Ireland)

I:

L:

UNI (Ente Nazionale Italiano di Unificazione)

SEE (Service de l’Energie de l’Etat) (Luxembourg)

NL:

NEN (Nederlands Normalisatie-Instituut)

A:

P:

ON (O¨ sterreichisches Normungsinstitut)

IPQ (Instituto Português da Qualidade)

FIN:

SFS (Suomen Standardisoimisliitto r.y)

S:

SIS (Standardiseringen i Sverige)

UK:

BSI (British Standards Institution).

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B.

ISSUES TO BE ADDRESSED BY ORGANISATIONS IMPLEMENTING 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 organisation 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 environmental 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 environmental 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 interested 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 participation 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.

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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
opportunities 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 organisation 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.

in particular, assessing the management systems in place, and determining
The objectives shall include,
conformity with the organisation’s policy and programme, which shall include compliance with relevant
environmental 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.

2.

3.

4.

subject areas covered;

activities to be audited;

environmental criteria to be considered;

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.

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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 responsibilities.

Preparation shall
management system established there and review of the findings and conclusions of previous audits.

include familiarisation with activities of the organisation and with the environmental

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 evaluating
the environmental performance of the activity being audited to determine whether it meets the applicable
standards, regulations or objectives 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 findings and conclusions of the audit, at the end of each audit and audit
cycle.

The findings and conclusions of the audit shall be formally communicated to the top organisation
management.

2.

The fundamental objectives of a written audit report are:

(a)

to document the scope of the audit;

(b)

(c)

to provide management with information on the state of compliance with the organisations’
environmental policy and the environmental progress at the organisation;

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.

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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).

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ANNEX III

ENVIRONMENTAL STATEMENT

3.1.

Introduction

The aim of the environmental statement is to provide environmental information 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
verifier. This information shall be submitted to the competent body following validation, and then be made
publicly available. The environmental statement 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)

(b)

(c)

(d)

(e)

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;

the environmental policy and a brief description of the environmental management system of the
organisation;

a description of all the significant direct and indirect environmental aspects which result in significant
environmental impacts of the organisation and an explanation of the nature of the impacts as related to
these aspects (Annex VI);

a description of the environmental objectives and targets in relation to the significant environmental
aspects and impacts;

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 development of the environmental performance of the organisation;

(f)

other factors regarding environmental performance including performance 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;

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(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;

(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 validation 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)

(b)

(c)

(d)

(e)

(f)

accurate and non deceptive;

substantiated and verifiable;

relevant and used in an appropriate context or setting;

representative of the overall environmental performance of the organisation;

unlikely to result in misinterpretation;

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 environmental 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 the information 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 locations. 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.

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ANNEX IV

Logo

V e r s i o n 1

V e r s i o n 2

The logo may be used by an EMAS registered organisation in any of the 11 languages provided the following
wording is used:

Danish:

German:

Greek:

Spanish:

Finnish:

French:

Italian:

Dutch:

V e r s i o n 1

V e r s i o n 2

‘verificeret miljøledelse’

‘bekræftede oplysninger’

‘geprüftes Umweltmanagement’

‘geprüfte Information’

‘(cid:229)(cid:240)ØŁ(cid:229)øæ(cid:231)(cid:236)(cid:229)·(cid:237)(cid:231) (cid:240)(cid:229)æØ(cid:226)Æºº(cid:239)(cid:237)(cid:244)ØŒ(cid:231)· (cid:228)ØÆ(cid:247)(cid:229)Ø·æØ(cid:243)(cid:231)’

‘(cid:229)(cid:240)ØŒıæø(cid:236)(cid:229)·(cid:237)(cid:229)(cid:242) (cid:240)º(cid:231)æ(cid:239)(cid:246)(cid:239)æØ·(cid:229)(cid:242)’

‘Gestio´ n ambiental verificada’

‘informacio´ n validada’

‘vahvistettu ympäristöasioiden hallinta’

‘vahvistettua tietoa’

‘Management environnemental vérifié’

‘information validée’

‘Gestione ambientale verificata’

‘informazione convalidata’

‘Geverifieerd milieuzorgsysteem’

‘gevalideerde informatie’

Portuguese:

‘Gesta˜o ambiental verificada’

‘informaça˜o validada’

Swedish:

‘Kontrollerat miljöledningssystem’

‘godkänd information’

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.

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ANNEX V

ACCREDITATION, SUPERVISION AND FUNCTION OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL 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 m e n t s w i t h
w h i c h
s h a l l
c o m p l y :

a n e n v i r o n m e n t a l

o r g a n i s a t i o n ,

i n d i v i d u a l

v e r i f i e r ,

o r

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

(e)

functioning of environmental
knowledge and understanding of
management systems, relevant standards and guidance issued by the Commission, under Article 4
and 14(2), for the use of this Regulation;

the Regulation,

the general

knowledge and understanding of the legislative, regulatory and administrative requirements relevant
to the activity subject to verification;

knowledge and understanding of environmental issues, including the environmental dimension of
sustainable development;

knowledge and understanding of the technical aspects, relevant to environmental issues, of the
activity subject to verification;

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 relevant experience and technical
capacities in the abovementioned fields should be provided to the accreditation body to which the
candidate verifier 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 integrity 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.

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5.2.2.

S c 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 environmental 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.

A d 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 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 t i o n s o n t h e i r o w n

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 accredited fields,

— a limited scope of accreditation dependant on their personal competence.

Compliance with these requirements shall be ensured through the assessment carried out prior to the
accreditation and through the supervisory role of the accreditation body.

5.3.

Supervision of environmental verifiers

5.3.1.

S u 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 a c c r e d i t a t i o n
b o d y w h i c h g r a n t e d t h e i r a c c r e d i t a t i o n

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 organisations, question-
naires, 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 verifier.

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.

S u 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 t i o n a c t i v i t i e s
i n a M e m b e r S t a t e o t h e r t h a n t h a t w h e r e t h e i r a c c r e d i t a t i o n w a s g r a n t e d

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.

(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).

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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.

Organisations may not refuse the right of accreditation bodies to supervise 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 environmental 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 3.4).

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 organisation:

(a)

a fully operational environmental management system in accordance with Annex I;

(b)

a fully planned audit programme, which had already begun in accordance 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 procedures 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 particular, 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.

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5.4.4.

O r 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 corresponds 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.

5.5.2.

5.5.3.

The environmental verifier shall operate within his/her scope of accreditation, 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 organisation to providing the
necessary cooperation.

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
organisations’ solution of the issues raised by the report.

The documentation to be examined in advance of the visit shall include basic information about the
organisation and activities there, the environmental policy and programme, the description of the
environmental management system in operation in the organisation, details of the environmental review
or audit carried out, the report on that review or audit and on any corrective action taken afterwards, and
the draft environmental statement.

5.5.4.

The environmental verifier shall prepare a report for the organisation’s management. This report shall
specify:

(a)

(b)

all issues relevant to the work carried out by the environmental verifier;

the starting point of the organisation towards implementation of an environmental management
system;

(c)

in general, cases of nonconformity with the provisions of this Regulation, 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 validate 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).

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Official Journal of the European Communities

24.4.2001

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 situations;

(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, subcontractors and suppliers.

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Organisations must be able to demonstrate that the significant environmental 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 endeavour 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.

Considerations in establishing the criteria for assessing the significance of an organisation’s environmental
aspects may include, but are not limited to:

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

(e)

(f)

(g)

information about the condition of the environment to identify activities, products and services of the
organisation that may have an environmental impact;

the organisation’s existing data on material and energy inputs, discharges, wastes and emissions in terms
of risk;

views of interested parties;

environmental activities of the organisation that are regulated;

procurement activities;

design, development, manufacturing, distribution, servicing, use, re-use, recycling and disposal of the
organisation’s products;

those activities of the organisation with the most significant environmental costs, and environmental
benefits.

In assessing the significance of the environmental impacts of the organisation’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.

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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)

(b)

(c)

legislative, regulatory and other requirements to which the organisation subscribes;

an identification of all environmental aspects with a significant environmental impact in accordance with
Annex VI, qualified and quantified as appropriate, and compiling a register of those identified as
significant;

a description of the criteria for assessing the significance of the environmental 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.

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ANNEX VIII

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

Minimum Requirements

Name of the organisation:

Address of the organisation:

Contact person:

NACE code of activity:

Number of employees:

Name of the environmental verifier:

Accreditation number:

Scope of accreditation:

Date of the next environmental statement:

Name and contact details of the competent enforcement authority, or authorities, for the organisation

Done at ............. on .../.../2000

Signature of the representative of the organisation

.............