CELEX: 51991PC0459
Language: en
Date: 1992-03-05
Title: Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) allowing voluntary participation by companies in the industrial sector in a Community ECO-audit scheme

No C 76 / 2                                     Official Journal of the European Communities                                 27 . 3 . 92
                                                                         II
                                                                (Preparatory Acts)
                                                          COMMISSION
              Proposal for a Council Regulation (EEC) allowing voluntary participation by companies in the
                                             industrial sector in a Community Eco-audit scheme
                                                                  (92 / C 76/02)
                                                              COM(91) 459 final
                                               (Submitted by the Commission on 6 March 1992)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES ,                                    programme on the environment (5), that it was
                                                                             important, while observing the respective powers of the
                                                                             Community and the Member States, for Community
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European                        action to concentrate on certain priority areas ,
Economic Community, and in particular Article 130s                           particularly improved access to information on the
thereof,                                                                     environment ; whereas the European Parliament stressed,
                                                                             in its opinion on the same action programme (6), that
                                                                             access to information for all must be made possible by a
                                                                             specific Community programme ;
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
Having regard to the opinion of the European                                 Whereas the Council adopted Directive 90 / 31 3 / EEC of
Parliament,                                                                  7 June 1990 on the freedom of access to information on
                                                                             the environment (7) ;
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and
Social Committee,
                                                                             Whereas companies , in particular industrial companies,
                                                                             are faced with constantly growing, far-reaching and
                                                                             complex tasks and responsibilities related to the
Whereas the objectives of the Community's environment                        assessment, control, prevention or reduction of the
policy, as set out in the Treaty and detailed in the                         environmental impact of their activities ;
European Community's action programmes on the
environment for 1973 ('), for 1977 (2), for 1983 (3) and
for 1987 (4), are, in particular, to prevent, reduce and as
far as possible eliminate pollution, particularly at source,                 Whereas these tasks and responsibilities call for
and ensure sound management of raw material                                  companies to establish effective environmental protection
resources , on the basis of the polluter pays principle ;                    systems ;
Whereas, in particular, the fourth Community action                          Whereas the application of environmental protection
programme on the environment highlights the need to                          systems by companies cannot be separated from the need
develop a more integrated policy on pollution control ;                      to ensure appropriate participation by workers in the
                                                                             establishment and implementation of such systems and
                                                                             from the need to promote greater protection of the
Whereas the Council declared, in its resolution of                           safety and health of workers ;
 19 October 1987 concerning the fourth action
(') OJ No   C 112 , 20 . 12 . 1973 , p . 1 .
O   OJ No   C 139 , 13 . 6 . 1977 , p . 1 .                                   O OJ No C 328 , 7 . 12 . 1987 , p . 1 .
C)  OJ No   C 46 , 17 . 2 . 1983 , p . 1 .                                    (') OJ No C 156 , 15 . 6 . 1987 , p. 138
(') OJ No   C 70 , 18 . 3 . 1987 , p . 3 .                                    (') OJ No L 158 , 23 . 6 . 1990 , p . 56 .
 ---pagebreak---  27 . 3 . 92                          Official Journal of the European Communities                              No C 76 / 3
 Whereas the use of environmental auditing techniques ,          auditors and procedures for preventing any distortion of
 within the framework of such environmental protection           the validation activities within the framework of this
 systems, is particularly important for the systematic,          Regulation ;
 regular and objective evaluation of environmental
 performances and facilitates improvement of such
 performances ;                                                 Whereas this Regulation could need revision, particularly
                                                                 of its scope, in the light of the experience gained in the
                                                                 first years of its implementation ; whereas, therefore , an
 Whereas the establishment of environmental protection           effective procedure is necessary for such revision,
 systems and the use of environmental auditing in this
 context are more advanced in the industrial sector ;
                                                                 HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION :
 Whereas the public is showing growing interest in infor­
 mation about the environmental performances of
 companies ;                                                                               Article 1
                                                                           The Eco-audit scheme and its objectives
Whereas environmental auditing, implemented within an
 appropriate framework, can provide both an effective            1 . A Community scheme allowing voluntary partici­
 tool to improve the environmental performances of              pation by industrial companies, hereinafter referred to as
 companies and a solid basis for company policy on infor­       the 'Eco-audit scheme', is hereby established for the
 mation for, and collaboration with, the public ;               evaluation and improvement of the environmental
                                                                performance of industrial activities and the provision of
                                                                the relevant information to the public.
Whereas the introduction of a flexible Community
 scheme for the evaluation and improvement of the
environmental performance of certain activities would           2 . The objective of the Eco-audit scheme shall be to
 also stimulate further developments in areas such as stan­     promote         improvements      in  the    environmental
dardization and certification of internal environmental         performance of industrial activities by :
management systems ;
                                                                (a) the establishment and implementation of environ­
                                                                      mental protection systems by companies ;
Whereas it is therefore necessary and appropriate to
encourage companies to introduce environmental                  (b) the systematic, objective and periodic evaluation of
protection systems including audit programmes and to                  the environmental performance of such systems ;
promote systematic, sound information for the public on
companies'       environmental    policy,     programmes ,
management and performance and, in particular, on the           (c) the provision of information on environmental
link between health and the environment ;                             performance to the public.
                                                                                           Article 2
Whereas the best means of achieving this end is to
establish a Community scheme allowing voluntary                                           Definitions
participation by companies ;
                                                                For the purposes of this Regulation :
Whereas the aims of such a scheme should be to
promote the introduction of effective protection systems,       (a) 'environmental review' means an initial compre­
in the light of initial comprehensive and detailed                    hensive analysis of the environmental issues, impact
environmental reviews , to lay down the essential                     and performance related to activities at a site,
requirements for environmental auditing, within the                   including in particular the aspects referred to in
framework of such protection systems , and to inform the              Annex I ;
public on the basis, in particular, of the audit findings,
about the environmental performances of companies ;             (b) 'environmental protection system' means a coor­
                                                                      dinated set of measures of various kinds aimed at
                                                                      protecting the environment ;
Whereas it is necessary to provide for independent vali­
dation, by accredited environmental auditors , of the
environmental statements for the public, in order to            (c) 'environmental policy' means a statement of a
guarantee the reliability and representativeness of such              company's overall aims and principles of action with
information ;                                                        respect to the environment ;
                                                                (d) 'environmental management' means the aspects of
Whereas it is necessary to establish the conditions and              the overall management function that determine and
procedures for the accreditation of environmental                    implement the environmental policy;
 ---pagebreak--- No C 76 / 4                                Official Journal of the European Communities                                   27 . 3 . 92
(e) 'environmental management system' means the                      (m) ' accredited environmental auditor' means any person
     organizational structure, responsibilities, practices,                or organization who has obtained accreditation, in
     procedures, processes and resources for                               line with the conditions and procedures referred to
     implementing environmental management ;                               in Article 7 ;
(f) 'environmental objectives' means the detailed goals,             (n) 'competent bodies' means the bodies designated by
     in terms of environmental performance, which a                        Member States, in line with Article 10 , to perform
     company sets itself ;                                                 the tasks mentioned in this Regulation .
(g) 'environmental programme' means a description of                                              Article 3
     the company's specific objectives and activities to
     ensure greater protection of the environment at a               Participation in the Eco-audit scheme, commitments by
     given site, including a description of the measures                    companies participating, participation procedure
     taken to achieve such objectives and the deadlines set
     for implementation of such measures ;                            1 . Companies operating any industrial activity may
                                                                     participate in the Eco-audit scheme at any of the sites
                                                                     where such activities are performed by undertaking to
(h) 'environmental audit' means a management tool                    comply with all the rules and conditions and to observe
     comprising a systematic, documented, periodic and               all the procedures set out in this Regulation at each site
     objective evaluation of the performance of the                  involved, and in particular :
     organization, management system and equipment
     designed to protect the environment with the aim of :
                                                                     — to establish and implement, in the light of the results
                                                                          of an initial environmental review, in line with the
       (i) facilitating management control of environ­                    criteria in Annex I and ensuring appropriate partici­
           mental practices ;                                             pation by workers and their representatives , an
                                                                          environmental protection system applicable to all
     ( ii) assessing compliance with company policies ,                   activities at the site,
           including observance of the existing regulatory
           requirements .
                                                                     — to carry out, or have carried out, in compliance with
                                                                          the criteria in Annex I, environmental audits at the
     Environmental audit includes determination of the                    sites concerned ,
     factual data necessary to evaluate performance ;
                                                                     — to examine, at the highest management level, all the
(i) 'environmental        statement'      means    a   statement          findings of the audit and , in the light thereof and
     prepared by the company in line with the                             within    the    framework      of their  environmental
     requirements of this Regulation and, in particular, of               programme , set objectives and measures aimed at
     Article 5 ;                                                          continuous improvement of their environmental
                                                                          performance,
(j) ' industrial activity' means any activity listed under
     sections C and D of the classification of economic              — to prepare an environmental statement specific to
     activities in the European Community (NACE rev.                      each site audited with the same frequency as the
      1 ), as established by Council Regulation (EEC) No                  environmental audit,
     3037 / 90 ('), with the addition of electricity, gas ,
     steam and hot water production , and the recycling ,            — to have the environmental statement validated by
     treatment, destruction or disposal of solid or liquid                accredited environmental auditors to confirm that the
     waste ;                                                              data and information contained therein are reliable
                                                                          and that all the significant environmental issues of
                                                                          relevance to the site are covered in sufficient detail ,
(k) 'company' means any organization which has direct
     operational control over activities at a given site ;
                                                                     — to submit the environmental statements validated by
                                                                          accredited environmental auditors to the competent
(1) 'site' means all land on which the industrial activities              body and keep them at the disposal of the public.
     under the control of a company at a given location
     are carried out, including any connected or asso­
     ciated storage of raw materials, by-products, inter­             2 . Companies which decide to participate in the
     mediate products , end-products and waste material ,             Eco-audit scheme for a given site shall , after having
     and any equipment and infrastructure involved in the             carried out an initial environmental review of the site ,
     activities , whether or not fixed ;                              established an environmental protection system , and
                                                                      prepared an environmental statement, submit the first
                                                                      environmental statement validated by an environmental
                                                                      auditor, including the information referred to in Annex
(') OJ No L 293 , 24 . 10 . 1990 , p. 1 .                             IV, to the competent body referred to in Article 10 .
 ---pagebreak--- 27 . 3 . 92                            Official Journal of the European Communities                               No C 76 / 5
3.      The commitments defined in this Article shall apply                                Article 6
without prejudice to the action decided upon by the
Member States within the framework of point (a) of                    Organization of auditing and validation activities
Article 12 ( 1 ).
                                                                  1 . The environmental audit of a site may be
                                                                 conducted either by the company's auditors, if the
                                                                 company has set up its own appropriate system , for
                           Article 4                             example within the framework of the EN 29000
                                                                 standard , or by external auditors accredited for this
Standardization of environmental management systems              purpose by a body recognized by the Member State . In
                                                                 both cases the audit shall be performed in line with the
The Commission shall request the appropriate European            criteria set out in Annex I and, in particular, taking
standardization bodies to develop and adopt standards            account of the ISO 10011 standards on auditors ' qualifi­
for environmental management systems based on the                cations (part 2) and on audit procedures (part 1 ).
criteria in Annex I, taking into account the objectives ,
principles and provisions of this Regulation .
                                                                 2.    The Environmental statements shall be validated by
                                                                 accredited environmental auditors , in line with the
                           Article 5                             criteria set out in Annex II .
                   Environmental statement
                                                                 Accredited environmental auditors shall not divulge,
1 . An environmental statement shall be prepared for             without authorization from the company management,
each site participating in the Eco-audit scheme, under           any information or data obtained in the course of their
the control of company management and on the basis , in          validation activities .
particular, of each environmental audit or, for the first
statement, of the initial environmental review. It shall be
written specifically for the public in a concise,
non-technical form .                                             3 . The Commission shall request the European
                                                                 Organization for Testing and Certification (EOTC) to
                                                                 establish the conditions and procedures for certification
                                                                 of compliance with the standards mentioned in Article 4 ,
2.      The environmental statement shall include, in            based on the criteria set out in Annex II, and to ensure
particular, the following contents :                             coordination of the bodies designated by the Member
                                                                 States within the framework of Article 7 ( 1 ).
— a description of the company's activities at the site
     considered,
                                                                                           Article 7
— a detailed assessment of all the significant environ­                    Accreditation of environmental auditors
     mental issues of relevance to the activities concerned ,
                                                                  I.   Member States shall ensure , within 12 months of
                                                                 the entry into force of this Regulation , that accreditation
— a summary of the figures on pollutant emissions,               systems responsible for laying down and implementing
     waste generation, raw material, energy and water            appropriate conditions and procedures for the accredi­
     consumption and other significant environmental             tation of environmental auditors and for supervising their
     aspects , as appropriate ,                                  activities are fully operational . To this end, Member
                                                                 States may either use existing certification institutions or
                                                                 designate or set up other appropriate bodies .
— a presentation of the company's environmental
     policy, programme and specific objectives for the site
     considered ,                                                In establishing the abovementioned conditions and
                                                                 procedures , the accreditation systems in the Member
                                                                 States shall take account of the criteria set out in Annex
— an evaluation of the environmental performance of              II . Member States shall inform the Commission in
     the protection system implemented at the site               advance of the measures they intend to adopt on this
     considered ,                                                subject. These measures must be approved by the
                                                                 Commission before they can be adopted by an accredi­
                                                                 tation system .
— the deadline set for submission of the next statement.
                                                                 Member States shall adopt the rules and procedures
The statement shall be validated under the conditions set        necessary to enable the accreditation systems to perform
out in Annex II .                                                their role .
 ---pagebreak---   No C 7 6 / 6                            Official Journal of the European Communities                                27 . 3 . 92
  Member States shall inform the Commission without                                             Article 10
  delay of the measures taken within the framework of this
  paragraph .                                                                             Competent bodies
                                                                     Member States shall designate, within 12 months of the
  2 . The competent bodies, the industrial confederations            entry into force of this Regulation, the competent bodies
  concerned, non-governmental environmental and                      and shall inform the Commission thereof immediately.
  consumer organizations and trade unions shall be
  entitled to participate in setting up and directing, in line
  with the rules and procedures established by the Member                                       Article 11
  States, the accreditation systems referred to in paragraph
  1 . The Commission shall be informed of these rules and                                The Eco-audit logo
  procedures without delay.
                                                                     1.    The logo illustrated in Annex III may be used in
                                                                     relation to sites participating in the Eco-audit scheme.
  3 . The accreditation systems shall collaborate, in                The logo shall always be accompanied by a statement of
 particular in supervising the activities of accredited              which sites are participating.
 environmental      auditors . The Commission shall take
 appropriate action to facilitate such collaboration .
                                                                    The logo may be used :
 4 . Auditors accredited in one Member State may                    — on the company's environmental statements ,
 perform validation activities in any other Member State.
                                                                    — on the company's brochures, reports and information
                             Article 8                                   documentation,
           List of accredited environmental auditors
                                                                    — on the company's headed paper,
 The accreditation systems shall establish, update and
 revise a list of accredited environmental auditors in each
 Member State and shall communicate this list to the                — for the company's advertisements, on condition that
 Commission .                                                            such advertisements contain no reference to specific
                                                                         products or services .
The Commission shall publish an overall Community list
 in the Official Journal of the European Communities.               The logo may not be used on products , product
                                                                    packages or for product advertisement.
                             Article 9
                                                                    The logo shall always be accompanied by one of the
                                                                    phrases in Annex III, as appropriate .
      List of sites participating in the Eco-audit scheme
 1 . The bodies designated for this purpose by the
Member States shall establish a list of sites participating         2.     The use of the logo shall be forbidden in the case
 in the Eco-audit scheme and shall update this list                 of sites which fail to comply with the requirements of the
regularly.                                                          Community and national environmental regulations.
If a company fails to submit the validated environmental            Member States shall take the necessary measures to
statements for a site to the competent body within the              empower the competent bodies to supervise use of the
deadline announced, the site shall be deleted from the              logo and shall inform the Commission of these measures
list.                                                               immediately.
2 . The competent bodies shall communicate the lists                                           Article 12
and their updates to the Commission each year.
                                                                               Promotion of the Eco-audit scheme
Each year the Commission shall publish in the Official              1 . Member States may take action to promote the
Journal of the European Communities a list of all the sites         Eco-audit scheme, provided such action is in compliance
participating in the Eco-audit scheme in the Community.             with Community law, in particular by :
 ---pagebreak--- 27 . 3 . 92                                  Official Journal of the European Communities                                     No C 7 6 / 7
(a) in the case of small and medium-sized enterprises,                                               Article 13
     establishing or promoting assistance measures and,
     possibly, structures, aimed at providing such firms                                              Revision
     with the expertise and support needed in order to
     comply with the rules, conditions and procedures                       Four years after the entry into force of this Regulation,
                                                                            the Commission shall review the Eco-audit scheme in the
     defined by this Regulation and, in particular, to set
     up environmental protection systems, conduct audits                    light of the experience gained during its operation and
     and prepare and validate statements ;                                  shall, if necessary, propose to the Council the appro­
                                                                            priate amendments , particularly to the scope and nature
                                                                            of the scheme .
(b) simplifying and/or reducing the practical verification
     and inspection formalities under certain conditions,                  Within the framework of this revision, the Council shall
     in particular for small and medium-sized enterprises ;                 adopt the amendments proposed by a qualified majority,
                                                                            as provided for by the second paragraph of Article 130s
(c) advertising and informing the public of the Eco-audit                   of the Treaty.
     scheme .
                                                                                                     Article 14
Member States shall inform the Commission immediately
of the measures they take within the framework of this                                           Entry into force
Article .
                                                                           This Regulation shall enter into force on 1 January 1993 .
2 . The Commission, having consulted the two sides of
industry, shall present proposals to the Council aiming at                  It shall apply with effect from 1 July 1994.
greater participation in the Eco-audit scheme by small
and medium-sized enterprises , in particular by providing                  This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and
information , training and technical assistance .                          directly applicable in all Member States .
                                                                   ANNEX I
               Issues, criteria and requirements concerning environmental protection systems and environmental auditing
               A. Environmental protection systems must be established taking account of the EN 29000 series of
                   standards and, as soon as they are adopted, of any specific standards set in the future within the
                   framework of the provisions of Article 4 .
                   Such systems will include, in particular, the following elements, formally stated in writing : an environ­
                   mental policy, environmental objectives, an environmental programme and an environmental
                   management system , including an audit programme .
                   The corresponding documents will explain how the environmental policy and the environmental
                   management system for the site relate to the policy and systems of the company as a whole and will
                   include a statement of the environmental policy conducted by the company.
                   The environmental protection system will include technical and organizational measures and procedures
                   aiming at generating the information and data necessary to evaluate the environmental performance of
                   activities at the site considered, with reference to the company's environmental policies, objectives and
                   programmes .
 ---pagebreak--- No C 76 / 8                               Official Journal of the European Communities                                      27 . 3 . 92
            B. Issues to be covered
               The following issues will be covered within the framework of environmental protection systems and
               environmental auditing :
               — assessment, control and prevention of the impact of the activity concerned on the various sectors of
                     the environment,
               — energy management, savings and choice,
               — raw materials managment, savings, choice and transportation ; water management and savings ,
               — waste avoidance, recycling, reuse, transportation and disposal,
               — selection of production processes,
               — product planning (design, packaging, transportation, use and disposal),
               — prevention and limitation of accidents,
               — staff information, training and participation on environmental issues ,
               — external information and public participation, including dealing with public complaints .
            C. Environmental performance will be assessed by reference to the Community and national standards
                applicable to this field and to the best available pollution abatement technologies, as defined within the
                framework of Community legislation .
                As regards environmental management, the following 'good management practices' will be taken as the
                reference , where appropriate, for the protection systems and environmental auditing under the
                Eco-audit scheme .
                  1 . Management shall prepare and regularly review at the highest level the company's environmental
                      policy, objectives and programmes . These policies, objectives and programmes shall be stated in
                      writing.
                  2 . Management, in cooperation with staff representatives, shall foster a sense of responsibility for the
                      environment amongst employees at all levels.
                  3 . Management shall assess in advance the environmental impact of all new activities, products and
                      processes .
                  4 . Management shall assess and monitor the impact of current activities on the local environment and
                      examine any significant impact of these activities on the environment in general .
                  5 . Management shall ensure that the environmental impact of all the activities is reduced to the
                      minimum .
                  6. Management shall ensure that the arrangements necessary to reduce waste generation to the
                      minimum and to conserve resources are introduced and applied.
                  7. Management shall take the necessary measures to prevent accidental emissions of materials or
                      energy.
 ---pagebreak--- 27 . 3 . 92                               Official Journal of the European Communities                                    No C 76 / 9
                 8 . The company shall establish and apply verification procedures to check compliance with the
                     environmental policy and, where these procedures require measurement and testing, to establish
                     and update records of the results.
                 9 . The company shall establish and update the procedures and action to be pursued in the event of
                     detection of non-compliance with its environmental policy, objectives or targets.
               10 . Management shall cooperate with the public authorities to establish and update contingency
                     procedures to minimize the impact of any accidents that nevertheless occur.
               1 1 . Management shall provide the public with the information necessary to understand the potential
                     environmental impact of the company's activities and shall be prepared to respond positively to
                     expressions of public concern.
               12 . Management shall provide appropriate advice to customers on the prevention of accidents and
                     pollution during the handling, use and disposal of the products made by the company.
               13 . Management shall ensure that contractors working on the company's behalf apply environmental
                     standards equivalent to the company's own.
            D. The issues and requirements mentioned in sections B and C will apply in so far as they are under the
               control of the site management.
            E. Environmental auditing
               The audit method and procedure will be established in the light of the relevant guidelines in the ISO
                10011 international standards and within the framework of the specific principles and requirements of
               this Regulation .
               In particular :
                Objectives
               The company's environmental auditing programmes will define, in writing, the specific objectives of
               auditing of the site considered.
               The objectives must include, in particular, assessing the management systems in place, determining
               compliance with Community, national, and local regulations and determining conformity with
               company policies.
               Scope
               The overall scope of the audit must be clearly defined and must explicitly specify the :
               — subject areas covered,
               — activities at the site ,
               — environmental performance standards,
               — period covered by the audit.
               Organization and resources
               Environmental audits must be performed by auditors with appropriate knowledge of the sectors and
               fields audited and sufficient training and proficiency as an auditor to achieve the stated objectives. The
               resources and time allocated to the audit must be commensurate with the scope and objectives of the
               audit .
 ---pagebreak--- No C 76 / 10                           Official Journal of the European Communities                                     27 . 3 . 92
             The top company management shall support the auditing.
             The auditors shall be independent of the activities they audit.
             Planning and preparation for a site audit
             Each audit will be planned and prepared with the objectives, in particular, of :
             — ensuring that appropriate resources are allocated,
             — ensuring that each individual involved in the audit process (including auditors , site management,
                  staff representatives and other key personnel) understands his or her role and responsibilities .
             Preparation will include familiarization with activities on the site and with the environmental protection
             system established there and review of the findings and conclusions of previous audits.
             On-site audit activities
             On-site activities will include discussions with site personnel, inspection of operating conditions and
             equipment and reviewing of records, written procedures and other relevant documentation, with the
             objective of evaluating environmental performance at the site by determining whether the site meets the
             applicable standards and whether the systems in place to manage environmental responsibilities are
             effective and appropriate .
             The following steps , in particular, will be included in the audit process :
             — understanding of the management systems ,
             — assessing strengths and weaknesses of the management systems,
             — gathering relevant evidence,
             — evaluating audit results,
             — preparing audit conclusions,
             — reporting audit findings and conclusions .
             Reporting audit findings and conclusions
             A written audit report of the appropriate form and content will be prepared by the auditors to ensure
             full , formal submission of the findings and conclusions of the audit.
             The findings and conclusions of the audit must be formally communicated to the top company
             management .
             The fundamental objetive of a written audit report is :
             — to document the scope of the audit,
             — to provide management with factual information on the environmental performance at the site and
                  with the team's conclusions on this performance,
             — to demonstrate the need for and initiate corrective action .
 ---pagebreak--- 27 . 3 . 92                                Official Journal of the European Communities                                 No C 76 / 11
                Audit follow-up
                The audit process will culminate in the preparation and implementation of a plan of appropriate
                corrective action .
                Appropriate mechanisms must be in place and in operation to ensure that the audit results are followed
                up .
                Criteria for establishing appropriate audit frequency
                The audit will be conducted at intervals of between one and three years. The frequency will be estab­
                lished by the top company management, taking account of the potential overall environmental impact
                of the activities at the site , depending, in particular, on the following elements :
                — importance and urgency of the problems detected ,
                — scale and complexity of the activities,
                — volume of emissions ,
                — history of environmental problems.
                The normal auditing frequency in the Eco-audit scheme will be :
                — one year for activities with a high environmental impact,
                — two years for activities with a moderate environmental impact,
                — three years for activities with a low environmental impact.
                                                                 ANNEX II
            Criteria and requirements concerning the accreditation of environmental auditors and to the function of the
                                                                    auditor
            A. Accreditation of environmental auditors
               European standard EN 45012 must be taken into account, as appropriate, in setting up and
               implementing the accreditation procedures and conditions for environmental auditors.
            B. The function of accredited auditors
               Validation will be carried out by accredited environmental auditors in conformity with the professional
               codes of practice which will be established and revised by the Commission.
               The function of the auditor is to certify :
               — compliance with all the requirements of this Regulation, particularly concerning the environmental
                     review, the environmental audit process and the environmental statements ,
               — the technical validity of the environmental review or audit process and of any other method and
                     procedure on which the information and data contained in the statement are based,
               — the reliability of the data and information in the statement and whether the statement adequately
                     covers all the significant environmental issues of relevance to the site .
 ---pagebreak--- No C 76 / 12                            Official Journal of the European Communities                                         27 . 3 . 92
             The auditor will carry out all the investigations necessary to perform the function described above in a
             sound professional manner, using appropriate methods and avoiding unnecessary duplication of the
             company's activities and methods .
             The auditor will operate on the basis of a written agreement with the company which defines the scope
             of the work, enables the auditor to operate in an independent professional manner and commits the
             company to providing the necessary cooperation .
             The verification will involve examination of documentation, a visit to the site including, in particular,
             interviews with personnel, preparation of a report to the company management and solution of the
             issues raised by the report.
             The documentation to be examined in advance of the site visit will include basic information about the
             site and activities there, the description of the environmental management system in operation at the
             site, details of the previous environmental review or audit carried out, the report on that review or audit
             and the draft environmental statement.
             The company will also provide the auditor with the necessary information on previous reviews and
             audits and details of any infringements of the legislation and of any civil suits relating to environmental
             matters in the previous five years .
             The auditor's report to the company management will specify :
             1 . cases of non-compliance with the provisions of this Regulation ;
             2 . technical defects in the environmental review or audit method or in any other relevant process ;
             3 . points of disagreement with the review or audit report ;
             4. points of disagreement with the draft environmental statement, together with details of the
                 amendments or additions that should be made to the environmental statement.
             The following cases can arise :
             (a) if the protection system, the audit method and the other processes used to produce the statement
                  appear to be adequate and the statement proves accurate, sufficiently detailed and in compliance
                  with the requirements of the Eco-audit scheme, the auditor will validate the statement and certify
                  that it gives a true and fair account of the environmental issues of relevance to activities at the site ;
             (b) if the protection system, the audit method and the other relevant processes appear adequate but the
                  statement needs to be revised and/or completed, the auditor will discuss the changes needed with
                  the company management and will not validate the statement until the company has made the
                  appropriate amendments and/or additions to the statement ;
             (c) if the protection system, the audit method and/or the other relevant processes considered appear
                  inadequate, the auditor will make appropriate recommendations to the company's management on
                  the improvements needed and will not validate the statement until the shortcomings in the processes
                  have been corrected, the processes repeated as far as necessary, and the statement revised
                  accordingly.
 ---pagebreak--- 27 . 3 . 92                               Official Journal of the European Communities                                 No C 76 / 13
                                                                   ANNEX III
                                                               The Eco-audit logo
             Eco-audit is a European Community scheme for the evaluation and improvement of the environmental
             performance at industrial production sites.
            The logo illustrated above must be used in conjunction with one of the following phrases, as appropriate :
            — All our production sites in the EC participate in the Eco-audit scheme.
            — All our production sites in (name of Community Member State) participate in the Eco-audit scheme .
            — The following production sites of our company participate in the Eco-audit scheme .
                                                                   ANNEX IV
            Information to be provided to the competent bodies at the time of submission of the first environmental
            statement :
             1 . Name of company ;
            2 . Name and location of the site ;
            3 . Brief description of activities at the site : (refer to annexed documents if necessary);
            4 . Name and address of the accredited environmental auditor who validated the statement annexed ;
            5 . Deadline for submission of the next validated environmental statement.
            The following details must be annexed to the statement :
            (a) a brief description of the environmental protection system ;
            (b) a description of the auditing programme established for the site ;
            (c) the initial validated environmental statement.