EMAS (Eco‑Management and Audit Scheme)

EMAS (Eco-Management and Audit Scheme) is a voluntary EU environmental management and audit system that helps companies continuously, transparently, and credibly improve their environmental performance.

EMAS was introduced by the EU in 1993 and revised in 2009 through Regulation (EC) No. 1221/2009 (EMAS III) to strengthen its integration with ISO 14001 and to facilitate participation, particularly for SMEs.

Registered organizations must:

• Implement an environmental management system based on ISO 14001
• Assume accountability through annual environmental statements
• Have these statements verified by an independent environmental verifier
• Complete registration in the EMAS register (in Germany, for example, via Chambers of Industry and Commerce or Chambers of Crafts)
  

EMAS goes beyond ISO 14001 by:

• Including core indicators on energy, material efficiency, water, waste, biodiversity, and emissions
• Ensuring transparent communication and reliability through external validation
  

Advantages include: greater eco-efficiency, improved legal certainty, enhanced credibility, and potential cost savings through optimized processes.

Currently, more than 4,100 organizations with around 15,800 sites are registered under EMAS across the EU (as of April 2025).

For industrial companies, EMAS represents a strong premium environmental management instrument, particularly valuable for CSRD reporting, Scope 3 data quality, and credible ESG communication.

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