1. Project ETIV – EMAS TECHNICAL IMPLEMENTATION AND VERIFICATION Prepared by:

2. This project has been funded with support from the European Commission
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

3. Essentials for Small Enterprises
EMAS II –
A Handbook for the Implementation of an Environmental Management System according to EMAS standard
Essentials for Small Enterprises

4. Contents Introductory part: Aim of the Handbook
What is an Environmental Management System – What is EMAS?
The elements of EMAS shortly explained
What are the advantages of EMAS?
What are the challenges for SME implementing EMAS?

5. Part A: Successful implementation and application of EMAS
Contents
Part A: Successful implementation and application of EMAS
Environmental review
Environmental policy
Environmental programme
Implementation and operation of the EMS
Checking and corrective action
Management review
Environmental statement
Preparing for certification
Part B: Working material

6. About the ETIV Project
Aim of the handbook:
Guidance on how to implement and document an environmental management system according to EMAS standard for
Small and medium sized enterprises
Organizations
Public authorities and
Interested parties

7. About the ETIV Project What is EMAS? EMAS...
EMAS – Eco-Management and Audit Scheme
(European Regulation (EC) No 761/2001)
EMAS...
Is a voluntary scheme designed by the EU for environmental management systems
Provides a tool to continuously improve environmental performance
Provides large potentials for cost savings
Provides external verification of credible work for the environment

8. About the ETIV Project What is an environmental management system?
A tool to systematically assess, control and improve all significant environmental aspects arising from a company’s activities

9. About the ETIV Project
What are the different steps to implementing EMAS?
The main stages involved in achieving EMAS registration can be roughly described as follows:
Investigating an organisation's interactions with the environment in an environmental review;
Establishing an effective environmental management system on the basis of the review;
Communicating environmental performance in an environmental statement.

10. About the ETIV Project
Schematic overview of the procedure to EMAS verification (modified from BMU 2003, p. 14)

11. About the ETIV Project
Motivation to participate in EMAS

12. About the ETIV Project
Cost reduction with EMAS

13. About the ETIV Project
Summary of advantages implementing EMAS

14. Successful implementation and application of EMAS
Part A
Successful implementation and application of EMAS

15. Environmental review

16. Environmental review
Extent of the review:
1st step: Review of existing procedures for dealing with environmental issues;
2nd step: Review of legislative and regulatory requirements;
3rd step: Identification of all environmental aspects of the company’s activities and assessment of the significance of environmental impacts;
4th step: Report including the review documentation.

17. Environmental review Examples of relevant environmental documents are
1st step: Review of existing environmental documents:
Examples of relevant environmental documents are
Maps
Legal provisions
Consumption balances and monitoring data
Organisational documents
Business policy documents
An inventory of relevant documents must be established

18. Environmental review Aim: Register of legal requirements
2nd step: Review of legal requirements
Aim: Register of legal requirements
Example of how to document legal requirements

19. Operational environmental review
3rd step:
Operational environmental review
Identification of environmental aspects and impacts
Environmental aspects can be, e.g.:
Emissions to air or water, e.g. CO2 or wastewater
Waste handling,
Use of raw materials and energy,
Noise, odour, dust,
Transport (both goods and employees).
An environmental impact is any change to the environment resulting from any environmental aspect.
Example: CO2 emissions (env. aspect) cause global warming (env. impact)

20. Operational environmental review
3rd step:
Operational environmental review
Assessment of environmental aspects‘ significance, using defined environmental, economic or other criteria.
Example of an evaluation matrix

21. Reporting the observations
Environmental review
Summary of report
Introduction
Scope of the environmental review
Description of the company
General description
Brief description of production/ services/ activities
Environmental aspects
Location
Soil and groundwater
Water
Energy
Raw materials
Chemicals
Air emissions
Discharges to water
Waste
Fire, spillage, and other uncontrolled situations
Products
Transport
Working environment
Suppliers and sub-contractors
Components of the environmental management system
Legal and other requirements
Objectives and targets
Environmental management programme
Structure and responsibility
Training, awareness and competence
Environmental management system documentation
Document control
Operational control
Monitoring and measurement
Emergency preparedness and response
Non-conformance, corrective and preventive action
Records
Environmental management system audit
Management review
4th step:
Reporting the observations
Complete documentation covering all elements of the environmental review
Purpose:
identification of problem areas and non-compliance
serves as basis for definition of activities and counter-measures

22. Environmental policy

23. Environmental policy
In the environmental policy, a company’s environmental principles are laid down
It is of strategic dimension
It is the written expression of a company’s values, goals and codes of conduct with respect to the environment and environmental protection
The environmental performance of a company will later be judged against its environmental policy

24. What is required for the environmental policy?
EMAS requires that an organisation‘s environmental policy
is appropriate to the nature, scale and environmental impacts of its activities, products and services;
includes a commitment to continual improvement and prevention of pollution;
includes a commitment to comply with relevant environmental legislation and regulations;
provides the framework for setting and reviewing environmental objectives and targets;
is available to the public.

25. Environmental programme

26. Environmental programme
The environmental programme is one of the cornerstones of a company’s EMS
What it serves for:
It contains a description of how significant environmental impacts of a company’s activities will be reduced;
It defines objectives and targets that enable the improvement of the environmental performance;
It describes also how to achieve objectives and targets;
It includes the designation of responsibilities, and the means and timeframe by which improvements are to be accomplished.

27. Environmental programme
Environmental objectives and targets
Must be in line with the company’s environmental policy;
Must work together with the environmental policy and other elements of the environmental management system (see left).
The environmental objective is the quantified overall goal of the company over a given period.
The environmental target is the concrete measure taken to ensure the fulfilment of the quantified goal.

28. Environmental programme
Factors influencing objectives and targets

29. Environmental programme
Environmental programme worksheet

30. Implementation and operation of an EMS

31. Implementation and operation of an EMS
Divided into 4 parts:
Structure and responsibility
Training, awareness and competence
Communication
Environmental management system documentation

32. Implementation and operation of an EMS
Structure and responsibility
Organisation chart: Who fulfils which tasks?
Who is responsible for which process, product, internal service?
How is the work done? Elaboration of work instructions

33. Implementation and operation of an EMS
Training, awareness and competence
After having received training, personnel should be competent of acting in a responsible way that reduces the environmental impact of their work.
Training contents:
significant environmental impacts of their work activities and the environmental benefits of improved personal performance;
their roles and responsibilities in achieving conformance with the environmental policy and requirements of the EMS;
the importance of conformance with the environmental policy and procedures of the environmental management system.

34. Implementation and operation of an EMS
Communication
Procedures for communication have to be established and maintained
Advantage for small organisations:
Direct, informal channels of communication

35. Implementation and operation of an EMS
Environmental management system documentation
(or simply) Environmental Management Manual
It is the structured collection of directions, procedures and responsibilities of the EMS
3 purposes of EMS documentation:
Providing instruction to employees,
Giving the EMS a binding nature, and
Providing illustration to the EMS.

36. Environmental review

37. Checking and corrective action
Divided into 4 parts:
Monitoring and measurement
Non-conformance, corrective and preventive action
Records
Environmental management system audit

38. Checking and corrective action
Monitoring and measurement
Measuring and monitoring environmental parameters in order to:
Ensure that legally enforced emission limits are not exceeded
Provide data for statistics required by authorities and the environmental report
Identify potential for efficiency increase
Verify that processes and equipment function in accordance with the operational procedures
Measure performance against environmental objectives and targets

39. Checking and corrective action
Monitoring and measurement

40. Checking and corrective action
Non-conformance, corrective and preventive action
Mistakes occur – no problem!
If you learn from them!

41. Checking and corrective action
Records
The procedure of recording is the continuous process of collecting environmentally relevant documents.
“Review of existing environmental documents”
With recording relevant information, the company can prove its conformance with EMAS.
EMAS requires records on
Training courses,
Results of audits,
Results of reviews.

42. Checking and corrective action
Environmental management system audit
The environmental audit is a tool
to systematically assess whether or not the environmental management system functions according to the plan set up,
to check if the system contributes to fulfilling the environmental policy and objectives and targets,
to identify non-conformances with the procedures, and
to provide information that can lead to improvement.

43. Checking and corrective action
Environmental management system audit
Planning and preparation - allocate appropriate resources - inform all involved persons about their roles and responsibilities
Recording of relevant documents - checking of records and documents - detailed interviews with employees - investigation of the operational circumstances
Documentation of the audit findings - document and report findings and observations of performance and deficits
Make a report of the audit - scope, objectives, audit plan, audit team - documents and proof - assess the situation
Make conclusions from the audit - write a plan for corrective action

44. The management review is a corrective measure to EMS
The top management of the company
assesses the success of the EMS in place.
evaluates whether the EMS still applies to the current situation and
adjusts it if necessary.
The review activities and its results must be documented.
The review report serves as a basis improvement.

45. Management review
The management review should take account of changing requirements and continual improvement
Activities:
Assessment of the environmental policy to make certain that it serves the intention to attain continual improvement;
Evaluation of the objectives and targets and of the company’s environmental performance;
Analysis of the environmental work with the aim of reduced consumption of resources and more efficient operation;
Changes if necessary to environmental policy and management system regarding e.g. legislation, changes to operations, technological developments, etc.

46. Environmental statement

47. Environmental statement
Environmental report
The environmental statement is the public documentation of an organisation’s environmental situation.
It should specify the results that have been achieved against the environmental objectives.
It should also lay down the means by which the organisation plans to continuously improve its environmental performance.

48. Environmental statement
What must be included in the environmental statement?
A short description of the organisation, i.e. economic and legal parameters, number of employees, product range etc.;
The environmental policy;
A brief description of the EMS;
A description of environmental aspects and impacts;
The environmental objectives and targets;
A summary of available data on the organisation’s performance;
A description of environmental performance against legal or other provisions with respect to significant environmental impacts;
The name and accreditation number of the environmental verifier and the date of validation.

49. Preparing for verification
The process of verification includes three stages
An initial step the certifying body is contacted. It can also include a preparatory check to see whether the company is ready for the certification audit.
The verification audit includes the study of documents, interviews and site inspections.
Regular surveillance audits to ensure that the environmental management system remains in place and is continuously improved. These surveillance audits take place at defined intervals, usually every 12 months.

50. Preparing for verification
What is the purpose of verification?
To review and verify that the formal requirements of the EMAS regulation are fulfilled;
To check that the EMS covers control of significant environmental aspects;
To make sure that different parts of the EMS support each other (e.g. links between significant aspects and measures in the environmental programme);
To assess whether continual improvement can be expected on the basis of the EMS

51. Preparing for verification
What is the purpose of verification?
To verify improvements
To assess whether the system is credible, for example:
Has the environmental review been performed in a systematic way? Is the environmental review programme efficient? Are employees actively involved in the system?

52. Thank you very much for your attention!

53. Imprint
Kolleg für Management und Gestaltung nachhaltiger Entwicklung gGmbH
Presentation to:
EMAS II – Essentials for small enterprises. A Handbook for the implementation of an Environmental Management System according to EMAS standard.
Authors: Andrea Taha, Dipl.-Ing. Tobias Schmitt, M.Sc.
Project: ETIV – EMAS Technical Implementation and Verification
in the framework of:
LEONARDO DA VINCI NATIONAL AGENCY / EUROPEAN COMMISSION LEONARDO DA VINCI PROGRAMME
Contact: Kolleg für Management und Gestaltung nachhaltiger Entwicklung gGmbH Warschauer Straße 58a Berlin Germany