International Conference on EMAS and BE-SMARTER Towards a resource-efficient economy Innovative approaches for small businesses: from simplification to e-learning
The new EMAS regulation entered into force in 2010. It is designed to be more accessible, ambitious and predicated on environmental performance. The conference will address innovative regional approaches in implementing ISO 14001 and EMAS in Europe and at international level. The items on the agenda are: simplified procedures (EMASEasy), clustered support for SMEs, EMAS recognition outside the EU, sectoral approaches and eco-efficiency.
EMAS (Eco-management and Audit Scheme) has been offering enterprises and organizations a precise framework and official recognition for their eco-management for the last 15 years. This efficient but unrecognized tool intends to generate interest by updating once again.
99% of organizations registered with EMAS reported satisfaction and are continuously improving their environmental results. Although decision-makers and regulators also found the scheme useful for environmental management, EMAS has only had limited success in Europe, with just 7 000 sites registered. The obstacles to the development of EMAS include a lack of publicity, marketing and support on the part of the Member States, costly consultancy and auditing practices, a lack of promotion and simplified tools and a lack of specific incentives.
The new EMAS Regulation (No (EC) 1221/2009) entered into force at the beginning of 2010. It is designed to be clearer, more attractive, more predicated on environmental performance and less costly for small organizations.
The conference of 25 November 2010, which is supported by the European Commission, will mainly address exchanges of best practices and innovative regional approaches to implementing ISO 14001 and EMAS in Europe and at international level.
The following items will be presented and discussed:
Promotion of simplified tools such as EMASeasy: the EMASeasy methodology, developed by Heinz Werner Engel from Eco-Conseil Entreprise and published in the various languages of the European Union (http://www.emaseasy.eu) has been tried and tested. Over 200 enterprises have confirmed it involves less effort in implementation, is easy to communicate to all staff, is less costly to audit and is simpler to maintain.
Training of environmental consultants and managers: over 200 consultants have been trained in the EMASEasy method in Europe since 2006. This type of training has now taken a new turn under the BE-SMARTER project, with the help of e-learning and distance tutoring tools for consultants (http://www.be-smarter.eu). A dozen consultants are currently undergoing training in Belgium.
Increasing the attractiveness of EMAS outside the European Union: Organizations outside the European Union are already involved in EMAS. This involvement will shortly be better recognized.
A specific and sectoral approach: best environmental practices and specific performance indicators will be defined for certain priority sectors (public administrations, tourism, construction, large-scale distribution etc.), in order to provide organizations in these sectors with better guidelines for the specific application of EMAS.
Eco-efficiency and energy efficiency are two unavoidable subjects which need to be included in any system of proper environmental management. In 2008, the Belgian company Imperbel/Derbigum received the EMAS European Award for its services to energy efficiency (http://www.emasawards.eu). The 2010 EMAS European Award will acknowledge best European practices in eco-efficiency.
Belgium is an average European performer with over fifty EMAS-registered organizations covering over 500 sites. Innovative initiatives to promote EMAS are seeing the light of day in Belgium, especially at the level of support for public authorities (federal administrations) and SMEs (cluster approach). Experience in Belgium will be presented at the conference.
Registration required and necessary