Eco Management and Audit Scheme certification

The European Union’s (EU) Eco Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) is a voluntary management tool for organisations to evaluate, report and improve their environmental performance. An independent third-party, such as TÜV SÜD, must verify an organisation before they can be registered with the EMAS. Registers are organised on a national basis and list all registered organisations and sites.

Multinational organisations can register sites within and outside of Europe using EMAS Global. Non-EU organisations apply to EMAS Global via a competent body within an EU Member State, such as TÜV SÜD. Small and medium-sized businesses can also get involved via “EMAS light” programmes.

Registered organisations must produce and publish an Environmental Statement which discloses their environmental impacts and the environmental management systems in place. This comprehensive report is a crucial element of the EMAS framework and is accessible by the public. Organisations can showcase their efforts to improve environmental performance, as well as the results they’ve achieved. This reinforces their commitment to sustainability and continuous improvement.

EMAS certification validation is easy to combine with ISO 14001 certification because the processes share similar structures. Requirements of the EMAS standard exceed those of ISO 14001, having a strong focus on regulatory compliance, as well as internal and external communication. Registered companies have the added advantage of easily upgrading to ISO 50001, the international standard for Energy Management Systems.

The Eco Management and Audit Scheme focuses on compliance with requirements to a greater extent than the ISO 14001 standard. The EMAS audit and verification process gives organisations maximum certainty of legal compliance. The latter explicitly validates regulatory compliance and confirms the involvement of the competent local licensing authorities in the registration process.

The environmental statement is an impartial means of communicating environmental performance to stakeholders, enhancing the organisation’s public profile. Relevant statement excerpts can be provided proactively to specific target groups as validated information. For example, this could include information about a product’s environmental aspects or the achievement of particular areas of environmental performance.

The EMAS scheme promotes the beneficial use of environmental performance indicators. It also fosters measurement and evaluation transparency of a company’s environmental performance improvements. This has a positive impact on employees’ motivation to support the EMAS environmental management system, ultimately enhancing company performance and delivering market competitive advantage. Companies with a validated EMAS certificate can also enjoy a range of exclusive benefits, including legal privileges at a national level.

TÜV SÜD's approved environmental expert will validate your organisation's environmental statement against set criteria at determined verification intervals. You can register with the relevant national competent body once the validation is successful.

Our experts possess comprehensive knowledge on environmental policies and regulatory requirements. Our auditors must follow a strict code of conduct to ensure complete independence.