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EMAS III: A mature instrument for new challenges

EMAS III: A mature instrument for new challenges. Soledad BLANCO Director, Directorate Industry DG Environment. A need for strategic orientation. EMAS Was adopted almost 20 years ago Is considered as the most comprehensive EMS Inspired many other EMS

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EMAS III: A mature instrument for new challenges

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  1. EMAS III:A mature instrument for new challenges Soledad BLANCO Director, Directorate Industry DG Environment

  2. A need for strategic orientation • EMAS • Was adopted almost 20 years ago • Is considered as the most comprehensive EMS • Inspired many other EMS • At organisation level reduces environmental impact and brings many benefits (economic, relationship with stakeholders, etc.) • but • EMAS has only moderate success with 5000 organisations participating in the scheme • Several member states seem not tobelieve in EMAS as an effective policy instrument and do not support it

  3. Change in environmental conditions? • Origin – early 1990s • Industrial pollution was considered as the main environmental problem • EMAS seen as complementary to command-and-control approach • EMAS could reduce the risk and the need for need for environmental enforcement • Today • Climate change and resource scarcity more dominant challenges • All economic actors have environmental impact through their consumption of energy and resources • Exit from the economic crisis • The need to find win-win solutions that ensure environmental protection and competitiveness • Reduced capacity of governments to enforce or stimulate environmental protection and improvement

  4. How serious is the resource problem? • Scientific knowledge (e.g. UNEP Resource Panel) confirms that the current trend of natural resource use is unsustainable • Climate change – one dimension of unsustainable resource use • Main drivers: population growth and growing wealth and consumption • Europe consumes more resources than its fair share • Resource scarcity has impact onresource prices and accessibility- threat to competitiveness and growth of EU economy • The unsustainable use of resourcesis a major source of environmentalproblems in Europe and globally

  5. Our policy objective: Decoupling • We need to decouple: • Resource use from economic growth, i.e.increase of resource productivity • Environmental impacts from resource use,decrease environmental intensity of resource use • How much decoupling is needed? • Absolute decoupling in Europeleading to increase in resource productivity by factor 2-5 between now and 2050 (the space between yellow and green line) • Tough constraint scenario (green line)is consistent with IPPC scenario of keepingclimate change within 2 degrees

  6. Optimisation Innovation Structural change Emerging EU Resource Efficiency policy • Resource Efficiency prominent in EU strategic documents: • European Union’s EU 2020 economic development strategy • Sustainable growth is one of the three pillars • Resource Efficiency – a flagship initiative • DG Environment’s Roadmap to Resource Efficiency • Other DGs’ policies • Industrial policy • Innovation policy • Trade policy • Agricultural policy • Structural Funds • Policy instruments aimed at optimisation of resource use, innovation and structural changes

  7. Role of EMAS in resource efficiency • There are not many instruments suitable to assist individual companies to increase resource productivity • Environmental and resource management systems will be an important element in the policy mix • EMAS is a generic system – it is suitable also for energy and resource management(many EMAS companies use EMAS for resourceefficiency) • EMAS scheme needs to: • focus on performance improvement • increase the uptake

  8. Revised EMAS – ready for the job • New elements of EMAS III: • Assistance to organisations by MS • Easier life for SMEs • Corporate and Global EMAS • Key performance indicators • Sectoral reference documents Increase attractiveness Focus on performance

  9. Find out more about possible synergies between EMAS and resource/energy efficiency Reach potential partners and convince them about the possible synergy Promote EMAS as an energy/resource efficiency tool Ensure that EMAS verifiers are eligible for energy and resource management systems certification EC Study to be launched in autumn DG ENV to speak to ENER&ENTR MS ministries of environment to speak to ministries of energy and economy EC Conference Nov 2010EMAS Award ceremony 2010EMAS helpdeskEMAS website Coordination between accreditation bodies What should be done?

  10. Implementation challenges • Emphasis on resource efficiency should not undermine achievements of EMAS as an environmental management system • Resource efficiency does not shift the scope of application, it expands it • Many implementation challenges remain and will need to be addressed: • Corporate and Global EMAS • Better promotion • Assistance by MS to EMAS organisation • Facilitation of participation of SMEs • Taking EMAS into account in legislation • Better regulation and regulatory relief for EMAS organisations • Use of EMAS in public procurement • Harmonisation of procedures by Competent Bodies and Accreditation/Licensing Bodies

  11. EMAS team in DG Environment is • excited about new opportunities • prepared to address challenges • looking forward to cooperation with Member States on the implementation of EMAS III

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