Entry into the EMAS Organisation Register

A prerequisite for the inclusion of a company, a public institution or another organisation in the EMAS register is an environmental statement validated by an accredited environmental verifier and a positive assessment of the environmental management system.

1. Environmental review: By introducing EMAS, an organisation commits itself to the continuous improvement of its environmental performance, to legal compliance in environmental protection and to the publication of an environmental statement in which environmental impacts as well as objectives and measures for improving environmental protection are presented. The environmental review involves a systematic assessment of the key environmental requirements relevant to the organisation. It is determined whether certain environmental impacts can be directly influenced or whether the organisation can only have an indirect influence on them.
2. Environmental policy: The organisation defines an internal environmental policy as a strategic guideline for all business activities.
3. Environmental programme: Based on the analysis of environmental aspects, the environmental programme defines specific objectives for improving environmental performance and initiates a continuous improvement process.
4. Environmental performance indicators: Information on environmental performance relating to materials, energy, emissions, water, waste and biodiversity is presented using indicators that enable the effectiveness of the environmental management system to be monitored, assessed and improved.
5. Legal obligations: Environmental legal obligations must be regularly assessed and documented.
6. Internal environmental audit: The annual internal audit determines whether the environmental management system is functional and complies with the requirements of the EMAS Regulation. The audit may be carried out by appropriately trained employees of the organisation or by an external consultant. Top management must be informed of the results and provide an evaluation.
7. Environmental statement: The environmental statement informs the public about environmental impacts and environmental protection measures. The content of the environmental statement is defined in Annex IV of the EMAS Regulation. The environmental statement is updated annually and validated by the environmental verifier. Every three years it serves as the basis for the renewal of registration.
8. External verification: An accredited environmental verifier carries out the external verification. This includes an on-site inspection, spot checks of the information provided and discussions with staff. Senior management is present when the mission statement, the provision of resources and the management review are discussed.
9. Entry into the EMAS register: The organisation submits the environmental statement together with the application form and the environmental verifier’s declaration to the Federal Environment Agency. The authority conducts an official review to ensure that there are no violations of environmental legal provisions. The organisation is entered into the Austrian and the European EMAS registers with a registration number. The organisation is then authorised to use the EMAS logo.