Celebrating 20 years of the European eco-management system EMAS
Today, the Federal Environment Ministry and the Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry (DIHK) honoured the environmental management practices of thousands of German companies and organisations. During an event marking the 20th anniversary of environmental management in the EU, Gunther Adler, State Secretary at the Federal Environment Ministry, and Dr Martin Wansleben, Chief Executive of the DIHK, presented honorary certificates to the ten EMAS pioneers that have been participating in the European eco-management scheme since 1995. They also acknowledged the commitment of 34 German environmental verifiers who have been working for EMAS since 1995. During the event, Adler and Wansleben also opened a traveling exhibition on "20 years of EMAS", which will be shown throughout Germany, mainly in Chambers of Industry and Commerce, until mid-2016.
State Secretary Gunther Adler commented: "The European EMAS scheme is a unique success story. Strengthening businesses' own responsibility for preventing and reducing environmental pollution plays a key role in this system. Impressive figures show that the business community is living up to this responsibility: More than 800,000 employees in more than 1,900 locations are making a voluntary contribution to implementing the environmental and social responsibility of companies and organisations in Germany." DIHK Chief Executive Dr Martin Wansleben said: "EMAS is the quality label for a corporate culture geared towards environmental protection. EMAS participants stand out for using their initiative to achieve continuous improvements. Together with policy-makers we want to create more incentives for introducing EMAS."
Twenty years ago companies throughout Europe introduced the EMAS scheme for the first time. EMAS (Eco-Management and Audit Scheme) stands for systematic, ambitious environmental protection in businesses and organisations of all types.
EMAS companies are continuously and voluntarily improving their environmental performance beyond the legally required standards. Participating companies have to provide an environmental statement giving a precise outline of the environmentally relevant activities and data such as resource and energy consumption, emissions and waste volumes. Companies are required to conduct their own initial assessment - the environmental review - and subsequent regular environmental audits. An independent state-licensed environmental auditor evaluates the internal documents and the environmental statement. If the evaluation is positive, the statement is validated and companies are included in the EMAS register.
The following ten German companies have been participating in EMAS since it began in 1995:
- Viessmann Werke GmbH & Co.KG, Allendorf
- Volkswagen AG, Werk Emden
- Audi AG, Neckarsulm
- Märkisches Landbrot GmbH, Berlin
- Bombardier Transportation GmbH, Werk Kassel
- Demmel AG, Scheidegg
- Hipp-Werk Georg Hipp OHG, Pfaffenhofen
- Sedus Stoll AG, Waldshut-Tiengen
- Daimler AG, Mercedes-Benz Werk Kassel
- Nordzucker AG, Werke Clauen und Schladen