EMAS in the European Parliament: A quiet success story in 2022

Briefing 04-04-2023

The European Union (EU) Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) is a voluntary management instrument for companies and other organisations wanting to evaluate, report and continuously improve their environmental performance. In 2007, as part of its commitment to making a long-term contribution to sustainable development, the European Parliament became one of the few EU institutions and the first parliament in the EU to obtain EMAS certification. Through its environmental management system it is able to track progress towards targets with regard to reducing carbon dioxide emissions and waste, promoting the efficient use of energy, water and paper, and incorporating environmental guidelines into procurement procedures. This document details the Parliament's progress to date in meeting its targets in all of the above-mentioned areas, and maps out its ambitions for the future. This document is a further update of a publication from December 2018. Desislava Boyadjieva compiled and edited the text; Nadejda Kresnichka-Nikolchova created the original graphics which have been updated by Stéphanie Pradier and Lucille Killmayer. All are from the Publications Management and Editorial Unit in EPRS.