A Community eco-management and audit scheme, hereinafter referred to as ‘EMAS’, is hereby established, allowing voluntary participation by organisations located inside or outside the Community.

The objective of EMAS, as an important instrument of the Sustainable Consumption and Production and Sustainable Industrial Policy Action Plan, is to promote continuous improvements in the environmental performance of organisations by the establishment and implementation of environmental management systems by organisations, the systematic, objective and periodic evaluation of the performance of such systems, the provision of information on environmental performance, an open dialogue with the public and other interested parties and the active involvement of employees in organisations and appropriate training.

For the purposes of this Regulation the following definitions shall apply:

1. 1.

   ‘environmental policy’ means the overall intentions and direction of an organisation relating to its environmental performance as formally expressed by top management including compliance with all applicable legal requirements relating to the environment and also a commitment to continuous improvement of environmental performance. It provides a framework for action and for the setting of environmental objectives and targets;

2. 2.

   ‘environmental performance’ means the measurable results of an organisation's management of its environmental aspects;

3. 3.

   ‘legal compliance’ means full implementation of applicable legal requirements, including permit conditions, relating to the environment;

4. 4.

   ‘environmental aspect’ means an element of an organisation's activities, products or services that has or can have an impact on the environment;

5. 5.

   ‘significant environmental aspect’ means an environmental aspect that has or can have a significant environmental impact;

6. 6.

   ‘direct environmental aspect’ means an environmental aspect associated with activities, products and services of the organisation itself over which it has direct management control;

7. 7.

   ‘indirect environmental aspect’ means an environmental aspect which can result from the interaction of an organisation with third parties and which can to a reasonable degree be influenced by an organisation;

8. 8.

   ‘environmental impact’ means any change to the environment, whether adverse or beneficial, wholly or partially resulting from an organisation's activities, products or services;

9. 9.

   ‘environmental review’ means an initial comprehensive analysis of environmental aspects, environmental impacts and environmental performance related to an organisation's activities, products and services;

10. 10.

    ‘environmental programme’ means a description of the measures, responsibilities and means taken or envisaged to achieve environmental objectives and targets and the deadlines for achieving the environmental objectives and targets;

11. 11.

    ‘environmental objective’ means an overall environmental goal, arising from the environmental policy, that an organisation sets itself to achieve, and which is quantified where practicable;

12. 12.

    ‘environmental target’ means a detailed performance requirement, arising from the environmental objectives, applicable to an organisation or parts thereof, and that needs to be set and met in order to achieve those objectives;

13. 13.

    ‘environmental management system’ means the part of the overall management system that includes the organisational structure, planning activities, responsibilities, practices, procedures, processes and resources for developing, implementing, achieving, reviewing and maintaining the environmental policy and managing the environmental aspects;

14. 14.

    ‘best environmental management practice’ means the most effective way to implement the environmental management system by organisations in a relevant sector and that can result in best environmental performance under given economic and technical conditions;

15. 15.

    ‘substantial change’ means any change in an organisation's operation, structure, administration, processes, activities, products or services that has or can have a significant impact on an organisation's environmental management system, the environment or human health;

16. 16.

    ‘internal environmental audit’ means a systematic, documented, periodic and objective evaluation of the environmental performance of an organisation, management system and processes designed to protect the environment;

17. 17.

    ‘auditor’ means an individual or group of individuals, belonging to an organisation itself or a natural or legal person external to that organisation, acting on behalf of that organisation, carrying out an assessment of, in particular, the environmental management system in place and determining conformity with the organisation's environmental policy and programme, including compliance with the applicable legal requirements relating to the environment;

18. 18.

    ‘environmental statement’ means the comprehensive information to the public and other interested parties regarding an organisation's:

    1. (a)

       structure and activities;

    2. (b)

       environmental policy and environmental management system;

    3. (c)

       environmental aspects and impacts;

    4. (d)

       environmental programme, objectives and targets;

    5. (e)

       environmental performance and compliance with applicable legal obligations relating to the environment as set out in Annex IV;

19. 19.

    ‘updated environmental statement’ means the comprehensive information to the public and other interested parties containing updates of the last validated environmental statement, only with regard to an organisation's environmental performance and compliance with applicable legal obligations relating to the environment as set out in Annex IV;

20. 20.

    ‘environmental verifier’ means:

    1. (a)

       a conformity assessment body as defined in Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 or any association or group of such bodies, which has obtained accreditation in accordance with this Regulation; or

    2. (b)

       any natural or legal person, or any association or group of such persons, which has obtained a licence to carry out verification and validation in accordance with this Regulation;

21. 21.

    ‘organisation’ means a company, corporation, firm, enterprise, authority or institution, located inside or outside the Community, or part or combination thereof, whether incorporated or not, public or private, which has its own functions and administration;

22. 22.

    ‘site’ means a distinct geographic location under the management control of an organisation covering activities, products and services, including all infrastructure, equipment and materials; a site is the smallest entity to be considered for registration;

23. 23.

    ‘cluster’ means a group of independent organisations related to each other by geographical proximity or business activities jointly implementing the environmental management system;

24. 24.

    ‘verification’ means the conformity assessment process carried out by an environmental verifier to demonstrate whether an organisation's environmental review, environmental policy, environmental management system and internal environmental audit and its implementation fulfils the requirements of this Regulation;

25. 25.

    ‘validation’ means the confirmation by the environmental verifier who carried out the verification, that the information and data in an organisation's environmental statement and updated environmental statement are reliable, credible and correct and meet the requirements of this Regulation;

26. 26.

    ‘enforcement authorities’ means the relevant competent authorities as identified by the Member States to detect, prevent and investigate breaches of applicable legal requirements relating to the environment and, where required, take enforcement action;

27. 27.

    ‘environmental performance indicator’ means a specific expression that allows measurement of an organisation's environmental performance;

28. 28.

    ‘small organisations’ means:

    1. (a)

       micro, small and medium-sized enterprises as defined in Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC of 6 May 2003 concerning the definition of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises10; or

    2. (b)

       local authorities governing less than 10 000 inhabitants or other public authorities employing fewer than 250 persons and having an annual budget not exceeding EUR 50 million, or an annual balance sheet not exceeding EUR 43 million, including all of the following:

       1. (i)

          government or other public administrations, or public advisory bodies at national, regional or local level;

       2. (ii)

          natural or legal persons performing public administrative functions under national law, including specific duties, activities or services in relation to the environment; and

       3. (iii)

          natural or legal persons having public responsibilities or functions, or providing public services, relating to the environment under the control of a body or person referred to in point (b);

29. 29.

    ‘corporate registration’ means a single registration of all or some sites of an organisation with sites located in one or more Member States or third countries;

30. 30.

    ‘Accreditation Body’ means a national accreditation body appointed pursuant to Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 which is responsible for the accreditation and supervision of environmental verifiers;

31. 31.

    ‘Licensing Body’ means a body appointed in accordance with Article 5(2) of Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 which is responsible for issuing licences to, and for supervising, environmental verifiers.