Environmental Compliance Assistance Programme (ECAP) for SMEs Capacity Building seminars Tools and instruments

ECAP Action plan: 2themeMore accessible tailor-made environmental management schemes (EMS)to integrate environmental concerns into the core business activities of SMEs in a coherent and cost-effective way

ECAP Action plan: tailor-made EMS for SMEsTrust is ok - but control is better!Awareness of environmental problems is not enough to prompt action. Implementation of an Environmental Management System (EMS) and explicit designation of responsibility for environmental matters have a much more positive influence on the environmental engagement of the company than a single inspection or compliance check. EMSs as a key tool to help reduce environmental impacts and achieve sustainable production patterns

Analysis backgroundWhich EMS fits to SMEs best?Which barriers did not allow until now a higher diffusion of EMS among SMEs?Which is the strategy of the ECAP initiative in order to overcome these barriers?To answer these questions the EC has developed a series of initiatives aiming at understanding the dynamics of the relationship SMEs-Environment in Member StatesThe diffusion of EMS among SMEs has been limited, up to now.

EMS for SMEs: Tools, drivers, barriers and effectsSource: Report 2003 by the Swedish Business Development Agency NUTEK, and BEST Project Expert Group Final Report 2004

Which EMAS for SMEs? - 2001 m. kovo 19 d. Europos Parlamento ir Tarybos Reglamento (EB) Nr. 761/2001 dl organizacij savanoriko dalyvavimo Bendrijos aplinkosaugos vadybos ir audito sistemoje (EMAS)t.y. Europos Bendrijos sukurtas teiss aktas, nors dabar ji bandoma diegti ir u EB rib, taip vadinamas EMAS GLOBALUS- ISO 14001. Aplinkosaugos vadybos sistemosTai tarptautinis Standartas

EMAS fully environmental legislation compliantEMAS was developed by the EU and designed for organisations willing to continuously improve their environmental performance on a voluntary basisA fundamental characteristic of EMASSource: INEMEMAS-registered organisations must be fully compliant with existing environmental legislation and report on their environmental performance by publishing an independently verified environmental statement

EMAS diffusion actionIf public authorities accept a certified EMS as a reliable alternative to checks or inspectionswhich will reduce administrative burdens since less frequent inspections or reports will be requiredMore SMEs will introduce an EMSPollution reduction, compliance, efficiency of the processes

ECAP: measures for EMASThe EMAS scheme is designed to be used by all kinds and sizes of organisations.The following specific measures will be taken to facilitate the implementation of the scheme in SMEs in the short and longer term.use of EMAS in industrial clusters or districts of SMEsEMAS tools for SMEs will be further developed and applied on a larger scalethe administrative burden of EMAS on SMEs will be further reduced.

EMAS in Industrial ClustersThe Commission will promote and support public-private partnerships (consortia or coordinating bodies) and other initiatives, to encourage use of EMAS in industrial clusters or districts of SMEs, using specific cluster or supply chain approaches.Source: INEMObjectives:reduce consultancy and audit/verification costs for participating SMEs, facilitate additional knowledge-sharing and experience exchange amongst participants,encouraging a coherent environmental policy in the cluster

Reduction of administrative burden of EMASAs part of the revision, the administrative burden of EMAS on SMEs will be further reduced. EMAS will be made more accessible, more understandable and more effective, with less red-tape but maintaining the excellence of the scheme. Also its "visibility" will be increased through enhanced promotion by the Commission and Member States, which will also make it an interesting marketing instrument for registered SMEs. Member States will be asked to offer concrete incentives to registered companies and will be able to reduce inspections of registered SMEs and reduce their administrative burden and reporting obligations.Source: INEM

Large scale applications for EMAS in SMEsExisting tools for the implementation of EMAS in SMEs, such as EMAS-Easy, will be further developed and applied on a larger scale with projects in all EU Member States. EMAS-Easy capacity building has been running in all Member States and showed that full EMAS registration is easily feasible in micro-companies.Other ongoing initiatives confirm the reliability of the new approach

Case Study: EMAS EasyEMAS-easy is an innovative and basic way of implementing EMAS fully in SMEs through a visual tool in a way which is complementary to its business cycle. Motto: EMAS in 10 days, with 10 people, in 10 pages, in 30 steps. Work on 3 specific problems:CostKnowledgeBureaucracyWith cluster approachWith lighter procedureswww.emaseasy.com www.inem.org/current/emas_easy.html

It allows to immediately perceive the advantages which comes from EMS in the general performances of SME. Essentially we can easily understand the benefits, the management facilitations

The system originates from the enterprise, with a Bottom up method This avoids the overstructure, the use of an already made and complex product.

The visual approach limits enormously the paperwork.The easiness of use makes the advantages for the management visible. EMAS EasyMain strengths

EMAS Easy: Bottom Up systemThe involvement of all levels allows everyone in his specific job to be involved in the system with tasks pertaining to his job. The EMS manager supervises the implementation and helps the management to guide the system. 10 minutes daily (of the employees) is better than 3 days per month (of the consultant)!The awareness of the environmental impacts of ones activities is present in the day-to-day life of the enterprise without being felt as a foreign demand.

EMAS Easy - resultsfast to implementit takes 4-9 months to implement EMAS instead of the standard 15-18 months (150% less effort in implementing in the SMEs)lean and un-bureaucraticthe environmental management handbook is reduced to 2 pages, the environmental statement to 1 double pagecuts down costs of certificationthe architecture of the management system is simple and it can be audited within 1 day, with a potential cost reduction of 60% (

Comparison of EMAS Easy with other EMSsSource: Evaluation koBusinessPlan Wien, Dr. Martinuzzi/Wirtschaftsuniversitt Wien

Eco-mapping: the intuitive approachAnalyse and manage the environmental performanceGet an immediate environmental action programCollect and communicate environmental dataLearning by doingVisual and focalised inspectionNeeds no complex levels of evaluation but only observation,Communication, patience and paperSource: Heinz-Werner Engelwww.ecomapping.org

Eco-mapping: a true exampleSource: Heinz-Werner EngelSite and organisationWaterSoil storageEnergyAir noise smellWasteRisk7 Ecomaps

Eco-mapping Visual AuditCritical

Less critical

SmallA:EquipmentC:BehaviourK:Know-HowP:ProcessAnd assesses if it deals with:SYMBOLS: for each map Eco-mapping lists the environmental issues identifying them with three degrees of criticity:Power GeneretorChemicalsWater leaksWasteWaste WaterNoiseSource: F. BarbatoTanks

From Eco-mapping to EMAS Easy

To describe the problemsTo identify legal requirementsWhat the measurement data are Objectives of the yearAction plan with responsibilities and deadlinesTraining topics From informal to formal

EMAS Easy: involving and simplificationSource: Heinz-Werner EngelObjectives of the year, with respect to the individual role in the company, taken from the eco-map.Daily tasks (referring to the Operative Instructions that were described in details in a small handbook)The Responsibilities in the EMS (taken from the responsabilities matrix)In order to divide tasks, identify responsibilities, carry out the control, an identity card for every employee is created, where the following things are written:VISUAL procedures

EMAS Easy action planningEco-mapping plan JanuaryProgram do MarchOperative Control check AprilRevision act June Steps to be done to implement EMAS Easy in 6 months:In the case of SMEs with 10-30 employees in non-critical production sectors.

Today - 180 consultants trained in 27 countries-190 companies certified or registeredusing EMAS easy tool

EMAS Easy Capacity building Workshops2004-2005 : Baltic, 5 countries2005-2006 : South, 7 countries2007 - 2008 : North, 7 countries2009 - 2010 : Centre 8 countries additional trainings in Germany, Italy, Greece, Spain, UK, Sweden, Romania

Results: SMEs coached with EMASeasy 96 companies only ISO 14001 certified 42 EMAS registered 52 on the way to EMAS

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4255

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EMAS Easy initiative (1): May 2004 March 2005Estonia Hungary Latvia Lithuania PolandEMAS Capacity Building in the new member states26 Environmental Experts5 experts in each country

51 small SMEs2 companies per expert

Tools: Ecomapping / EMAS EasyAims : to create competenceand testing resultsEMAS Easy for SMEs Coaching program INEM (main applicant)Latvia Latvian Association for EnvironmentalManagement (LVPA)Latvian Pollution Prevention Center (LPPC)EstoniaEstonian Institute for Sustainable Development(SEI-T)Lithuania Environmental Management and Audit Institute(EMAI)Institute of Environmental Engineering (APINI)Poland National Foundation for EnvironmentalProtectionHungary Hungarian Association of EnvironmentallyAware Management

EMAS new members: kinds of SMEsSME size

Estonia : 26Hungary : 35Latvia : 44Lithuania : 32Poland :23Source: Heinz-Werner Engel

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Companies size

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rpartition taille des entreprises

0 - 1021.6%11

10 - 2017.6%9

20 -5047.1%24

+ 5013.7%7

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secteurs d'activit

Manufacture of food products and beverage6

Agriculture and related services activities4

Sewage and refuse disposal, sanitation and similar activities4

manufacture of wood and of products of wood and cork, except furniture3

manufacture of rubber and plastic products3

Construction3

Food products / beverage6

Agriculture4

Sewage / refuse disposal4

Wood / cork3

Rubber / plastic3

Construction3

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EMAS new members: Certification costCompanies are able and willing to spendSource: Heinz-Werner Engel

AVERAGE BY COUNTRY (Feb 2005)EstoniaHungaryLatviaLithuaniaPoland750130075015001000

vertinta aplinkosaugosvadybaReg. Nr. LT-000000EMAS

Patvirtinta informacijaReg. Nr. LT-000000

Main strengthsLietuvos Respublika:2006 metais paremtos 2 mons 9351 Lt suma; 2007 m . 3 mons 13590 Lt suma; 2008 metais 12 moni 39035 Lt suma. aplinkos vadybos sistemos sertifikavimo ilaidoms kompensuoti.

moni, registravusi aplinkos vadybos sistemas, atitinkanias tarptautinio standarto ISO 14001 reikalavimus, skaiiaus kitimas 2000 2008 metais. moni, registravusi aplinkos vadybos sistemas, atitinkanias tarptautinio standarto ISO 14001 reikalavimus, skaiiaus kitimas 2000 2008 metais LR.

Main strengths

ISO140001 ar EMAS privalumaidiegta EUROPOS Bendrijos aplinkosaugos vadybos ir audito sistema (EMAS) ar sertifikuota AVS pagal ISO 14001 T. y. aplinkai palankus rodiklis aliuose pirkimuose

ISO140001 ar EMAS privalumaiDkojuAplinkos apsaugos agentrawww.gamta.lt

*In this part of the seminar we will present the tools that have been identified to facilitate SMEs compliance.In particular some best practices, which led to define some fundamental points of the Action Plan, will be highlighted.*Once highlighted the main issues of the ECAP-SMEs Action Plan first theme, it is now time to deal with the second theme of the action plan, i.e. More accessible tailor-made environmental management schemes, to integrate environmental concerns into the core business activities of SMEs in a coherent and cost-effective way.We will try to understand the rationale of this theme and to analyse selected case studies, with the aim of sharing knowledge about the ECAP objectives related to this point.It is worth to notice that in these very years many initiatives have been undertaken in order to develop a product to be adopted by non-structured enterprises as SMEs are.*Implementation of an Environmental Management System (EMS) and explicit designation of responsibility for environmental matters have a much more positive influence on the environmental engagement of the company than a single inspection or compliance check. EMSs both formal and less formal are amongst the most well-known and most important voluntary tools used by enterprises to improve their environmental performance, and help ensure compliance with environmental legislation. Examples of other instruments in this area are eco-labels, life-cycle-assessment tools, environmental reports and benchmarking initiatives.An EMS helps companies integrate environmental considerations into their overall activities, and make progress towards more sustainable production patterns in a systematic way, on the basis of a plan-do-check-act (PDCA) model. It requires them, amongst other things, to develop an environmental policy, establish environmental objectives and targets, define the necessary procedures and responsibilities, monitor conformance with the established objectives and targets, carry out periodic audits of the system, and review it at regular intervals. A company can choose to have its EMS examined and certified (or verified) by a third party (a certification or verification body), but it can also opt to establish a non-certified EMS.

*The diffusion of EMS among SMEs has been limited so far. In order to understand this circumstance, several studies and surveys have been undertaken. Such studies have been focused on identifying strengths and weaknesses of regional initiatives proposed in the MS in order to promote EMS. Among these studies, one can recall A Comparative Analysis of the Environmental Management, Performance and Innovation of SMEs and Larger Firms, Final Report, 31 August 2006.Still on this topic, a particularly relevant survey is represented by the BEST Project Expert Group Final Report 2004. This report is the result of a Best Procedure (i.e. benchmarking) project carried out by the European Commissions Directorate-General for Enterprise Policy in close co-operation with an Expert Group made up of governmental representatives together with a representative from the European Association of Craft, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (UEAPME).The report describes and analyses different good practice examples of public policies, programmes and initiatives (framework conditions) to encourage the (voluntary) uptake of environmental management systems (EMSs) in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).At present, the uptake of both formal and less formal EMSs by SMEs across Europe is low, largely on account of a number of barriers SMEs face in this respect. Nonetheless, some countries and regions clearly perform better than others. This raises two questions: what are the policy options available to public authorities to significantly increase the uptake of EMSs by SMEs?; what can they learn from successful public policy approaches in other countries and regions?

*Key factors influencing the environmental efforts of SMEs (like those of large companies) include the tools at their disposal to reduce environmental impacts, the pressures (driving forces) exerted on them to use these tools, and the barriers they face in trying to do so. In a recent report by the Swedish Business Development Agency NUTEK, these and other parameters and the way in which they are linked are visualised in the pictureThe overview study identifies the most important stakeholders driving (formal) EMS implementation by SMEs as customers, the local government and community, regulators and employees, followed by insurers, the general public and suppliers, and gives a detailed description of relevant barriers. In this connection, it makes a distinction between internal and external barriers. Internal barriers include the lack of human resources rather than finance, frequent interruptions in the implementation of an EMS in SMEs, the lack of information about EMSs and their benefits, as well as attitudes and company culture. The key external barriers identified by the study are problems and dissatisfaction with the certification/verification process, high implementation and certification costs14, insufficient drivers and uncertainty about market benefits, as well as a lack of good quality consultants and sector-specific guidance. The study concludes that internal barriers, which act as an initial stumbling block to getting engaged in environmental work, are more important than external ones.

*Just in order to overcome these barriers, besides the European scheme, EMAS, several other EMS have been developed in recent years to respond to sector-specific characteristics and the level of complexity of the business, or to focus on single environmental aspects (some of these initiatives will be presented in the workshop). EMSs can take many different forms. They often appear in their internationally recognised, formal nature, but they can also take a number of less formal, adapted forms. The two formal EMSs are the international standard EN ISO 14001 and the EUs Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) formalised in the form of an EU Regulation. An important premise of the study is that a formal EMS does not necessarily represent the optimal and most cost-effective solution for all companies, in particular micro and small enterprises. This is reflected by the fact that in addition to the internationally recognised, formal EMSs, such systems also appear in a large number of less formal forms. Amongst such less formal EMSs, this report will distinguish between staged, alternative, customised and simplified EMSs. Management systems integrating different aspects (environmental, health, safety, quality) form a specific category; they can be both of a formal and of a less formal nature.Alternative EMSs are based on the attribution of alternative, environment-related logos or labels according to the specific requirements of the scheme in question. Examples include the Norwegian Eco-lighthouse (Miljfyrtrn) scheme, the Austrian Eco-profit (KOPROFIT) model and the German QuH-label (Qualittsverbund umweltbewusster Handwerksbetriebe) for small craft companies in Bavaria. They are initiatives which showed a high efficiency at MS level, but the political objective of the EC is to build a common field.*The European Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) was developed by the EU and is designed for organisations willing to continuously improve their environmental performance on a voluntary basis. A fundamental characteristic of EMAS compared to other available schemes is that besides the running of an environmental management system, EMAS-registered organisations must be fully compliant with existing environmental legislation and report on their environmental That is why this process can be defined as an equivalence: if an enterprise is EMAS certified, it is for sure compliant with the legal environmental framework and counts on a comprehensive reporting system audited by a third party.The brochure shown is EMAS toolkit for SMEs taken from the EU website*If public authorities accept a certified EMS as a reliable alternative to checks or inspections, which will reduce administrative burdens since less frequent inspections or reports will be required, this will certainly encourage SMEs to introduce an EMS. This guarantees the achievement of the ECAPs objectivesBecause of its strict requirements and transparency, EMAS provides real guarantees to public authorities. EMAS is now under revision, which will further enhance the standard of excellence and the compliance aspects and make it even more robust.*Even though the EMAS scheme is designed to be used by all kinds and sizes of organisations, the following specific measures will be taken to facilitate the implementation of the scheme in SMEs in the short and longer term. These measures are strictly related to the analysis of the barriers limiting the diffusion of EMAS and to the work done by the BEST group.*The Commission will promote and support public-private partnerships (consortia or coordinating bodies) and other initiatives, to encourage use of EMAS in industrial clusters or districts of SMEs, using specific cluster or supply chain approaches. This should reduce consultancy and audit/verification costs for participating SMEs, and facilitate additional knowledge-sharing and experience exchange amongst participants, encouraging a coherent environmental policy in the cluster. *As part of the revision, the administrative burden of EMAS on SMEs will be further reduced. EMAS will be made more accessible, more understandable and more effective, with less red-tape but maintaining the excellence of the scheme. Also its "visibility" will be increased through enhanced promotion by the Commission and member States, which will also make it an interesting marketing instrument for registered SMEs. Member State will be asked to offer concrete incentives to registered companies and will be able to reduce inspections of registered SMEs and reduce their administrative burden and reporting obligations. *Improve use of existing EU voluntary instrumentsExisting tools for the implementation of EMAS in SMEs, such as EMAS-Easy, will be further developed and applied on a larger scale with projects in all EU Member States. A pilot phase of EMAS-Easy has already been run in all Member States and showed that full EMAS registration is easily feasible in micro-companiesIt is now necessary to promote the diffusion of these new products which are tailor-made for SMEs.

*EMAS-easy is an innovative and basic way of implementing EMAS fully in a small company in a way which is complementary to its business cycle. Emas Easy is a new methodology that allows small SMEs to adopt EMS standards like ISO 14001 and EMAS in a smart and cost effective way. It is necessary to say that the final result respects perfectly ISO 14001 and EMAS.There have been some obstacles to the successful implementation of EMS in SMEs due mainly to long, complicated procedures requiring a lot of paperwork, external costs and inherent requirements to ISO 14001.Emas Easy gives now the possibility to simplify EMS through an innovative approach based on simple and visual Eco-mapping and additional features to be in conformity with ISO 14001 and EMAS requirements.This methodology has already been tested successfully in two Belgian Companies, showing that it is a reproducible group coaching process.The philosophy behind EMAS Easy. SMEs and micro enterprises represents the backbone of most economies, contributing in a significant way to economic growth, employment, regional and local development. Todays global world economy is leading towards standardisation of products, processes, management and information.Multinational companies, huge organisations and large enterprises in the production, service and retailing sectors are already imposing their different and very high standards, tools and certification systems ( ISO 14001, EMAS, ISO 9000 ). All this has a tremendous impact on the day-to-day life of SMEs. They not only have to demonstrate a recognized track record of regular positive environmental management but are also under public scrutiny from consumers as far as health, safety, working conditions are concerned. The barriers preventing SMEs from adopting EMS are of two types:internal and external.the internal barriers include: the lack of human resources, the lack of understanding of some key environmental aspects and how to assign significance to them, lack of information about economic and organizational benefits for SMEs, EMS implementation is an interrupted and interruptible process.The external barriers include: High certification and registration costs for ISO 14001 and EMAS, Difficult access to funding, Lack of specific guidance, Inconsistencies in the certification and verification systems in different EU countries.Hence the need of new tailor made environmental management and reporting tools that dont require a lowering of standards but rather a simpler and more accessible structure and that are recognised by the marketplace.EMAS Easy is the result of this call for simplification. *The simplification allows to see straightaway the advantages that derive from the EMS in the general performances of the enterprise. Basically the advantages, the easiness of management are easily perceived.The simplification allows to create a system of the enterprise, born out of its needs and tailor-made. This avoids the overstructure, the use of an already made and complex product . The useless things go away by themselves!The simple system, the visual approach, limit enormously the paperwork. This determines an easy use that makes advantages to the management immediately visible.**EMAS-easy can be implemented quickly (it takes 4 to 9 months instead of the standard 15 to 18 months); it is lean and un-bureaucratic (the environmental management handbook has been reduced to 4 pages, the environmental statement to one double page); it cuts down the costs of certification (the architecture of the management system is simple and it can be audited within a day, with a potential cost reduction of 60%); it cuts down on consulting costs (the need for external assistance is reduced to a third).Its structured to create competence and knowledge, involving directly the staff members in an easy way and compatible with their normal workload

*EMAS Easy can be described as a product to implement EMAS in a more efficient way. Its costs are less than half and highly comparable to those of other products such as KOPROFIT but they are not recognised with an EU level certification system.

*For anyone interested to have material and information on Eco-mapping, an illustrative brochure is available on the website.The approach characterising Eco-mapping, that was then brought to EMAS Easy, is to be intuitive and concrete*1. Location map (2 copies)Draws a map of the location, seen from above and including parking spaces, access areas, streets and the surrounding environment. This map should show the actual situation

2. Site mapDraws the site profile using a scale and showing the internal spaces. This map should be copied 6 times and is the basis for the work to do.Every map refers to the types of aspects indicated above.Maps should show the actual situation they should be simple, recognizable and in scale. They should have a date, a name and a reference. You will have to insert one ore two significant objects in order to make people able to easily orient themselves in the site (e.g. machineries, windows, etc.). If the site has many different areas one can draft maps for each area, to be then put together.*The use of a reduced number of simple symbols doesnt make the audit less valid and doesnt scare workers in the SMEs.*Its the most demanding step to be achieved in these years: on one side the will/necessity to guarantee the simplicity and the informal aspect and on the other side the challenge to fully respect all the points of the EMAS code ( the ones indicated were the most disputed ones in Eco-mapping)The evolution from the first version of EMAS Easy to date has been continuous and has led not only to a front-hand product but also to training criteria and methods suitable to the de-structured approach of EMAS Easy.**The inquiry was through interviews with 70 consultantswho took part in EMAS capacity buildingprogrammes in the last 4 years.The first round of these programmes was startedin 2004 in Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Poland andHungaria. In 2005, the EMAS South Programmetrained consultants in Spain, Cyprus, Greece,Portugal, France and Malta. The last round, EMASNorth, was concluded at the end of 2008,, withBelgium, Czech Republic, Germany, Repuiblic ofIreland, Finland, UK, and Slovenia. Curently theremaing memberstates are in the process of organizingcapacity building seminars.150 consultants have been contacted. 12 consultantsdropped out because they changed employmentand 25 have changed addresses. 40 did notreply at all.*Since the completion of their training, consultantshave coached 34 companies (21 small, 10 mediumand 3 large) to the EMAS registration;84 other companies (69 small, 9 medium, 6 large)are on the way to EMAS registration.The consultants also coached 71 companies (18small, 33 medium, 20 large) to ISO14001 certification.190 companies have or are in the process of beingregistered or certified against EMAS.

**EMAS Easy has been included in the Capacity-Building program carried out in the new Member States (i.e. EMAS Easy Hungary).Goals: The aim of the project is to provide support to the implementation of the EMAS Regulation in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Hungary by promoting the EU EMAS Scheme and building capacity for the application of the EMAS. The project provides support in terms of practical capacity building of EMAS implementation in these new Member States in particular regarding small and medium sized organisations and enterprises (SMEs). Main objectives: to test and apply EMAS Easy at SMEs; to disseminate EMAS Easy; to get SMEs to EMAS certificate; to train the EMAS consultants on EMAS Easy; to raise awareness of EMAS in the EU members; to raise EMAS certifications among SMEs.Sponsor:European Commission

******In this part of the seminar we will present the tools that have been identified to facilitate SMEs compliance.In particular some best practices, which led to define some fundamental points of the Action Plan, will be highlighted.*In this part of the seminar we will present the tools that have been identified to facilitate SMEs compliance.In particular some best practices, which led to define some fundamental points of the Action Plan, will be highlighted.