Celebrating and promoting EMAS
The Austrian CSR Day on 21 October 2020 is the beginning of an exciting autumn for companies committed to doing business responsibly. EMAS enterprises can expect awards for innovative environmental management and new opportunities lie in store for sustainable companies in Austria and Europe.
EMAS is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2020. Exemplary companies from Austria demonstrate how EMAS strengthens companies and promotes innovation. The best companies will be awarded the EMAS award in environmental management on 27 October. The conference “Unternehmen Zukunft” (Enterprise of the Future) on 28 October will focus on megatrends and options for shaping the future in companies that aim to reduce their environmental impact. At the end of the year, best practices in corporate environmental management and new incentives for EMAS enterprises in Europe will be celebrated with the completion of ENHANCE, a project in which the Environment Agency Austria (Umweltbundesamt) has played a major role.
Enterprise of the Future
On 27 October, the Austrian Ministry for Climate Action will once again present the Environmental Management Award 2020. Awards are given to outstanding EMAS and eco-labelled companies in the categories “Best EMAS Environmental Statement” and “Best Environmental Protection and Climate Action Measure”. On 28 October, the Environment Agency Austria, on behalf of the Ministry for Climate Action, will host the conference “Enterprise of the Future – megatrends and design options”. The conference will be moderated by Environment Agency expert Henriette Spyra and broadcast via livestream.
New impetus for EMAS
ENHANCE started in 2017 with the aim to strengthen corporate environmental management in six European countries and regions. With a large number of best practice examples and six action plans, the project partners, which include the Environment Agency Austria, have created new incentives and synergies for EMAS companies and those wishing to become EMAS companies. In Austria, Estonia, the Czech Republic and Italy and in two regions of Spain, administrative simplifications have been implemented, green procurement has been expanded and corporate environmental management promoted.
Corporate environmental management
EMAS stands for “Eco-Management and Audit Scheme” and is a voluntary instrument developed by the European Commission to support enterprises and organisations of every size and sector to continually improve their environmental performance. Participating organisations communicate their performance in the form of an environmental statement that is examined and validated by an independent environmental verifier.
An EMAS action plan, whose development formed part of the ENHANCE project and which will be implemented in the next few years, will give fresh impetus to the expansion of corporate environmental management, in order to make EMAS a standard for innovative, dedicated enterprises in Austria in the future.
Links
Environmental Management Conference
Recording Environemental Management Conference
Enhance project website
