Eco-Management and Audit Scheme - Benefits and Costs of EMAS

Benefits and Costs of EMAS

EMAS is a comprehensive and demanding premium label, whose implementation requires some financial and personnel resources. In return, EMAS provides organisations with many advantages that can easily outweigh these costs. As EMAS is tailored to individual performance improvements, each organisation has to consider different environmental and economic factors. Given the heterogeneity of registered organisations, calculating average benefits and costs of EMAS is nearly unfeasible. The financial benefits of an EMAS registered organisation can differ per country. For example, some countries offer substantial reductions of waste fees, lower permitting costs, faster licensing procedures, etc. Nevertheless, several studies have been undertaken to provide reference points on the benefits and costs. In 2009 the European Commission published the Study on the Costs and Benefits of EMAS to Registered Organisations. The results of this study are summarised in a factsheet.