Effectiveness of EMAS: A case study of Polish organisations registered under EMAS

Alina Matuszak-Flejszman; Beata Szyszka; Lára Jóhannsdóttir

doi:10.1016/j.eiar.2018.09.005

Effectiveness of EMAS: A case study of Polish organisations registered under EMAS

Alina Matuszak-Flejszman
, Beata Szyszka
, Lára Jóhannsdóttir

Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences

University of Iceland

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Balanced economic growth in line with environmental care is one of the greatest challenges facing the world nowadays. Entrepreneurs’ interest in sustainable production schemes, including Environmental Management Systems (EMS), becomes an important part of many strategies and a frequent requirement of environmentally aware societies. Despite this, the number of organisations registered under the Eco-management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) decreased, while the implementation of EMS based on ISO 14001 continues to be popular. Many organisations registered in the EMAS scheme do not renew their registration; therefore, it is important to analyse the effectiveness of this environmental management tool as it should support sustainable development. This paper includes the results of research on EMAS registered organisations in Poland. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the EMAS based on analysis of (1) the degree of environmental objectives implementation, (2) core environmental performance indicators, and (3) the correlation between establishing environmental objectives and results of environmental indicators in specific areas. The study involves an analysis of secondary data based on organisations’ environmental statements published by the EMAS competent body. The findings suggest that there is no linear relationship between the time the EMAS is implemented and its effectiveness and that there is a weak correlation between establishing environmental objectives and changes in environmental performance indicators. These results are unexpected and may be linked to numerous mistakes made by organisations during establishing their environmental objectives. The study results have an impact to the EMAS regulation and shall be considered during review of EMAS scheme and future revisions of EMAS regulatory requirements.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	86-94
Number of pages	9
Journal	Environmental Impact Assessment Review
Volume	74
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eiar.2018.09.005
Publication status	Published - Jan 2019

Bibliographical note

Funding Information: This article was written based on the results of the research project “Research on effectiveness and the efficiency of the Eco-Management and Audit System EMAS in organisations on Polish territory”. The project was financed by the National Science Centre, granted pursuant to decision no. DEC-2012/07/N/HS4/02654. Funding Information: This article was written based on the results of the research project “Research on effectiveness and the efficiency of the Eco-Management and Audit System EMAS in organisations on Polish territory”. The project was financed by the National Science Centre , granted pursuant to decision no. DEC-2012/07/N/HS4/02654 . Publisher Copyright: © 2018

Other keywords

Eco-management and audit scheme, EMAS
Effectiveness
Environmental indicators, EI
Environmental management system, EMS
Environmental performance evaluation, EPE

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10.1016/j.eiar.2018.09.005

Cite this

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title = "Effectiveness of EMAS: A case study of Polish organisations registered under EMAS",

abstract = "Balanced economic growth in line with environmental care is one of the greatest challenges facing the world nowadays. Entrepreneurs{\textquoteright} interest in sustainable production schemes, including Environmental Management Systems (EMS), becomes an important part of many strategies and a frequent requirement of environmentally aware societies. Despite this, the number of organisations registered under the Eco-management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) decreased, while the implementation of EMS based on ISO 14001 continues to be popular. Many organisations registered in the EMAS scheme do not renew their registration; therefore, it is important to analyse the effectiveness of this environmental management tool as it should support sustainable development. This paper includes the results of research on EMAS registered organisations in Poland. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the EMAS based on analysis of (1) the degree of environmental objectives implementation, (2) core environmental performance indicators, and (3) the correlation between establishing environmental objectives and results of environmental indicators in specific areas. The study involves an analysis of secondary data based on organisations{\textquoteright} environmental statements published by the EMAS competent body. The findings suggest that there is no linear relationship between the time the EMAS is implemented and its effectiveness and that there is a weak correlation between establishing environmental objectives and changes in environmental performance indicators. These results are unexpected and may be linked to numerous mistakes made by organisations during establishing their environmental objectives. The study results have an impact to the EMAS regulation and shall be considered during review of EMAS scheme and future revisions of EMAS regulatory requirements.",

keywords = "Eco-management and audit scheme, EMAS, Effectiveness, Environmental indicators, EI, Environmental management system, EMS, Environmental performance evaluation, EPE",

author = "Alina Matuszak-Flejszman and Beata Szyszka and L{\'a}ra J{\'o}hannsd{\'o}ttir",

note = "Funding Information: This article was written based on the results of the research project “Research on effectiveness and the efficiency of the Eco-Management and Audit System EMAS in organisations on Polish territory”. The project was financed by the National Science Centre, granted pursuant to decision no. DEC-2012/07/N/HS4/02654. Funding Information: This article was written based on the results of the research project “Research on effectiveness and the efficiency of the Eco-Management and Audit System EMAS in organisations on Polish territory”. The project was financed by the National Science Centre , granted pursuant to decision no. DEC-2012/07/N/HS4/02654 . Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2018",

year = "2019",

month = jan,

doi = "10.1016/j.eiar.2018.09.005",

language = "English",

volume = "74",

pages = "86--94",

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AU - Matuszak-Flejszman, Alina

AU - Szyszka, Beata

AU - Jóhannsdóttir, Lára

N1 - Funding Information: This article was written based on the results of the research project “Research on effectiveness and the efficiency of the Eco-Management and Audit System EMAS in organisations on Polish territory”. The project was financed by the National Science Centre, granted pursuant to decision no. DEC-2012/07/N/HS4/02654. Funding Information: This article was written based on the results of the research project “Research on effectiveness and the efficiency of the Eco-Management and Audit System EMAS in organisations on Polish territory”. The project was financed by the National Science Centre , granted pursuant to decision no. DEC-2012/07/N/HS4/02654 . Publisher Copyright: © 2018

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N2 - Balanced economic growth in line with environmental care is one of the greatest challenges facing the world nowadays. Entrepreneurs’ interest in sustainable production schemes, including Environmental Management Systems (EMS), becomes an important part of many strategies and a frequent requirement of environmentally aware societies. Despite this, the number of organisations registered under the Eco-management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) decreased, while the implementation of EMS based on ISO 14001 continues to be popular. Many organisations registered in the EMAS scheme do not renew their registration; therefore, it is important to analyse the effectiveness of this environmental management tool as it should support sustainable development. This paper includes the results of research on EMAS registered organisations in Poland. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the EMAS based on analysis of (1) the degree of environmental objectives implementation, (2) core environmental performance indicators, and (3) the correlation between establishing environmental objectives and results of environmental indicators in specific areas. The study involves an analysis of secondary data based on organisations’ environmental statements published by the EMAS competent body. The findings suggest that there is no linear relationship between the time the EMAS is implemented and its effectiveness and that there is a weak correlation between establishing environmental objectives and changes in environmental performance indicators. These results are unexpected and may be linked to numerous mistakes made by organisations during establishing their environmental objectives. The study results have an impact to the EMAS regulation and shall be considered during review of EMAS scheme and future revisions of EMAS regulatory requirements.

AB - Balanced economic growth in line with environmental care is one of the greatest challenges facing the world nowadays. Entrepreneurs’ interest in sustainable production schemes, including Environmental Management Systems (EMS), becomes an important part of many strategies and a frequent requirement of environmentally aware societies. Despite this, the number of organisations registered under the Eco-management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) decreased, while the implementation of EMS based on ISO 14001 continues to be popular. Many organisations registered in the EMAS scheme do not renew their registration; therefore, it is important to analyse the effectiveness of this environmental management tool as it should support sustainable development. This paper includes the results of research on EMAS registered organisations in Poland. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the EMAS based on analysis of (1) the degree of environmental objectives implementation, (2) core environmental performance indicators, and (3) the correlation between establishing environmental objectives and results of environmental indicators in specific areas. The study involves an analysis of secondary data based on organisations’ environmental statements published by the EMAS competent body. The findings suggest that there is no linear relationship between the time the EMAS is implemented and its effectiveness and that there is a weak correlation between establishing environmental objectives and changes in environmental performance indicators. These results are unexpected and may be linked to numerous mistakes made by organisations during establishing their environmental objectives. The study results have an impact to the EMAS regulation and shall be considered during review of EMAS scheme and future revisions of EMAS regulatory requirements.

KW - Eco-management and audit scheme, EMAS

KW - Effectiveness

KW - Environmental indicators, EI

KW - Environmental management system, EMS

KW - Environmental performance evaluation, EPE

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DO - 10.1016/j.eiar.2018.09.005

M3 - Article

SN - 0195-9255

VL - 74

SP - 86

EP - 94

JO - Environmental Impact Assessment Review

JF - Environmental Impact Assessment Review

ER -

Effectiveness of EMAS: A case study of Polish organisations registered under EMAS

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Other keywords

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