The EU institutions are committed to working in a sustainable way and integrating environmental responsibility into their everyday activities and decisions. This commitment includes reducing carbon footprints, managing resources efficiently and applying green procurement practices.
Many EU institutions have adopted the Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS), a voluntary environmental management tool developed by the European Commission. EMAS helps organisations evaluate, report on and improve their environmental performance through rigorous standards and independent verification.
To date, 22 EU institutions, bodies and agencies have adopted EMAS.
The European Commission achieved EMAS registration in 2005, the first EU institution to do so. Its priorities include efficiently using natural resources (energy, water and paper), reducing CO2 emissions, preventing waste, supporting recycling and reuse, promoting green public procurement and encouraging sustainable mobility.
The European Environment Agency (EEA) was the first EU body to introduce an environmental management system in 2004 and received its EMAS registration in 2005. Since then, the EEA has helped other organisations introduce environmental measures.
The European Parliament has been EMAS-registered since December 2007. In 2016, President Martin Schulz and Secretary-General Klaus Welle signed a new environmental policy reaffirming the administration's commitment to ‘maintaining its EMAS registration and its environmental approach to continuous improvement with a view towards achieving environmental sustainability in all its administrative activities’”.
Since it registered with EMAS in 2010, the European Central Bank (ECB) has constantly been improving its environmental management system through its Green ECB initiative.
The European Economic and Social Committee and the European Committee of the Regions share joint services and infrastructure. They registered with EMAS in 2011. Implementing EMAS provides an opportunity to take account of sustainable building management, to optimise heating, lighting and paper consumption, to develop a more sustainable canteen, to select environmentally friendly cleaning products and paint, to reduce and sort waste, and to reduce food waste at events.
All measures and results are set out in the European Economic and Social Committee’s environmental statement and the European Committee of Region's environmental statement.
The Council of the European Union has been working since 2010 to reduce its impact and protect the environment through high-quality environmental management. The Council obtained ISO 14001 certification and EMAS registration in 2016.
The Council’s environmental programme aims to reduce energy use, emissions, waste, water pollution, and paper consumption, while promoting recycling, renewable energy, sustainable mobility, environmentally responsible procurement and staff engagement. For more information, see the Council's environmental statement.
The Court of Justice of the European Union has been EMAS-registered since 2016.Read more about sustainable management at the Court of Justice.
The European Court of Auditors was registered with EMAS on 10 March 2017.
For additional information, see the Court’s environmental policy.