EU Voluntary Instruments

Environmental Management Systems (EMS)

BEST project

A business that has an EMS in place demonstrates a commitment to improving its environmental performances. However, implementing such systems can often be very difficult for small businesses, particularly micro-businesses, thus there is a need for better recognition of informal management systems.

The BEST project of DG Enterprise, in which UEAPME participated as the European SME representative, attempts to identify good principles (as opposed to best) conducive to the implementation of formal EMS (such as ISO or EMAS) and also non-formal EMS in SMEs. The results of the project were officially presented in a conference at EU level in February 2004. For more information on the conference visit:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/enterprise/environment/events/sme_conference/index.htm

Download the BEST report on environmental management systems in the language of your choice: DE, EN, ES, FR, IT, PT , PL