Environmental Management Systems (EMS)

• OSPAR Recommendation 2003/5 to promote the use and implementation of Environmental Management Systems by the Offshore Industry

The goal of this Recommendation is that by the end of 2005 all operators within Contracting Parties' jurisdiction in the UKCS maritime area should have in place Environmental Management Systems that are in accordance with the principals of internationally recognised standards.

• BS EN ISO14001: 2004 Environmental Management Systems

ISO 14001 is a voluntary standard to which organisations can become accredited, not a legal requirement. The standard provides guidelines on how to manage an organisations environmental impact, support environmental protection and prevent pollution in conjunction with socio-economic needs.

Organisations can choose to apply for accreditation to the standard through the accredited body United Kingdom Accreditation Scheme (UKAS).

• European Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS)

EMAS - the Eco-Management and Audit Scheme, is a voluntary initiative designed to improve companies’ environmental performance. It was initially established by European Regulation 1836/93, although this has been replaced by Regulation No 1221/2009. The third revision of EMAS was finalised in late 2009. It entered into force in January 2010 and is applicable to those wishing to register with the scheme. For organisations already EMAS registered there is a transitional period to be completed by 11 th January 2011.

EMAS modifications include measures for reducing administrative burdens for EMAS organisations and raises the attractiveness of the scheme. The scope of the scheme has been extended to allow organisations outside of the European Community to gain EMAS registration with EMAS verifiers who are inside the European Community.

• Regulation (EC) No 1221/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2009 on the voluntary participation by organisations in a Community eco-management and audit scheme (EMAS), repealing Regulation (EC) No 761/2001 and Commission Decisions 2001/681/EC and 2006/193/EC

The objective of the Community eco-management and audit scheme is to promote improvements in the environmental performance of organisations in all sectors through:

• the introduction and implementation by organisations of environmental management systems as set out in Annex I to this Regulation;
• objective and periodical assessment of those systems;
• training and active involvement of the staff of such organisations;
• provision of information to the public and other interested parties; and
• organisations must report against a set of core indicators: energy efficiency, material efficiency, water, waste, biodiversity and emissions.

One condition of EMAS registration is that organisations must meet legal requirements regarding environmental protection.

The updated Regulation provides some flexibility in the periods for which organisations are required to publish their environmental statement and also sets out transitional provisions for the revised Regulation requirements. The transitional period must be completed by 11 January 2011.

• Commission Recommendation 2001/680/EC (OJ:L247/17/09/2001) on guidance for the implementation of Regulation (EC) No 761/2001 allowing voluntary participation by organisations in a Community eco-management and audit scheme (EMAS).

This Recommendation is made in accordance with EC Regulation 761/2001, which allows for voluntary participation in a Community eco-management and audit scheme (EMAS) and sets out guidance for organisations on the use of environmental performance indicators, which are set out in Annex 1 to this Recommendation.

• Commission Decision 2001/681/EC (OJ:L247/24/2001) on guidance for the implementation of EC Regulation 761/2001 allowing voluntary participation by organisations in a Community eco-management and audit scheme (EMAS) (pdf)

The entities referred to in Article 2 of the EMAS Regulation will be registered as organisations under EMAS in accordance with the guidance set out in Annex I to this Decision. The Decision also requires organisations to have the updates of their environmental statement validated in accordance with the guidance set out in Annex II. The EMAS logo can be used in accordance with the guidance set out in Annex III to the Decision.

Guidance on OSPAR Recommendation 2003/5 to promote the use and implementation of Environmental Management Systems by the Offshore Industry

The above guidance promotes the use of EMS in the offshore industry.

Guidance on BS EN ISO14001:2004 and BS 8555:2003 can be found at the British Standards Institute (BSI) website. This website includes both information on the standards and how to implement them. Link to website

Further information on EMAS can be found at the dedicated website Link to website

The OSPAR recommendation requires that contracting operators must:

• implement an environmental management system in accordance with the principals of internationally recognised standards (Note: BS EN ISO14001 if the only international standard), Link to BSI website
• obtain verification of their environmental management system from the relevant verifier, Link to UKAS website;
• develop an annual publicly available Environmental Statement (Annual Statement) including a description of the environmental management system, the environmental policy, objectives and targets, and a summary of environmental performance including relevant legislative requirements: Link to full text of OSPAR Recommendation 2003/5 including requirements. (Word Document)

For operators who are not registered to ISO 14001 or EMAS, DECC requires a number of actions to ensure full compliance with the requirements of the OSPAR Recommendation. The operators EMS must be independently verified to demonstrate it is in accordance with environmental requirements.

Any organisation can can apply for accreditation to ISO14001, organisations seeking accreditation must:

• implement the requirements of the standard (see Performance Standards);
• contact UKAS to identify appropriate accreditation body, Link to UKAS website; and
• arrange for audit by accreditation body.

Organisations wishing to attain accreditation to EMAS must:

• be an organisation based or trading within the EU;
• must have an environmental management system which meets the requirements of BS EN 14001;
• contact UKAS to identify appropriate accreditation body, Link to UKAS website;
• implement the requirements of EMAS Link to EMAS website; and
• arrange for audit by accreditation body

All of the above standards and recommendations require the establishment and implementation of an Environmental Management System all of which share common principals. The basic requirements of an EMS are outlined below:

• Develop an environmental policy statement;
• Identify environmental aspects, including highlighting those which are significant;
• Identify relevant legislation and determine how requirements apply to the companies environmental aspects;
• Develop environmental objectives and targets;
• Ensure that there are available resources to comply with the requirements of the EMS;
• Ensure that personnel have the relevant training or experience, particularly in areas where significant environmental aspects have been identified;
• Identify potential emergency situations and accidents which may have environmental consequences and develop response and mitigation procedures;
• Monitor and measure key characteristics of companies operations that could have significant environmental impacts;
• Evaluate compliance with applicable legal requirements and;
• Undertake audits against the requirements of the standard and the requirements of the EMS.

Following a review of submitted Annual Statements DECC issued revised guidance for the content of these effective from June 1st 2008 onward (see DECC Guidance):

• Operators to detail all UKCS operations including; all installations, FPSOs, tie-back fields, drilling operations and de-commissioning.
• Inclusion of operations schematic with location map.
• Brief description of EMS and its ability to manage an improvement in environmental performance.
• Copy of Environmental Policy.
• Description of Environmental Goals.
• Description of objectives and targets set to manage significant environmental impacts.
• Al installations to report as a minimum on:
  • PON 1s- volume of oil and chemical notifications.
  • OPPC oil discharges - oil and water figures from EEMS.
  • Chemical use -using EEMS ranking classifications.
  • Waste products generated - as per EEMS.
  • Atmospheric emissions - as per EEMS.

Monitoring requirements for all three standards (BS EN ISO14001/ EMAS and BS8555/ 2003) depend on the nature and scale of the activities, products and services associated with the organisation

However under all three schemes organisations must monitor their:

• Significant environmental aspects;
• Any restrictions set through legislative consents;
• Environmental performance; and
• Any other restrictions set by additional internal requirements and commitments.

This promotes the use and implementation of Environmental management Systems within the offshore industry.

By 1st June 2007, all operators undertaking offshore activities during 2006 will have prepared an Annual Statement covering that calendar year and made the statement available to the public. A public statement is already a requirement for operators registered with EMAS. This promotes the use and implementation of Environmental Management Systems within the offshore industry.

All operators with an EMS that is accredited to ISO 14001 or EMAS will have commissioned and completed an independent verification of their EMS to confirm it is in accordance with the elements and requirements of the Recommendation by 1st September 2006. By 8th September 2006, all operators will have notified DECC providing full details on the status of their EMS.

For operators who are not registered to ISO 14001 or EMAS, DECC requires a number of actions to ensure full compliance with the requirements of the Recommendation. The operators EMS must be independently verified to demonstrate it is in accordance with environmental requirements.

Following a review of Annual Statements, DECC issued revised Guidance on their content (see Performance Standards).

BS EN ISO14001 requires organisations to report internally at management review meetings, this includes:

• results of internal audits;
• evaluation of compliance with legal requirements and other requirements associated with the organisation;
• communication from external interested parties including complaints;
• environmental performance;
• achievement of objectives and targets;
• corrective and preventative actions;
• follow up actions from previous management review meetings;
• changing circumstances (e.g. legal, new developments, changes to activities etc.); and
• recommendation for improvements and changes to the EMS (including policy/ objectives etc.).

It is a requirement of EMAS that participating organisations regularly produce a public environmental statement that reports on their environmental performance. This is a voluntary publication of environmental information, whose accuracy and reliability has been independently checked by an environmental verifier, that gives EMAS and those organisations that participate enhanced credibility and recognition.

The requirement for a statement is covered by annual environmental statements produced under the OSPAR Agreement

Reporting requirement depend on the stage of the standard the organisation has achieved certification to and whether the organisation is aiming to implement BS EN ISO14001 to EMAS.

Once an organisation has achieved accreditation to the standards, failure to comply can result in an organisation losing its accredited status.

Decision 2007/747/EC formally recognises certification procedures in EU eco-management and audit scheme (EMAS).