Today, on 17 August a joint working group of Estonian and Dutch specialists gathers in the Ministry of the Environment with a long-term objective to make it possible for Estonian organisations to participate in the eco-management and audit scheme of the European Union. At this meeting, an overview is given of two surveys conducted in spring, one of which studied the awareness of Estonian organisations of environmental management systems and preparedness to implement these systems and the other determined the best means of motivation to implement environmental management systems. The most important item on the agenda, however, deals with the preparation of the Estonian policy on environmental management systems. The working group carries out the project „Implementing the EMAS (The EU Eco-Management and Audit Scheme) Regulation in Estonia“. The aim of the project is to help Estonia as an EU Member State to implement the EMAS regulation (761/2001) of the European Parliament and of the Council allowing voluntary participation by organisations in a Community eco-management and audit scheme.
The regulation is implemented by means of
In addition to this, the project aims to implement EMAS in three Estonian enterprises, one of which has already been determined: Iru Power Station of Eesti Energia AS. On behalf of Estonia, participants in the two-year project (2004-2005) include the Ministry of the Environment (including the Estonian Environment Information Centre, Environmental Inspectorate and Harjumaa Environmental Authority), the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, the Estonian Accreditation Centre, the Estonian Association for Environmental Management, Det Norske Veritas Estonia and AS Maves who is a partner of AS Tauw, Dutch representative of the project. Also involved in the project is the Estonian Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. A policy working group and an advisory committee have been established to carry out project tasks. The main task of the working group right now is to prepare a policy on environmental management systems. It is the task of the advisory committee to review the proposals of the working group and improve them, if needed. As a rule, the working group meets once a month, while the committee gathers 1 or 2 times a year. The project „Implementing the EMAS Regulation in Estonia“ was initiated in the beginning of this year due to the obligation to implement the EMAS regulation in Member States of the European Union. The first meeting of the working group was held in February 2004. Further information: Monika Kopti |
