“ENVIRONMENTAL STATEMENT IS MORE THAN A DECLARATION…SQUEEZE IT AND GET THE MOST OUT OF IT!”
Good Practices Sessions
ENHANCE project has held the 4th Thematic Workshop in Seville, Spain in May 2018. The aim of the workshop was the exchange of best practices and identification of opportunities for improvement on communication and dissemination of the EU Eco-Management and Audit Scheme EMAS.
The Regional Government of Andalusia (RGA), as responsible for this event, highlighted the importance of participating in ENHANCE project in order to improve the number of EMAS-registers organisations in Andalusia. Also, RGA considered very necessary to intensify the international cooperation with other European Regions for to stimulate new meeting spaces and new ideas that provide added value for the regions.
For this workshop, the ENHANCE project partners counted with the special presence of experts from several countries and international institutions, such as the European Commission Joint Research Centre, Circular Economy of Industrial Leadership Unit. His representative has provided a global vision of the key communication aspects for Environmental Statements and the EMAS best environmental management practices as a source of inspiration for effective continuous improvement.
In addition, some of representatives EMAS registered organisations have shared their experience and brought knowledge about EMAS dissemination. It has been considered the life cycle perspective and the environmental product declaration (EPD) and possible connection to Environmental Statement, and a case study about Environmental Statement and improvements opportunities in a foundry company that manufactures brake parts for the automotive industry.
Representatives of each region and country involved in the project have provided examples of best practices on communication & dissemination (i.e. promotional issues, awards, relevance of Register...) and improvement opportunities of different scope, considering among other things, the valorisation of the Environmental Statement as tool to replace reporting obligations considered in the environmental legislation.
The workshop has allowed knowing experiences on how EMAS organizations can use their Environmental Statement as an added value in their communication strategies with interested parties, and how EMAS could be more useful tool for sustainability performance accreditation. In this sense, it has been of great interest to contemplate in the field of communication, the treatment of EMAS as a brand with a key strategy for its positioning and as a business opportunity.
The sessions were very enriching, it being created an intense final debate among partners, international experts and stakeholders about EMAS and Environmental Statement and its capacity to reinforce the communication strategy of the organizations.
Study Visits
On the second day of the Thematic Workshop, two study visits were organised to companies registered by EMAS in Andalusia.
First, the attendees visited the “AYRE SEVILLE HOTEL”, located in the Seville capital. Special attention was paid to the difference machine rooms and the main aspects of the EMAS scheme.
Finally, we visited the “VETA la Palma” fish farm located in Puebla del Río, province of Seville. This company pays special careful to its exploitation processes, which must be sustainable, since the fish farm has located in the heart of the Doñana Natural Park. From this environment, the assistants could observe diverse species of birds, like the flamingos, and aquaculture species, like the shrimps or certain fish species.
