The EMAS environmental management system at the UFZ

The Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) holds the general mandate to develop concepts and processes to safeguard the natural foundations of life. In its environmental guidelines, the UFZ not only undertakes to act in accordance with the principles of sustainable development of our society in research, but also to implement this in operational processes.

For this reason, the UFZ decided as early as 2002 to introduce the European Union's Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS). EMAS is a demanding management system that has the overarching goal of continuously improving the environmental performance of an institution or company. To ensure that environmental performance is comprehensible and transparent, an external environmental auditor checks the UFZ's sites and the published environmental information for accuracy. The UFZ is only validated after the test has been passed and only then can the seal of quality, the EMAS logo, be used. The UFZ successfully passed the test for the first time in 2004. Since then, the UFZ has successfully undergone the annual external reviews.

Implementation of the management system

To implement EMAS, the UFZ goes through an annual improvement process. It begins with the formulation of an environmental programme, which defines both environmental goals and measures. In large institutions, such as the UFZ with its over 1,100 employees, such an implementation is not possible without a working controlling system. The environmental management system and the environmental audit help to achieve this. The environmental management system organises the collection of environmentally relevant data and the filing of documents such as legal regulations and audit reports. It also defines the necessary organisational structure and regulates responsibilities, behaviour and formal procedures in the environmental handbook.

The subsequent internal environmental audit checks whether the EMAS environmental management system is applied at the UFZ: Do the employees know the rules and regulations relevant to them? Are they aware of the environmental guidelines and do they implement the environmental measures? Do employees have suggestions for new environmental goals to be included in the environmental programme?

Experience shows that without a functioning environmental committee, environmental management systems eventually cease to be used. The UFZ's Environmental Committee meets regularly and is made up of representatives from management as well as from the areas of research, administration, infrastructure and communication. At the meetings, environmentally relevant topics are discussed (environmental goals and measures, implementation of internal audits, preparation for external assessment) and decisions are prepared. Thus, the committee is an important link to the entire workforce.

At the end of an annual management cycle, the UFZ publishes its significant environmental impacts and environmental measures in an environmental statement. An external environmental auditor checks the validity of the information provided in the environmental statement and carries out site inspections (external audit). Only now, after passing validation, is the UFZ allowed to use the EMAS logo.