Brussels, 24/09/2009 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission wants to remain at the political forefront of tackling global climate change. On Wednesday 23 September, it decided to extend its environmental management system to all its activities and buildings in Brussels and Luxembourg. With its certification scheme - based on the EMAS regulation (Eco-Management and Audit Scheme) - the Commission is implementing a system that defines and evaluates environmental aspects of its activities, bringing increased energy efficiency, optimal use of natural resources and reduction of CO2 emissions.
“The Commission committed as early as 1997 to 'green housekeeping' which led it to evaluate, report on and reduce the environmental impact of its activities through the pilot implementation of the EMAS regulation. By extending EMAS further in the Commission, we build on our accumulated experience to face the challenge of continuously reducing our environmental footprint in the years to come,” said Commission Vice-President with responsibility for administrative affairs, audit and anti-fraud Siim Kallas.
What, though, is the significance of extending EMAS to all Commission buildings in Brussels and Luxembourg? The decision taken in September 2001 to apply EMAS throughout the institution stated that there would first be a pilot phase, followed by a general roll-out of the system across the whole Commission once the pilot had been assessed and evaluated. In October 2008, the EMAS Governing Board (made up of the heads of the services involved) declared the pilot phase had been successful and recommended extending EMAS to all Commission directorates and buildings not only in Brussels, but also in Luxembourg. All the Commission buildings, then, in these two locations are now involved in a move affecting some 35,000 members of staff and more than 70 buildings with a total floor area of some 1.2 million square metres. For the moment the executive agencies and the Joint Research Centre (JRC) have not been included in the EMAS scheme. Official EMAS registration by the competent national authorities should be completed in 2012 for all Commission activities, and in 2014 for all buildings. Registration of premises in Brussels is expected to take place in 2014. An overall registration plan containing the phased inclusion of Commission buildings in Luxembourg will be presented in due course.
Main achievements of EMAS pilot phase in Brussels (2002- 2008)
Buildings. (Only the 23 buildings in Brussels currently covered by EMAS have been used in these calculations.) Savings per person in 19 office buildings since 2002 have been: - 7% per m² reduction in CO2 emissions (equivalent to -5kg/m²), 14% less electricity per m² (-23kWh/m²), 23% reduction in water per m² (-132l/m²). Total savings only in the Berlaymont building since 2005 amount to: 26% less CO2 emissions per m² (a reduction of 3,710 tonnes), a 21% reduction in combined gas and electricity use (-12,477 MWh). Since August 2009, the Commission has been under contract to purchase all of its high voltage electricity from green sources, which represents 95% of total electricity consumption of its Brussels premises.
Transport. Over the last few years, the Commission, working in close partnership with the Brussels Region, has supported efforts to promote the use of public transport and encourage other forms of sustainable transport, especially cycling. A staff mobility plan has been in place at the Commission since 2006, and several similar measures have been taken since 1999. The results of a 2008 survey on the forms of transport used by Commission staff to commute to work in Brussels demonstrated the positive impact of Commission efforts to promote sustainable means of transport. The Commission has a fleet of 300 service bicycles, which were used to make 26,000 journeys in 2008, a 12% increase on the previous year.
In terms of public transport, the Commission has subsidised two bus routes in Brussels since 1997, has provided free travel passes for its staff in Luxembourg since 2008 and reimburses trips made for work by underground or tram in Brussels.
Waste reduction. 15 different types of waste are collected at the European Commission, from paper to used cooking oil from the kitchens. In 2008, total waste generation amounted to 294kg/person, compared with 331kg/person in 2002. Despite a 34% increase in staffing over the same period, the total amount of waste generated has risen by only 20% (7,328 tonnes in 2008 for the whole of the Commission). 54% of all waste is recycled. 98% of paper is recycled, and 64% of ink cartridges. More than 60% of computing material that is no longer wanted is given to charitable organisations to be re-used or recycled.
Paper. The quantity of office paper used per person - recycled paper with an environmental label - has fallen 41% since 2003, from 88 sheets per person per day to 51 sheets/person/day (saving 435 tonnes of paper per year), thanks in particular to more widespread use of double-sided printing and awareness-raising campaigns among staff. Considerable effort was also made with the offset paper used in printing, for example, through more stringent control of colour printing and using a lighter paper. Consumption fell by 48% between 2002 and 2008 (a saving of 343 tonnes of paper per year).
All contracts for the purchase of materials prepared by DG Informatics take environmental criteria into account.
EMAS being a Europe-wide system, a great many different bodies are involved in it. The Copenhagen-based European Environment Agency, for example, became EMAS registered in 2004 and the three European Parliament sites, in Brussels, Luxembourg and Strasbourg, in 2007. The Committee of the Regions and the European Economic and Social Committee also apply EMAS and are expected to become registered in 2010. (L.C./transl.rt)