EMAS (Regulation (EC) No 1221/2009) is the European Union's Eco-Management and Audit Scheme: a voluntary step beyond ISO 14001 that adds a verified public environmental statement and official registration with the public administration. We guide you through implementation, the environmental statement and audit preparation; the ENAC-accredited verifier and the competent body of your region are the ones who verify and register.
The Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) is governed by Regulation (EC) No 1221/2009 and applied in Spain through Royal Decree 239/2013. It is a voluntary European Commission instrument, largely parallel to ISO 14001 — Regulation (EU) 2017/1505 aligned EMAS with the ISO 14001:2015 revision — but with added requirements: as MITECO explains, EMAS requires a verified, public environmental statement, obliges active staff involvement, and only admits organisations fully up to date with applicable environmental legislation. In short: EMAS = ISO 14001 + verified environmental statement + public registration with the administration. If your company already holds ISO 14001, moving to EMAS means drafting the environmental statement, having it verified and registering it; if not, we implement ISO 14001 first as the foundation.
The path to registration combines consulting work with two independent third-party interventions: an accredited environmental verifier and the competent body of your region. In 2023 the European Commission updated the EMAS User's Guide (Decision (EU) 2023/2463), which keeps the process at eight steps, grouped here into the five phases summarised below.
Summum Calidad is a consultancy, not a verifier or registering body. We support the initial environmental review, the design or adaptation of the management system, the drafting of the environmental statement and the documentary preparation for verification. We do not verify or certify: that role belongs exclusively to an environmental verifier accredited by ENAC — Spain has nine accredited bodies, including AENOR, Bureau Veritas, DNV, SGS and Applus+ — and final registration is decided by the competent body appointed by your region. This separation of roles — consultancy, verifier, administration — is required by Regulation 1221/2009 itself and is what gives the EMAS seal its credibility.
EMAS is not just an image commitment: it carries concrete regulatory advantages in Spain. Law 9/2017 on Public Sector Contracts (Article 94) lets contracting authorities require environmental management certificates as a technical solvency criterion in tenders. Law 26/2007 on Environmental Liability (Article 28) raises from €300,000 to €2,000,000 the potential-damage threshold exempt from posting a financial guarantee for organisations with permanent adherence to EMAS or ISO 14001. Law 7/2022 on Waste (Article 18.7) exempts EMAS-certified producers whose statement includes minimisation measures from the obligation to hold a hazardous-waste minimisation plan. And Royal Decree 815/2013 on Industrial Emissions allows the competent authority to consider certain IPPC control obligations as met for EMAS-certified facilities.
Spain ranks third in the European Union for registered EMAS organisations — 853, with 1,443 sites, according to the European Commission's official infographic from November 2024 — behind Germany and Italy. The European register keeps growing: the Commission itself counted 4,450 organisations in May 2026, up from 4,101 at the end of 2024.
We review your starting point: environmental aspects and impacts, applicable legal compliance and, if you already hold ISO 14001, how mature the system is. This review sets the real scope of what needs to be built or completed.
We design or adapt the environmental management system to EMAS requirements (which incorporate those of ISO 14001): environmental policy, objectives, operational control, staff involvement and internal audit.
We draft the environmental statement under Annex IV of Regulation 1221/2009, as updated by Regulation (EU) 2018/2026: description of the organisation, policy and management system, and key environmental performance indicators with verifiable data.
We prepare the documentation and a mock audit so the ENAC-accredited environmental verifier can examine the system, visit the site, interview staff and validate the environmental statement. Summum does not act as the verifying party: we support the organisation, and verification is carried out by an independent third party.
The operational detail: what we deliver as part of the work and what we keep alive afterwards.
Initial environmental review
Diagnosis of environmental aspects, impacts and legal compliance — the mandatory starting point for designing the system.
EMS design and implementation
Environmental management system built to EMAS requirements, or adaptation of your existing ISO 14001: policy, objectives, operational control and internal audit.
Environmental statement (Annex IV)
Drafting of the public document with the key environmental performance indicators required by Regulation 1221/2009, as updated by Regulation (EU) 2018/2026.
Verification preparation
Mock audit, documentary review and support during the visit of the ENAC-accredited environmental verifier.
Regional registration file
Preparation and submission of the documentation to the competent body of your region.
Annual follow-up and three-year renewal
Yearly update of the environmental statement and full renewal of the validation every 3 years (every 4 years for small organisations, Article 7 of the Regulation).
EMAS builds on an already operating environmental management system, draws on carbon footprint data for its key indicators, and strengthens the organisation's ESG standing with clients, investors and public administrations.
ISO 14001 is the foundation of the environmental management system on which the move to EMAS is built; if your company doesn't have it yet, we implement it first.
View service → calidadCarbon footprint calculation provides verifiable data that feeds directly into the EMAS environmental statement's indicators.
View service → calidadThe public transparency EMAS requires strengthens the organisation's ESG standing with clients, investors and public administrations.
View service →There is no single timeframe: it depends on whether your organisation already holds ISO 14001 (the move is faster) or starts from scratch. What the regulation does fix are the administrative deadlines: the competent regional body must resolve the registration request within 3 months, with positive administrative silence once that period elapses (Royal Decree 239/2013); and the verifier must cover the entire environmental management system within a maximum of 36 months, with a validated update every year and a full statement every 3 years.
Both share largely the same technical base — EMAS incorporated the ISO 14001:2015 revision through Regulation (EU) 2017/1505 — but EMAS adds three requirements ISO 14001 does not: a verified, public environmental statement, active staff involvement, and official registration with the administration. In short: EMAS = ISO 14001 + verified environmental statement + public registration.
Two independent third parties, neither of them Summum Calidad. Verifying and validating the environmental statement is the job of an environmental verifier accredited by ENAC (Spain has nine accredited bodies: AENOR, Bureau Veritas, DNV, SGS, Applus+ and others). Final registration is decided by the competent body appointed by each region (for example, in Castilla y León, the Environmental Assessment Service of the Regional Ministry of the Environment). Summum supports implementation and preparation; we do not verify or register.
It is the public, verified document required by Regulation 1221/2009, with content updated by Regulation (EU) 2018/2026: it describes the organisation, its environmental policy and management system, and presents key environmental performance indicators with verifiable data. It is validated with a yearly update and in full every 3 years (every 2 and 4 years, respectively, for small organisations under Article 7 of the Regulation).
Yes. Article 94 of Law 9/2017 on Public Sector Contracts lets contracting authorities require, as a technical solvency criterion, certificates from independent bodies confirming compliance with environmental management standards such as EMAS. It is one of the most concrete regulatory advantages over other voluntary certifications.
There is no single official fee. According to MITECO's own FAQ, verifier fees are set freely by each accredited body based on the organisation's size and complexity, and the registration or renewal fee is set independently by each regional competent body. We help you estimate the real effort for your case and confirm the fee currently in force in your region before you decide.