Czech Republic: Workshop Papers

Implementation of the Environmental Management System (EMS) in the Czech Republic - Review and Outlook

Ladies and gentlemen,

At today's workshop I wish to briefly comment on the present situation in the Czech Republic with regard to the implementation of the EMS concept, or rather, ecologically oriented management.

First it should be emphasized that this is a volunteer activity of the business sector, both here in the Czech Republic as it is in the international context. It is legislated under national regulations and standards, by EU Council Regulation No. 1836/93 as the Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS), and will be by the standards under preparation in the ISO 14000 series. These activities and the concept as a whole are based on the experiences of companies, with various aspects of their ecological activities enforced by present legislation (for example, waste management programs, environmental impact assessment audits, procedures on labor safety and health protection, and risk analysis connected with environmental audits in the scope of privatization projects). Volunteer activity also characterizes the sphere of quality standards.

It is noteworthy that EMS applications are not realized separately, but simultaneously with the implementation of other concepts. On the one hand, they are represented by particular tools in the scope of EMS implementation; on the other, the implementation of EMS is a possible result of their application. Namely, projects aimed toward achieving cleaner production are based on a concept which stresses the systematic application of a preventive approach. And this is an efficient tool for the achievement of targets in environment protection, primarily increased production efficiency and competitiveness. Reduced impact of industrial production on the environment and a simultaneous increase in competitiveness, insofar as this forms the basis of the cleaner production concept, is usually called a 'win-win strategy' or 'eco-efficiency'. This strategy is also promoted for Czech industry by the Czech Business Council for Sustainable Development (CBCSD), which develops the concepts of ecological management stated in the 'Business Charter for Sustainable Development' adopted by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).

The common feature of the concepts of ecologically directed management and cleaner production consists of the nature of the revolving procedures usually shown in charts and cycles, leading to a constant improvement of the methodology and outputs of the given processes and therefore to the desirable degree of autonomy and auto-regulation.

The topical focus of both concepts results in a logical and mutual complement. According to V.Dobeç "...cleaner production procedures are one of the EMS tools. A systematic application of cleaner production results in an establishment of EMS and likewise, the implementation of EMS ensures a continuation of cleaner production within the company."

The history, present situation and outlook of the international EMS standardization process in the form of ISO 14000 standards represents a frequent theme of lectures, papers, and specialized workshops. I will now focus only on presenting a clear scheme of relations in the ISO 14000 'family' (see Table 1). In the roundtable session, however, I would be pleased to share more details about the session of the ISO/TC 207 in June 1995, in which I participated as a member of the Czech delegation.

Table 1
Who's who in the ISO 14000 standards family
The Structure of EMS (Environmental Management Systems)

MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS	TOOLS FOR EVALUATIONS AND AUDITS			Supporting tools focused on products
ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE EVALUATION (EPE) 14031 Methods and instructions for EPE of the management system and its relationship to the environment.		ISO 14004 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS Guidelines for the implementation of EMS. Principles and supporting systems. ISO 14001 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS Specifications. Requirements that may be objectively audited.		LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT (ICLA) 14040 LCA - general principles and guidelines 14041 LCA - goal definition/scope and inventory analysis 14042 LCA - impact assessment/analysis 14043 LCA - improvement assessment
ENVIRONMENTAL AUDITING (EA) 14010 Guidelines for EA - general principles 14011 - Guidelines for EA - audit procedures. Part 1: Auditing of environmental management systems 14012 - Guidelines for EA - Qualification criteria for environmental auditors				ENVIRONMENTAL LABELING (EL) 14020 EL - general principles for all EL 14021 EL - self-declaration environmental claims - terms and definitions 14022 EL - self-declaration environmental claims - symbols 14023 EL - self-declaration environmental claims - methods of testing and verfications 14024 EL - practitioner programs - guiding principles, practices, and certification procedures of multiple criteria programs
Terms and definitions
Additional standards			ISO 14060 GUIDE FOR THE INCLUSION OF ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTS IN PRODUCT STANDARDS

Another aspect of the entire problem is also worthy of mention. Given that EMS will soon become part of international trade, and that the possible certification of EMS in the Czech Republic must be made in view of domestic resources, the starting point is necessarily a consideration of the natural market of suppliers and (corporate) consumers. This means a larger sphere of commodities (environmental services) than covered by the concepts of EMS and cleaner production.

As for the consumers' market, either the consumer, i.e., the competent manager at the given company, is thoroughly acquainted with the environmental problem through his offices/departments/divisions, is well-equipped with staff, finances and documentation to become acquainted with and deal with the problem, and is committed to applying a wide range of ecologically oriented tools in supporting the competitiveness of the company (as is more likely the case with large companies, including those with a significant share of foreign capital). Or he is forced to seek professional assistance in accord with his financial capacity. This tends to be the case with small and medium-sized enterprises. The latter option helps the company only temporarily, and means ignoring the trends outlined earlier, thereby limiting its perspective.

Medium-sized and small enterprises without a broad knowledge of their own 'ecological activities' are therefore open to the 'offers' of the suppliers' market. The 'offer' is at present not diversified and is insufficiently specified, but still developing. The development in my opinion tends toward a certain codification of commodities on the eco-market. It should not be achieved, however, by intervention on the market, for example, by independent, auto-regulative organizations such as professional chambers or guilds.

The consumers' market in this developing area of the economy is characterized by the following trends and factors:

• international business competition. It is expected that within several years the certification system of ecologically oriented company management (i.e., under ISO 14000 standards) will be an inevitable condition for placing products (and semi-finished products) on the market, similar to the case of the quality management standards (ISO 9000) at present.
• the present trend whereby large international companies must increasingly consider consumers' perceptions regarding their own ecological behavior. This can be seen in the subjection of subsidiaries to specialized ecological audits in addition to general quality certificates.
• the trend whereby foreign banks and insurance companies offer preferential conditions given a verified level of 'ecological behavior' by the company
• public pressure encouraging the company to adopt ecological behavior and manufacture ecologically sensitive products. The term 'public' is here used in its broadest sense - from individuals and ecologically oriented non governmental institutions to consumer associations, lobby groups, trade unions, local residents, and municipal authorities. Until now pressure on producers has not been particularly strong and capable of limiting production. Based on the analogous trend in more developed countries, we may assume an increase in this factor in the Czech Republic as well.
• motivation of 'enlightened' company management, based on the concepts of sustainable development or 'eco-efficiency'.

The interest of the executive sphere and duties of the business sector resulting from environmental legislation form a logical background to the volunteer trends stated above.

It is the suppliers' market that has been developing thus far. There are an increasing number of consultants and consulting firms, research institutes and para-state organizations, foundations and ecologically oriented non governmental organizations offering accreditation in eco-auditing or quality. In addition, foreign companies with representative offices in the Czech Republic have also appeared. Those Czech companies who have thus far operated in the sphere of eco-auditing, (for example, offering environmental impact assessment (EIA) audits and risk analysis); and in waste management, landfills, ground water neutralization, management systems, and innovative technologies, are now broadening their range of services in the area of environmental management to include EMS and cleaner production. This trend is logical and natural. The question is only what will be offered, and to what degree.

The CEMC is a non-profit, non governmental association striving to help create a methodological system and structure for a range of 'services' to suit the needs of its members and the entire business sector. It offers a diversified range of individual procedures and activities, from manuals on the environmental self-assessment program (ESAP), to an offer of partial methods and a module; or detailed implementation of complex EMS systems.

The important issue is the need for discussion among prospective suppliers of EMS regarding the range of services that can be made available. In this way a rational, logical and financially appropriate market offer, compatible with the procedures used abroad, and with an appropriate level of adaptation to domestic conditions acceptable to Czech companies could be made. In the autumn of this year a number of events will take place in an attempt to deal with these problems. This will be a useful basis for elaborating a structure and content for a service which can be offered to the market.

At present CEMC is working on a project entitled 'Ecological Company Management - the Task of State Administration'. Although the results will be available only at the end of the year, I wish to present a sketch of the basic analyses (see Tables 2, 3 and 4). The stated schemes represent a partial interpretation of the document called the 'State Policy on Environmental Protection'. CEMC is also preparing several other programs and projects related to the topics discussed. The intended focal point is the Environmental Management Training program and distribution of the EMS manual prepared in the scope of the UNEP/ICC/FIDIC project. This project will also see an inventory of Czech and foreign companies (for example, consultants) dealing with the implementation and/or certification of EMS standards (including EMAS) in the Czech Republic. The result should be a respective database and a periodically supplemented catalogue.

Table 2
Implementation of EMAS (Council Regulation 1836/93) in the countries of the European Union and Norway

COUNTRY	Competent body				Accrediting body			Need for state regulation			Experimental implementation
	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	X	Y	?	X	Y	?
Belgium	.	.	*	.	*	.	.	.	*	.	.	*	.
Denmark	*	.	.	.	.	.	*	*	.	.	*	.	.
Finland	*	.	.	.	*	.	.	*	.	.	*	.	.
France	*	.	.	.	*	.	.	.	.	*	*	.	.
Ireland	.	*	.	.	*	.	.	.	*	.	.	*	.
Italy	*	.	.	.	.	*	.	*	.	.	.	.	*
Luxembourg	*	.	.	.	.	*	.	*	.	.	.	*	.
Germany	.	.	*	.	.	.	*	*	.	.	*	.	.
Holland	.	.	.	*	*	.	.	.	*	.	.	*	.
Norway*	*	.	.	.	*	.	.	*	.	.	.	*	.
Portugal	.	.	.	*	.	*	.	*	.	.	.	*	.
Austria	*	.	.	.	*	.	.	*	.	.	*	.	.
Greece	*	.	.	.	*	.	.	.	.	*	.	.	*
Spain	.	.	*	.	.	.	*	.	.	*	*	.	.
Sweden	*	.	.	.	.	.	*	*	.	.	.	*	.
Great Britain	*	.	.	.	*	.	.	.	*	.	*	.	.
TOTAL 16	10	1	3	2	9	3	4	9	4	3	7	7	2

* Norway is not an EU member

Legend for table 2:

• A=Ministry of Environment, one of its departments, a subordinated body or other ad hoc competent/accrediting body for EMS associated with the Ministry of Environment
• B=Ireland - National Accreditating Council
• C=Belgium, Germany, Spain - not a well-defined structure, including competent bodies operating at the regional level (states and autonomous regions)
• D=Other solution - Holland (foundation), Portugal (presently the Ministry of Industry)
• E=National accrediting/certifying body
• F=Ministry of Environment
• G=Other solution
• X=yes (e.g., partial regulation including a regional regulation; or experimental implementation - e.g., a pilot programme)
• Y=no
• ?=not known

General commentary for Table 2:

• Prevailing type of national, competent or accrediting bodies:
• 10 competent bodies closely related to the Ministry of Environment.
• 9 accrediting bodies - with established national accreditation (+/- certification) programmes.
• National legislation or other regulatory amendments needed in 9 states.
• A special EMAS Act has already been adopted in Finland.
• In 7 states EMAS has already been tested and implemented in several fields (e.g., tourism, gas transport, transport in general, railways, and transport of hazardous substances). In two states, pilot programmes (Finland) or outline programmes (Denmark) are currently running.
• In 7 states there has been no experimental introduction of EMAS.

Table 3
The State'e role in realisation of volunteer activities in the industrial sector
Present situation:

Table 4
The State'e role in realisation of volunteer activities in the industrial sector
Outlook:

Finally I wish to express my conviction that the EMS represents one of the most rapidly developing spheres on the services market and that it will soon become an efficient tool for both environment protection and a simultaneous increase of management efficiency.

Thank you for your attention.