INERCO PARTICIPATES IN THE LIFE BRAVER PROJECT, WHICH STIMULATES THE UPTAKE OF EMAS IN THE EUROPEAN UNION

INERCO – together with partners from Italy, the Czech Republic, Slovenia and Cyprus – is implementing the LIFE BRAVER Project, an undertaking of the European Union (EU) which supports the full integration of the Eco—Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) in the regulatory framework of the EU Member States.

This initiative aims to encourage more organisations to join this voluntary scheme of environmental certification, by reducing and simplifying the administrative and economic burdens for EMAS-registered organizations, which will facilitate a more efficient implementation of environmental legislation.

The working methodology includes the review of existing legislation, the design of new proposals for better regulation and regulatory relief and the assessment of their viability and effectiveness, so that at least one new measure is adopted in each of the regions and countries involved in the project.

The role of INERCO within this project is twofold. On the one hand, it acts throughout the project as the Spanish partner in charge of facilitating the implementation of improvement measures at a regional level in Andalusia, Catalonia, Madrid and the Basque Country, the four Spanish regions involved in the project. And, on the other hand, it is the leader in communication, training and awareness actions aimed at disseminating the outcomes obtained by the entire consortium.

After the completion of the analysis of the state-of-the-art for the effectiveness of existing measures, next phase has already begun targeting the preparation of proposals for new incentives and regulatory relief measures. In this context, in October a joint meeting of the four regional working groups took place at the INERCO headquarters in Seville, where the existing measures at European, national and regional level were presented.

The discussion phase on the proposals for candidate measures to be implemented at each region is currently being addressed and, as of January, it is planned to incorporate other stakeholders.