Good Practices Action Plans Lessons learnt Data & Indicators

The ENHANCE project (2017-2020) focused on integrating the EU Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) into regional policies to drive the transition to a circular economy. By collaborating across six European regions, the project identified 24 good practices and implemented 31 actions, primarily focusing on regulatory reliefs and promotional incentives. Key achievements include the reduction of financial guarantees for waste companies in Estonia, tax reductions for EMAS organizations in Catalonia, and the integration of EMAS as an award criterion in Austrian green public procurement. The project engaged 375 stakeholders and concluded that stakeholder involvement and clear financial incentives are critical for the successful implementation of environmental policy instruments.

• The ENHANCE project identified 24 good practices for supporting EMAS, 11 of which were validated and included in the Policy Learning Platform database. These practices include reduced reporting requirements, funding for SME resource efficiency, and the use of EMAS as a criterion for reducing environmental inspection frequencies.
• Across the six partner regions, 31 actions were planned to improve policy instruments. Of these, 23 were finalized, 6 are in progress, and 2 were delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. The actions focused on 12 types of regulatory reliefs and promotional incentives, most notably green public procurement (7 actions) and regulatory reliefs (9 actions).
• In Catalonia, Spain, the project led to the publication of Law 5/2020 on April 29th, which introduced significant fee reductions for EMAS organizations: a 75% reduction for environmental authorization procedures and on-site inspections, and a 50% reduction for greenhouse gas emission authorization applications under the EU Emissions Trading Scheme.
• In Estonia, an amendment to the Waste Act (§ 983) exempted EMAS-registered companies from financial guarantees related to waste depositing. This measure significantly increased EMAS adoption, with 7 out of the 10 major waste management companies in Estonia starting implementation.
• Austria integrated EMAS into its green public procurement (GPP) processes, specifically in the construction, maintenance, and waste management sectors. In the awarding process for construction and maintenance, EMAS organizations receive 100% of available points, while ISO organizations receive 80%.
• In the Czech Republic, the Czech Environmental Inspectorate (CEI) updated its Internal Risk Assessment Framework to extend the frequency of inspections by one year for EMAS-registered companies, provided there is no high-risk potential.
• The project engaged 375 representatives from 248 organizations. The stakeholder group was composed of 49% enterprises and other organizations, 20% public administrations and regulatory bodies, 10% consultants, 7% accredited verifiers, and 5% enterprise associations.
• A primary lesson learned is that improving policy instruments is nearly impossible without stakeholder engagement, as reliefs must be technically, economically, and legally viable while remaining attractive to the target audience.
• The project identified a systemic barrier where the lack of EMAS inclusion in European-level policy instruments makes it more difficult to implement such measures at the state or regional level.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2021). Good Practices Action Plans Lessons learnt Data & Indicators. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/final-report-of-enhance-project.pdf

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. Good Practices Action Plans Lessons learnt Data & Indicators. 2021. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/final-report-of-enhance-project.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=Good Practices Action Plans Lessons learnt Data & Indicators |date=2021 |url=https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/final-report-of-enhance-project.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2021good, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{Good Practices Action Plans Lessons learnt Data \& Indicators}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2021}, url = {https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/final-report-of-enhance-project.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }