EMAS as a Nest to Help And Nurture the Circular Economy

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Organizations, large and Small and Medium sized enterprises (SMEs),are increasingly aware of the benefits of closing loops by improving resource efficiency: saving material costs, creating competitive advantages and new markets are among the main reasons for organisations to take action.At this respect, the EcoManagement and Audit Scheme (EMAS) is considered as a driver of the Circular Economy by encouraging organisations to develop techniques which make better use of resources in the production phase and retain physical goods longer and more efficiently in productive use, thus increasing their competitiveness.Starting from these considerations, ENHANCE project overall objective is to improve the implementation of regional policy instruments oriented to increasing the efficiency of resources by the exchange of experiences and practices on supporting EMAS registration. Main barriers perceived by EMAS adopters are:lack of EMAS recognition from the market and Public Authorities (PA),technical support from PA and external incentives; high cost, etc. In this regard, the role of PA supporting EMAS as a competent body becomes essential in order to remove these barriers and to encourage organizations to adopt EMAS through various means, such as reducing the technical barriers for EMAS adoption,enhancing benefits derived from EMAS, public subsidies and rewarding EMAS implementers with reduced enforcement (e.g.,regulatory relief).Derived from the activities to be carried, such expected changes shall become effective upon the production of these main outputs: 1)Regional Studies on supporting EMAS registration 2)Methodology to assess the feasibility of good practices on supporting EMAS registration 3)EMAS Joint Database. 4)Thematic workshops to exchange experiences 5)Regional Studies on the exchange process 6)Toward EMAS Action Plans.Main beneficiaries from the cooperation will be PA, but direct effects resulting from the project will also affect organizations as EMAS adopters

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