Division (d) Synergies between Community Eco-label and EMAS

The complementary and mutually supportive roles of the Community Eco-label and EMAS need to be analysed and upgraded to a real partnership in light of the revision of the two schemes. Close co-operation and a clear understanding of how they will work together is essential to assure the success of both schemes. As was stated in the previous working plan, a company that has EMAS or ISO 14001 is clearly one that is systematically managed from the environmental point of view and is continuously improving its environmental performance over and above minimum legal requirements. A product bearing the Community Eco-label is clearly one of the best from an environmental point of view. A company with EMAS would benefit from using the Community Eco-label criteria in its environmental policy as a clear and positive environmental objective for its products. Clear environmental performance targets can be drawn from the implementation of the Eco-label criteria. A company that has, or wants, the Eco-label for its products would benefit from using EMAS to manage and maintain its compliance with all the related criteria, while at the same time profiting from the expanded marketing opportunities. Under the Community Eco-label Scheme, various fee reductions e.g. for EMAS and ISO 14001 certified companies, SMEs and first movers have become possible.