EMAS audit

Why choose us to carry out your EMAS internal audit?

With EmasConsultors, your company benefits from an efficient, independent EMAS internal audit focused on continuous improvement, ensuring sound environmental management and European recognition through EMAS registration. Key reasons why you should choose us to carry out your EMAS internal audit:

Proven experience as an EMAS consultancy

At EmasConsultors, we specialise in environmental management systems and EMAS verification, offering technical and strategic support that guarantees real and sustainable results.

We have over 25 years’ experience helping organisations across various sectors to implement, maintain and audit environmental management systems in accordance with ISO 14001 and EMAS. Our track record makes us a leading name in environmental consultancy throughout Spain.

We carry out objective and transparent internal EMAS audits, ensuring complete impartiality with regard to the client’s management system. Our EMAS auditors focus on delivering added value through a thorough and professional technical review.

Our team has a thorough understanding of all the requirements of Regulation 1221/2009, ensuring that your organisation complies with the regulations, maintains a verified environmental statement and achieves certified continuous environmental improvement.

As they are also familiar with the requirements of other standards such as ISO 14001 on environmental management, ISO 50001 on energy efficiency and ISO 14006 on eco-design, we can add further value to the audit.

Beyond simply meeting EMAS requirements, we help to improve environmental performance, reduce consumption, optimise processes and enhance your company’s reputation. Every audit is an opportunity to strengthen sustainability and boost your company’s competitiveness.

At EmasConsultors, we offer a personalised and approachable service, tailored to the specific needs of each organisation. We are committed to building long-lasting relationships based on trust, transparency and technical excellence.

We operate throughout the country: Barcelona, Madrid, Bilbao, Valencia, Girona and Tarragona, amongst other locations.

With a high-quality EMAS consultancy service, your organisation will benefit from a rigorous internal audit focused on environmental improvement, transparency and sustainable competitiveness.

FAQs – EMAS Audit

Which standards can be audited alongside EMAS?

The EMAS Regulation is fully compatible with other international management standards, enabling integrated audits and optimising resources. The main standards that can be audited alongside EMAS are:

  • ISO 14001 – Environmental management. EMAS incorporates the requirements of ISO 14001, so both can be audited simultaneously. EMAS adds a higher level of transparency and environmental communication through the verified Environmental Statement.
  • ISO 9001 – Quality management. Thanks to the High-Level Structure (HLS), ISO 9001 quality and environmental audits can be integrated, improving process efficiency and document consistency.
  • ISO 45001 – Occupational health and safety. It facilitates joint auditing with EMAS to manage occupational risks, in accordance with ISO 45001, and environmental risks in an integrated manner.
  • ISO 50001 – Energy management. It enables the coordination of environmental and energy objectives, optimising energy efficiency with the ISO 50001 certificate within the EMAS system.
  • Ecovadis / IQNet SR10 / Forética SGE21 – Social responsibility and sustainability. Although these are not formal ISO certifications, their principles of sustainability, ethics and good governance can be audited in a manner complementary to the EMAS system.

Auditing EMAS alongside other ISO standards reduces time, avoids duplication and strengthens the integrated management of quality, the environment, safety and sustainability.

The EMAS (Eco-Management and Audit Scheme) audit assesses whether the EMAS certificate has been correctly implemented and maintained. The annual internal audit is a requirement of EMAS. The purpose of the EMAS audit is:

  • To determine the system’s compliance with the requirements of Regulation 1221/2009 and its subsequent amendments.
  • To assess the correct implementation and maintenance of the environmental management system in accordance with EMAS requirements. An integrated audit may be carried out alongside other standards, such as ISO 14001 or ISO 9001.
  • To verify the efficiency and effectiveness of the management system and its capacity for continuous improvement.
  • To provide useful information to management for analysing the effectiveness and efficiency of the EMAS management system, helping to set objectives.

Internal audits must be carried out by independent and objective personnel. The internal auditor may be a specifically trained employee of the organisation or an external auditor from an EMAS consultancy. The important thing is to ensure impartiality and technical competence in the assessment of the environmental management system.

The annual audit programme must include:

  • Specific objectives of the EMAS audit and the requirements to be audited.
  • Activities and processes to be audited, together with the environmental criteria assessed.
  • The planned schedule for each activity to be audited.
  • An assessment of the system’s consistency and its level of implementation in relation to the environmental policy and programme.
  • Verification of compliance with applicable environmental legal and non-legal requirements.

This programme must cover, as a minimum, all activities within a three-year cycle. The frequency of audits may vary depending on the scale, complexity or environmental impact of each activity, as well as on the results of previous EMAS audits.

The EMAS audit process must follow a structured sequence:

  • Understanding the scope of the environmental management system.
  • Analysis of the context and stakeholders to assess risks, opportunities and environmental aspects, as well as the system’s SWOT analysis.
  • Collection of evidence (data, records, documents, interviews, always in accordance with the internal audit plan).
  • Analysis and evaluation of the system’s implementation to determine continuous improvement in environmental performance, as well as to verify compliance with applicable legal requirements. This is carried out whilst evidence is being collected.
  • Verification of the Environmental Statement. This is an essential tool for the transparency and reliability of the environmental data reported. It is a tool to build confidence among customers, public authorities and stakeholders.
  • Preparation of the Audit Report containing conclusions on the effectiveness and efficiency of the system.
  • Formal communication of results and recommendations to management.

The audit team must submit an environmental audit report to management setting out the results of the EMAS audit. This report shall include:

  • The scope of the audit (covering both the activities to be audited and the requirements audited)
  • Documented evidence gathered during the audit. This is normally attached as audit notes in the Annex. Among other points, it includes an assessment of the consistency between the objectives and the environmental policy.
  • Non-conformities, observations and opportunities for improvement identified. This involves describing the level of compliance with EMAS requirements. Subsequently, we can help you establish corrective actions and improvement measures.
  • Audit conclusions. These specify whether the management system complies with EMAS requirements and whether it is effective and efficient.

The audit report must be signed by the lead auditor.

Conducting an integrated EMAS and ISO audit allows for a joint assessment of the various management systems (environmental, quality, energy, health and safety) using a more efficient and coherent approach. The main advantages are:

  • Optimisation of resources: audit time, costs and the administrative burden are reduced by carrying out a single review for multiple systems.
  • Holistic view of management: processes are analysed from an integrated perspective, identifying synergies between quality, the environment, energy and safety.
  • Consistency in continuous improvement: facilitates the identification of common corrective and improvement actions, aligned with the organisation’s objectives.
  • More effective compliance: ensures that the company simultaneously meets the requirements of EMAS and ISO 14001 for environmental management, ISO 9001 for quality management, ISO 45001 for occupational health and safety, and ISO 50001 for energy efficiency, avoiding duplication.
  • Strengthening reputation and sustainability: demonstrates a commitment to excellence, transparency and sustainable development to customers, authorities and stakeholders.

As an environmental consultancy specialising in EMAS, Emasconsultors provides advice on all aspects of EMAS, including achieving EMAS verification, conducting audits, training internal auditors, and maintaining EMAS to improve your management system through our ISO outsourcing service.

Contact us to prepare for your next internal EMAS environmental audit and ensure compliance with the European Regulation.

All administrative procedures and verification requirements are governed by the EMAS Regulation (Regulation (EC) No 1221/2009 and subsequent amendments), which is the European Union’s official legislation on environmental excellence.

The validity of the EMAS certificate depends on the renewal of the Environmental Statement. Generally, organisations must undergo an annual validation and a full renewal audit every three years (with exceptions for SMEs under the “EMAS Easy” scheme).

Although they are compatible, EMAS environmental certification goes a step further in terms of transparency. It requires the publication of a validated Environmental Statement and proof of legal compliance, which confers greater prestige with public authorities and international markets.