(08 April 2014) – The European Commission announced the winners of this year’s European Eco-Management and Audit Scheme Awards in Hannover, Germany, last night.
The European Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) is a management tool for organisations aiming to improve their environmental and financial performance and communicate their environmental achievements.
In 2005 the European Commission introduced the EMAS awards to recognise examples of excellence in environmental management among the wide range of registered organisations.
This year’s winners, selected from 29 entries, are VAS. & EK. KOTTARIDI G.P. (Greece), HR Björkmans Entrémattor AB (Sweden), Sächsische Bildungsgesellschaft Dresden mbH and Umweltbundesamt (Germany), Voestalpine VAE + Weichensysteme + HYTRONICS GmbH (Austria), Aeropuerto de Menorca Aena-Aeropuertos S.A. (Spain). Among the winners,
- VAS. & EK. KOTTARIDI G.P. (Greece) is a micro-enterprise which produces barbecue briquettes made from Greek olive pits. The briquettes are the first green product of their kind, produced in an innovative and environmentally-friendly manner from waste material;
- Umweltbundesamt (Germany), the German federal scientific agency for the environment, built the first zero-energy public building in Germany, ‘Haus 2019’, in 2013. It fulfils the EU legal requirements on energy efficiency for public buildings six years in advance, and should encourage others to follow.