SELF-REGULATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL LAW

Self-regulation and environmental management are becoming more and more important in European environmental law. This article discusses the possibilities of and constraints on ‘transplanting’ certain parts of environmental management systems to public policy and regulations. For instance, does certification of these systems contribute to environmental performance and legal compliance or is it merely a useful tool for ‘environmental advertising’? Furthermore, critical comments are made about the future of the European Environmental Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS). To survive the competition with the international standard for environmental management ISO 14000, the European Commission will have to decide whether EMAS is to become a set of minimum criteria for the implementation of an environmental management system that is suitable for the entire business community or a standard of excellence that benefits only front-runner companies.

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1. Introduction

2. Certified EMSs between expectations and legal reality

2.1 An EMS and environmental performance

2.2 EMS certification and compliance

2.3 External information and communication

3. Market-oriented certification versus public-policy-related eco-management and audit schemes

3.1 Management tool or administrative regulation?

3.2 Private certification versus public inspection

3.3 The consequences of a troublesome mixture of different regulatory systems

4. Critical choices to be made

5. EMS as a general administrative technique to manage environmental performance

6. An example of a “smarter” enforcement strategy

6.1 Performance Track

6.2 Inspection frequencies and sanctions

7. Conclusions

Notes