Written question asked by Lord Dykes (Liberal Democrat), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Lord Rooker (Labour) on Monday, 29 January 2007.

Environmental Management

Question: asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the current Eco-Management and Audit Scheme logo system for United Kingdom and European companies' products is an efficient way of indicating effective environmental best practice to customers.

Answer: The European Union (EU) Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) is a voluntary environmental registration scheme that aims to encourage organisations to improve their environmental performance. Organisations are encouraged to implement an environmental management system and to issue a public statement on their performance. EMAS is not designed to apply to products and, with very few exceptions, the scheme's logo does not appear on products. There is, however, a separate EU scheme—the ecolabel—which has been designed for that purpose and which is currently available for more than 20 different categories of product.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 1477; 689 c4WA
Session: 2006-07
Subjects: Companies Environment protection EU action Ecolabelling Environmental audit
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk