Enhancing SME competitiveness through environmental schemes

Transcription

1 Enhancing SME competitiveness through environmental schemes Víctor Vázquez Calvo Senior Project Manager of the Environmental Unit Andalusian Institute of Technology (IAT)

2 IAT: Innovation and Technology Innovation and Technology Center. Non-profit private foundation. Recognized as public interest. Situated in Andalusia (Spain), with an office in Mexico, Chile and South Africa. Created in The IAT mission is to assist companies and institutions in improving their results making them sustainable, providing them value using innovative solutions.

3 Some references: Better Regulation Aimed at Valorising Emas - BRAVE Objective: To support the coordination of EMAS regulations with EU environmental legislation to facilitate its implementation by organizations and reduce associated administrative burdens. Boosting the Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) in European SMEs - Go4EMAS Objective: To promote the implementation of Environmental Management Systems (based on EMAS) in organizations grouped in Clubs and through an innovative methodology (e+5). Technical assistance for producing EMAS Reference Document on Best Environmental Practices in the Food and Drink Sector - JRC - IPTS. Technical assistance for the development of the Wine Products Environmental Footprint Category Rules (PEFCR) in the framework of EU Environmental Footprint Pilot Phase CEEV Comite Europeen des Entreprises des Vins.

4 How environmental management can contribute to SME competitiveness? BENEFITS, BARRIERS & TOOLS

5 Environmental Audit activities in the framework of EMS Automatic Monitoring Systems Particulate Matter Manual Monitoring Systems SO 2 Monitoring Activities Process Equipment Requirements Env. Aspects Specifications Atmosferic emissions SO2 max Particles max. 25 Sewage COD max. 400 Pb max. 1 Waste Warehouse max. 6 Destination w. manager Environmental legislation Environmental Permit Management & technological opportunities BAT & BEMP

6 SME COMPETITIVENESS BENEFITS Better legal compliance Increase of the capability of continuous monitoring (through indicators) Reduction of the possibility of sanctions. Rationalization in the use of resources (such as energy and raw materials) and, consequently, emissions reduction (such as waste, wastewater, ) Improvement of eco-efficiency in the production process Reduction of production costs. Improvement of the company s reputation and image Improvement of its relations with customers, investors, local communities and public authorities Increase of the demand of product/services. Source: BRAVE project

7 PUBLIC AUTHORITIES BARRIERS Costs of implementing the requirements associated to EMS standards. Lack of technical support and information for the implementation of these requirements. Lack of resources (time and human capital) to face the cultural gap regarding environmental matters. Lack of financial resources to invest in the improvement of environmental performance. Certification costs of the requirements associated to EMS standards. Lack of recognition and positive rewards by public authorities Source: BRAVE project

8 TOOLS / INITIATIVES With the maxim 10 days,10 people, 10 pages and 30 steps EMASeasy is designed to help the SMEs to implement EMS in several steps according to EMAS Regulation: More than 200 consultants have been trained in EMAS Easy all over Europe during the last five years. EMAS Easy was typically facilitated by a consultant in clusters of 3-5 organisations. The experience has shown that this approach reduces the burden of paperwork and external costs and this makes it more attractive for SME.

9 TOOLS / INITIATIVES EMAS Sectoral Reference Documents (SRDs) include Best Environmental Management Practices (BEMPs) for different sectors which are the most advanced in terms of environmental performance in many areas, such as energy efficiency, resource efficiency, emissions, but also supply chain management. 11 sectors covered: Retail Trade. Tourism. Construction. Public Administration. Agriculture - Crop and Animal Production. Food and Beverage Manufacturing. Electrical and Electronic Equipment Manufacturing. Car manufacturing. Waste management. Manufacture of Fabricated Metal Products. Telecommunications.

10 TOOLS / INITIATIVES Very detailed description! Standard BEMP description: Description Achieved environmental benefits Operation data Cross-media effects Applicability Economics Driving force for implementation Reference organizations Reference literature

11 TOOLS / INITIATIVES Enterprise Europe Network s technology transfer service counts on more than partnership profiles. This service allows: Looking for specific technologies to satisfy the industry needs. Technology providers boosting technology services.

12 TOOLS / INITIATIVES An Example... Technology request Technology offer

13 TOOLS / INITIATIVES EMAS Clubs are an opportunity for EMAS-registered organisations to: Promote the participation of non-registered organizations in EMAS. Work in a coordinated way with local governments in order to obtain benefits resulting from the environmental commitments the organisations have adopted. Work to increase the visibility and recognition through environmental awareness activities addressed to specific groups and to our society in general.

14 TOOLS / INITIATIVES EMAS Awards are an opportunity for EMAS-registered organisations to share and promote their Best Environmental Management Practices. An example:

15 TOOLS / INITIATIVES BRAVE project guidance tool aims at supporting and facilitating the implementation of the regulatory improvements, incentives and other simplification measures for EMASregistered organizations. The main topics in which the measures have been grouped are the following ones: Permitting procedure. Inspection and control activities. Environmental communication. Green Public Procurement. Financial guarantee. Taxes and fees and financing initiatives.

16 How environmental labelling can contribute to SME competitiveness? BENEFITS, BARRIERS & TOOLS

17 Are there too many ecolabelling schemes? Environmental labelling schemes have 2 aims: To provide consumers with a reliable and independent assessment of the environmental impact of products. To promote the production and use of products that have a reduced environmental impact.

18 SME COMPETITIVENESS 1 2 BENEFITS Eco-labels are considered by manufacturers as a valuable tool to communicate the environmental qualities and quality of their products and their companies It empowers customers to discriminate between products that are harmful to the environment and those more compatible with environmental objectives Market impacts. When consumers choose eco-labeled products they have a direct impact on supply and demand in the marketplace. 3 A dynamic market for eco-labeled products encourages a corporate commitment to continuous environmental improvement Customers expect to see the environmental impacts of products decline over time. Source: OECD report

19 1 2 3 BARRIERS Lack of data on market impacts Anecdotal evidence shows that sales have increased when an ecolabel has been obtained Eco-labels may have an important market impact when retailers specify they want to stock eco-labeled products or when they become a tool in identifying preferable products for government procurement and institutional purchasing No statistical data in general to show the market power an eco-label may confer on a product. Lack of consumer awareness Eco-labelling has been more successful in countries and regions which benefit from a higher level of consumer awareness. Lack of applicability Eco-label criteria are generally set in a way that only a small percentage of a product in a product category (5 to 30 per cent) can obtain the eco-label.

20 TOOLS / INITIATIVES Leaflets. Standards or Decisions. Guidelines and technical articles. Seminars and Workshops. Type I Etc. ZAG EPD DAP habitat DAPc Type II AENOR Global EPD Environdec System EPD Norge IBU BRE Global Association HQE tio Stichting MRPI ITB Type III

21 TOOLS / INITIATIVES In 2013, the EC launched a communication entitled Building the Single Market for Green Products: Facilitating better information on the environmental performance of products and organisations : It establishes two methods to measure environmental performance throughout the lifecycle, the PEF and the OEF. It provides principles for communicating environmental performance. It announces a 3-year testing period to develop product- and sector-specific rules (PEFCR/OEFCR) through a multi-stakeholder process.

22 THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!! Víctor Vázquez Calvo IAT Senior Project Manager of the Environmental Unit CESEAND Member Sector Group Environment Tel Fax: C/ Leonardo da Vinci, 2 Isla de La Cartuja Sevilla. España

23 IAT Sevilla - Sede central - Parque Científico Tecnológico Cartuja IAT Málaga Parque Tecnológico de Andalucía IAT Córdoba Parque Empresarial Príncipe Felipe IAT México Guadalajara Parque Tecnológico ITESM IAT Chile Antofagasta Campus Universidad IAT Suráfrica Ciudad del Cabo Oficina CTAER/IAT