EBBC - EMAS Guidance

Guidance on biodiversity in environmental management systems

The guideline “Guidance 2023 – How to address biodiversity protection through environmental management systems” helps companies and organizations to integrate the complex field of action of biodiversity step by step into the operational environmental management in order to reduce negative impacts on biodiversity in a structured and continuous way.

Reporting on the organization's impacts on biodiversity is one of the formal criteria of environmental management systems such as the European Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS). The guidance complements the EMAS indicators for management and reporting by highlighting activities and their potential impact on biodiversity and suggesting examples of metrics or indicators. The guidance in the guide is not only EMAS but also suitable for all other environmental management systems.

The guide is published by the Lake Constance Foundation and the Global Nature Fund, as part of the project "Unternehmen biologische Vielfalt" (UBi), which is supported by the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) with funds from the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV).

The publication can be downloaded here.

Background

Together with climate change, the protection of biodiversity is one of the greatest challenges facing us humans. Biodiversity affects our economy, health and well-being. The air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat and most of the materials we use in our daily lives depend directly on biodiversity.

The EMAS environmental management system has the potential to help all organizations improve their biodiversity performance. EMAS has concrete references or requirements regarding biodiversity in the EMAS environmental assessment as well as in the reporting within the EMAS environmental statement. Thus, EMAS clearly underlines the ambition to address aspects of biodiversity in an integrated way.

Positive examples of biodiversity management

Using practical company examples, we explain how aspects of biodiversity are implemented as part of the environmental program and report on results and experiences made to date.

You want to (better) integrate biodiversity into your company?

Feel free to contact us!

 Stefan Hörmann - Project Manager

Stefan Hörmann

Global Nature Fund
Business and Biodiversity
+49 228 1848694 11
hoermann@globalnature.org