Project Objective and Introduction

The overall objective of the NEST project was the delivery of a sustainable and simple approach to EMAS implementation to small and under-resourced local authorities in countries with low EMAS participation (Greece and New Member states).

The expected results of the project were the development of effective EMAS implementation tools and the successful verification amongst the partner municipalities.

The project was coordinated by Kirklees Council in the UIK with support from consultancy, Global to Local Ltd. 10 The municipalities in Poland, Hungary, and Greece were partners in the project. In Poland these were Trzebina, Olkusz and Plock. In Hungary, the municipalities of Dunaujvaros, Gyor, Sopron and Miskolc, and in Greece the municipalities of Serres, Holargos and Olympia.

A coordinator in each country supported the local authorities and acted as a first port of call. The coordinators were the Umbrella Association of Consultants for Poland, EPTA for Greece and Global to Local Ltd for Hungary.

The Committee of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) provided important linkages to European Networks and helped provide best practice information to the participating cities in the project.

The project created EMAS communication/support networks on national and international levels. The Implementation of the EMAS process utilised a simple spreadsheet and associated implementation manual. The project was broken down to seven principle tasks: introducing the principles of EMAS; selecting services in which to implement EMAS; implementing EMAS; audit and verification; developing and delivering the dissemination strategy, and exploring an exit strategy.

The project ran from the 15th October 2004 to the 15th October 2007.

http://ec.europa.eu/environment/life