ABSTRACT
Environmental management systems (EMSs) are tools that can be used to steer and control an organisation's environmental efforts. This chapter focuses on standardised EMSs, those that deal with fulfilling the requirements of the international standard International Organisation for Standardisation 14001 and/or the EU Eco-Management and Audit Scheme. Environmental objectives and targets are meant to function as the 'engine' for continual improvement. A literature review was carried out on around 20 studies on EMSs and environmental performance. In addition to the fact that it is difficult to understand the scope of the environmental aspects, it is important to note that most of the aspects seem to be facility-oriented. Finally, the literature review of studies on the effects of EMSs showed that the results are very divergent. Based on rigorous, comprehensive studies of operational environmental performance, it is still difficult to decide whether companies that use EMSs perform better than others.
