The Municipality of Ljubljana is the first public administration institution in Slovenia to be registered in the EMAS system.

The EMAS system is a 14001 ISO standard upgrade that demonstrates the organization’s efficient environmental management, open dialogue and correctly transmitted information to the public on fulfilling the applicable regulatory requirements in relation to the environment and environmental performance.

The Municipality of Ljubljana decided to gradually implement environmental standards in its business operations. It began a pilot project at the Environmental Protection Department due to the dispersed locations of the different departments and agencies of the Municipality of Ljubljana City Administration. Having successfully obtained the certificate on meeting the requirements of the ISO 14001:2004 standard in 2011, the Environmental Protection Department carried out all the required measures and prepared the basic starting points for carrying out an assessment, which is performed by the environmental verifier, the Slovenian Institute for Quality and Metrology (SIQ). The latter assesses compliance with requirements of the applicable Regulation on the voluntary participation of organizations in a Community eco-management and audit scheme (EMAS). This March, the Slovenian Environment Agency issued a decision on the registration of the Municipality of Ljubljana Environmental Protection Agency, with the EMAS system on the basis of a positive report by the SIQ and documentation that demonstrates compliance with the requirements.

In Slovenia, another six companies are registered in the system besides the Environmental Protection Agency (MOL): Gorenje, Gorenje I.P.C., Cinkarna Celje, Luka Koper, Tiskarna Medium and Lek. In the European region, the EMAS system is much more widespread, especially in Germany, Austria, Italy and Spain, enabling a greater competitive advantage on the market or a comparison advantage concerning environmental approach for organizations included in the system.