Conclusions

Lessons learned

• System Development
  1. This report summarises the Commission’s overall performance using data from the eight largest Commission sites, and in the Houses of Europe annex, seven of the Commission's representations in Member States. The report therefore represents further expansion of an EMAS system that started with Brussels in 2005, incorporated Luxembourg in 2012, and then the five experimental JRC sites and DG SANTE at Grange in Ireland by 2014. It started incorporating Commission Representations in Member States in 2021 (Vienna, Valletta), continued in 2022 with Nicosia and Budapest and in 2023 with the Hague, Copenhagen and Sofia. The 6 Executive Agencies, located in Brussels, are also included within the registration.
  2. This report has been presented in a streamlined format since 2022 comprising a single volume to which all the main sites have contributed.
  3. Following specialist advice, the Commission recently developed some aspects of the carbon footprint to be more fully aligned with the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol, and address site specificity. This included considering the emissions from furniture production and including additional food categories.
  4. Development continues on the carbon footprint particularly to ensure that any methodological changes are incorporated back to 2019, an important baseline. This applies for example to, i) calculation of professional travel emissions, ii) the estimation of experts' travel emissions using centralised data from a new dashboard tool, and iii) estimation of emissions from teleworking.
• Incorporating a more political focus for reducing a carbon emissions target
  5. In April 2022 the Commission adopted, along with a new HR Strategy, its Communication on Greening. Its main focus is to ensure that the Commission becomes carbon neutral in its operations by 2030. It will reduce emissions as much as possible (and by at least 38% from its 2019 baseline (60% from 2005)) and will apply carbon removals to the unavoidable emissions in order to achieve net zero GHG emissions by 2030.
• Main results achieved
  6. The Commission reduced the carbon footprint in 2023 by 30% since 2019. It is therefore progressing towards its 2030 objective, even as it continues to experience a rebound in emissions since the COVID pandemic when, in 2020, they were 40% lower than in 2019. The rebound nonetheless slowed in 2023 compared with 2022.
  7. Emissions from staff professional travel continue to be a very significant proportion of the carbon footprint, and have risen substantially since 2022, reflecting the "return to normal" since the COVID pandemic. However, in 2023 they were still 22% lower than in 2019. 50 of 51 DGs and services signed a pledge to reduce their professional travel emissions, and therefore support the challenging Greening Communication objective of reducing professional travel emissions by 50% from 2019 to 2024. A new Guide to Missions is under finalisation.
  8. Mobility related emissions including those from staff missions, experts travel, and staff commuting have reduced by over 40% over since 2019. In 2023, buildings related emissions accounted for about half the carbon footprint, comprising roughly equal parts from i) ongoing energy use, and ii) fixed asset (embodied energy) from construction.
  9. Core EMAS parameters measuring environmental impact, and that have been reported at Commission level for several years, continue to fall. These relate, inter alia, to buildings' energy consumption, water use, non-hazardous waste generation, buildings' energy emissions, and office paper consumption. A majority of the 2019-30 targets have already been achieved in 2023 (see Table Corporate performance indicator and targets).
  10. The Commission slightly reduced the number of buildings it occupied in 2023, with two fewer in both Ispra and Luxembourg. Brussels added one building to the EMAS registration, but still had six fewer buildings than in 2021. Despite a slight increase in overall surface area since 2022, the environmental performance improved, particularly with respect to energy consumption. This is the fruit of efforts to implement the energy saving measures by management at the sites, and the staff.
  11. Three soft mobility hubs have become operational in Brussels, greatly improving access to safe parking facilities for bikes, along with showering and locker facilities. This complements efforts also in Brussels and other sites to improve biodiversity through a number of projects.
• Staff communication and participation
  12. Numerous communication campaigns continue to spread the message to staff about the need to engage in environmentally responsible behaviour. Increasingly active networks develop a local focus of activity and interact with, and support, the efforts of EMAS correspondents in DGs and Services across the Commission, including Executive Agencies and EC Representations in Member States.
  13. Joining forces with other "greening" networks beyond internal EMAS practitioners (e.g. Green Transition Multipliers Community), as well as promoting the Commission's effective leading position among EU Institutions and Agencies on issues of environmental excellence (e.g. Interinstitutional EMAS Days), have proven the most efficient ways to enhance outreach and establish fruitful collaborations towards a climate-neutral Commission by 2030.

Way forward

The Commission will: