Conclusions

The Commission reduced the carbon footprint by 31% between 2019 and 2024, and is therefore 'on track' to meet its 2030 objective of a 38% reduction.

The Commission reduced emissions from staff missions, representing nearly a quarter of total emissions, by 23% between 2019 and 2024, and is committed to achieving a 50% reduction as soon as possible, and at the latest by 2030. Having reduced by 86% in 2021 owing to the Covid pandemic, mission emissions had rebounded to a 31% reduction in 2023. The increase of reported emissions since 2023 is due largely to an increase in the factors for calculating mission emissions, but this is likely to be short-lived, as the factors have decreased for 2025. Although calculated staff mission emissions increased from 2023 to 2024, mission activity actually decreased in 2024. The recently adopted new Guide to Missions will further help decrease the missions' emissions, inter alia by promoting more train travel in cases where it can be a reasonable alternative to flying.

Overall, mobility related emissions including those from staff missions, experts' travel, and staff commuting have reduced by 40% since 2019.

In 2024, buildings related emissions accounted for nearly half the carbon footprint, comprising

• ongoing energy use and refrigerant losses, and
• fixed assets (embodied energy) from construction.

The Commission continues to reduce the core parameters measuring environmental impact that have been reported for several years. These relate, inter alia, to buildings' energy consumption, water use, non-hazardous waste generation, buildings' energy emissions, and office paper consumption. Several of the 2019-30 targets have already been achieved in 2024 (see corporate performance indicators and targets table, navigate to this section in this tab )

In 2024 the Commission sold 23 buildings in Brussels (to be vacated, and/or re-leased in stages before 2030), and continued to reduce the number of buildings it occupied, reducing by six at JRC Ispra and three in Brussels. This contributed to improved environmental performance, particularly regarding energy consumption together with efforts by site management and staff on energy-saving measures.

Four soft mobility hubs have become operational in Brussels, greatly improving access to safe parking facilities for bikes, along with showering and locker facilities. Improving the office landscape has also been the result of efforts in Brussels and other sites to improve biodiversity through a number of projects.

This report summarises the Commission’s overall performance using data from the eight largest Commission sites, plus aggregated data from DG COMM for seven of the Commission's representations in Member States. The detail for these representations is presented in a separate standalone annex for the Houses of Europe that also considers the impact of the European Parliament's Liaison Offices.

The report therefore consolidates the recent 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 then started to include the EC Representations in Member States beginning with Vienna, and Valletta in 2021, Nicosia and Budapest in 2022, and the Hague, Copenhagen and Sofia in 2023. The Commission's six Executive Agencies, all located in Brussels, are also included within the registration.

Following specialist advice, the Commission continues to improve on measures introduced for reporting the carbon footprint in order to be more fully aligned with the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol which has become the most commonly recognised approach globally. This includes additional food categories that were added in 2023, along with annualised accounting of some categories of fixed assets that were previously amortised over several years. To ensure consistency, methodological changes are incorporated back to 2019, the baseline year for the 2030 target for emissions reduction. In addition to the inclusion of the EC Representations as a ninth site, another novelty is the inclusion of mission emissions for all Commission staff, not just those based at the EMAS registered sites.

Management of infrastructure aspects of the EC Representations in Member States has been transferred from Directorate for Communication to the Office of Infrastructure in Brussels (OIB).

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.

A Progress Review of the Commission's Communication on Greening should be published in late 2025/ early 2026. Following consultation of six thematic focus groups with experts from relevant services in late 2024 and early 2025, guided by a Steering Panel reporting to the EMAS Steering Committee, the Corporate Management Board in May 2025, and the EMAS Steering Committee in February and June 2025, a formal Commission wide Interservice Consultation was launched in October 2025.

To better monitor progress on reducing staff mission emissions, probably the most challenging target, the Commission expanded the scope of reporting to include all Commission staff thus making EMAS reporting more coherent with Directorate and Service level strategic and annual planning, including the setting of service level mission emissions reduction targets.

In 2024 the publication of the Environmental Statement (reporting for 2023) as an interactive and easily accessible html page represented a major step forward in communicating Commission results.

Numerous communication campaigns continue to spread the message to staff about the need to engage in environmentally responsible behaviour. Increasingly active local networks develop a focus of activity and interact with, and support, the efforts of EMAS correspondents in Directorates and Services Commission-wide, including Executive Agencies and Representations in Member States.

Joining forces with "greening" networks beyond internal EMAS practitioners through the Green Transition Multipliers Community, as well as promoting the Commission's leading position among EU Institutions and Agencies on issues of environmental excellence through the Inter institutional environmental management group and events like the Interinstitutional EMAS Days, have proven efficient in enhancing outreach and collaboration towards a climate-neutral Commission by 2030.

Adopt the greening progress review by late 2025/early 2026 having:

• engaged relevant services through thematic groups and a formal inter-service consultations;
• incorporated new Commission priorities and assessed progress up to and including 2024; and
• developed an action plan to ensure the Commission reaches climate neutrality by 2030 and beyond.

Continue to develop its management system to incorporate and deliver the actions of the Greening Communication with particular focus on reducing the carbon footprint. Special attention will be given to implementing two important mobility related actions:

• the new guide to missions that seeks to green professional travel, and
• the new mobility plan to encourage more sustainable commuting.

Encourage more Directorates and Services to develop quantitative targets for reducing emissions from professional travel.

Improve its application of Green Public Procurement (GPP), for example by developing its existing tendering dashboard to collect more information on the application of GPP in individual procedures.

Continue developing its carbon footprint methodology, and in particular, consider methodological improvements to ensure consistency of approach between sites on certain scope 3 emissions.

Continue to work with the European Parliament to maintain EMAS in the seven Houses of Europe

Continue the development of the new IT tool to facilitate:

• data collection, reporting, and publishing
• managing follow up of audit actions
• recording and updating actions to achieve long term targets

Strive to reach a greater audience through the online version of the environmental statement.

Continue to rationalise its use of real estate by moving to new more energy efficient buildings when necessary to replace older ones. In addition, the following will also help reduce the overall footprint from buildings:

• In Brussels, the clustering of related services will help achieve the greening objectives by reducing mobility needs.
• In Luxembourg, the completion of the JMO2 building will eventually also help contribute to the greening objectives.
• The continued implementation of dynamic collaborative space layout will further reduce office space requirements.

Ensure that engaging staff at all levels remains a high priority to deliver the "Greening the Commission" commitments. Specifically, opening up to a larger audience by joining internal greening networks through the Green transition Multipliers Community and the new Climate Fresk group of facilitators will help mainstream greening practices across all Commission sites.

Avoid staff "communication fatigue" by organising more focused communication campaigns on the main topics of significant environmental impact (e.g. Greener Buildings and Greener Travel) over a longer period of time, to facilitate the active participation of interested parties/internal stakeholders. Involve Commission management representatives as EMAS Ambassadors to "lead by example" and inspire further staff engagement in the green transition.

Communicate its achievements to the EU general public through targeted external communication actions (e.g. 20 years of EMAS in Commission in 2025) and via staff advocacy as part of large-scale EU campaigns through social media (e.g. EU Climate Pact, through the Directorate for Climate and #ForOurPlanet initiative, of the Environment Directorate).

Continue to play a leading role among other EU Institutions and bodies on environmental and climate neutrality topics by participating in interinstitutional and international networks such as the EU inter-institutional environment group meetings (GIME), the Greening Network of Decentralised Agencies, and the PACE programme managed by DG REFORM.