LIFE & Environmental certication

The EU LIFE Programme

The LIFE Programme is the EUs funding instrument for the environment and climate action. Since 1992 it has co-nanced
pilot and demonstration projects that contribute to the implementation and development of EU environment policy and
legislation. LIFE has supported public authorities and the private sector in developing environmental management schemes
and raising awareness to decrease the impact of their activities. LIFE has helped identify barriers to uptake and pioneered
the implementation of EU Ecolabel and EMAS procedures and other green certication in diverse public and private sector contexts.
Of the 4 171 projects supported by LIFE to date, 139 specically deal with environmental certication (Ecolabel, EMAS, ISO14000, ETV,
etc), mobilising a total budget of some 150 million euros. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have coordinated the majority of
these projects. These enterprises come from a range of manufacturing and service sectors, including: marine aquaculture, wine production,
tourism, agriculture, horticulture, cleaning products, printing, retail, sport and events and hospitals.
Two successful environmental labelling LIFE projects are proled below, followed by a list of 14 other notable projects. Further details about
these, can be found in the LIFE project database: ec.europa.eu/environment/life/project/Projects/

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Title: ECOSMA - Ecological Certication of Products

from Sustainable Marine Aquaculture
Project number: LIFE07 ENV/D/000229
Coordinator: CRM - Coastal research and
Management GbR
Website: http://www.ecosma.de

Title: WINEC - Advanced systems for the enhancement

of the environmental performance of WINEries in Cyprus
Project number: LIFE08 ENV/CY/000455
Coordinator: University of Cyprus
Website: www.eng.ucy.ac.cy/winec

ECOSMA

WINEC

The ECOSMA project brought together numerous stakeholders such as

producers, retailers, scientists, supervisory authorities and consumers to initiate a discussion and develop criteria for organic aquaculture.
A committee bringing together stakeholders in the aquaculture sector was
created , which continued its activities aer the project end date, under
the association the Bundesverband Aquakultur (Federal Association of
Aquaculture), which was founded in October 2011.

The WINEC project has developed an environmental management system (EMS) and wastewater treatment plant for the Tsiakkas Winery in the
Troodos Mountains. It is hoped that this will have an important demonstration eect, since many small Cypriot wineries still spread their untreated
euent in elds, thereby polluting groundwater resources. Wineries also
consume large quantities of water in cleaning fermentation tanks, barrels
and other equipment (approximately three to four litres per litre of wine
produced).

During the project, a wide range of dissemination activities, training programmes and public events were carried out successfully. For example, a
list of all eco-labels for sh and seafood found in Germany was compiled;
a lecture showed the dierences between conventional and sustainable
aquaculture and highlighted the variety of eco-labels on the market; an
educational game on consumption patterns in relation to sh and seafood
was presented; the Kiel Day on the quayside initiated by the project has
since become an annual street festival with training sessions and exhibitions about sustainable aquaculture.
The project demonstrated guidelines for calculating the CO2 emissions from
each process and sub-process in the cultivation of seaweed and in the production of a seaweed extract. This CO2 footprinting exercise was a rst for
the aquaculture sector, anywhere in the world, and followed the new procedures of the GHG Product Protocol. It also developed Guidelines for sustainable marine aquaculture, which provide detailed information, including a
business model, for sustainable marine aquaculture businesses.
CRM was the rst company in Germany to be certied under EU Regulation ((EC) No 834/2007) on organic production and the labeling of organic
products.

The new wastewater treatment plant was developed by the University of

Cyprus, the LIFE project beneciary. Pilot scale tests showed that the combined membrane bioreactor (MBR)/Solar Advanced Oxidation system was
able to reduce chemical oxygen demand (COD) by more than 80%, as well
as cutting the toxicity and phytotoxicity of the nal euent to zero.
The demonstration plant at Tsiakkas Winery has been operating regularly
since October 2011, enabling the business to re-use the treated wastewater to irrigate all its vineyards, with potential savings of up to 400 tonnes/
yr of fresh water. The plant has the capacity to treat up to 1 500 tonnes/yr
of water and the winery intends to install 200-300 tonne storage tanks to
enable re-use of a signicant proportion of the treated water. In conjunction with the University of Cyprus, the winery has also implemented steps
to reduce the environmental impact of its processes.

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Lessons from this eco mapping process fed into a good practice guide for
improving the environmental performance of wineries and specications for
wastewater treatment plants, which was developed by the beneciary as
part of the WINEC project. The work also provided the impetus for Tsiakkas
Winery in its quest for EMAS certication (awarded in 2012).

Environment

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SELECTIVE LIST PROJECTS ON ENVIRONMENTAL CERTIFICATION

B.R.A.V.E.

GREENING BOOKS

Better Regulation Aimed at Valorising Emas

Improving the environmental performance of publications

from design to lecture!

Coordinator: Scuola Superiore di Studi Universitari e di

Perfezionamento SantAnna

www.braveproject.eu

LIFE10 ENV/IT/000423

LIFE09 ENV/ES/000457

SUMFLOWER

Establishment of Impact Assessment Procedure as a

tool for the sustainability of agroecosystem: the case
of mediterranean olives

SUstainable Management of FLOriculture in WEstern

Riviera

http://www.sage10.gr

LIFE09 ENV/GR/000302

Coordinator: Universit degli studi di Genova - Giardini

Botanici Hanbury
http://www.sumower.eu

LIFE09 ENV/IT/000067

HAproWINE

GREEN COMMERCE

Integrated waste management and life cycle assessment in the wine industry: From waste to high-value
products

Compromise for a reduction of the environmental

impact of the retail sector

Coordinator: Fundacin Patrimonio Natural de Castilla

y Len
www.haprowine.eu

Coordinator: Conselleria de Industria, Comercio e Innovacin

LIFE08 ENV/E/000143

LIFE08 ENV/E/000138

PROMISE

E.C.C.E.L.S.A.

Product Main Impacts Sustainability through Eco-communication

Environmental Compliance based on Cluster Experiences and Local Sme-oriented Approaches

Coordinator: Regione Liguria Dipartimento Ambiente

Coordinator: Scuola Superiore di Studi Universitari e di

Perfezionamento SantAnna

http://www.lifepromise.it

LIFE07 ENV/IT/000515

LIFE08 INF/IT/000312

WEEELABEX

TRITECH ETV

WEEE LABEL OF EXCELLENCE. European Standards for

Treatment and Recycling of E&E Waste and for Monitoring the Processing Companies

Pilot Scheme for an EU Environmental Technologies

Verification System Incorporating Soil Remediation,
Waste Water Treatment and Energy Related Technologies

Coordinator: Waste of Electrical and Electronic Equipment Forum

www.weee-forum.org/

LIFE07 ENV/B/000041

Coordinator: Beta Technology Ltd

www.lifeetv.com

LIFE06 PREP/UK/000002

Ecostep

DESTINATIONS

Implementation of a Integrated Managementsystem for

small and medium enterprises

Development of Strategies for Sustainable Tourism

Investments in the Mediterranean Nations

Coordinator: Hessisches Ministerium fr Umwelt, Energie, Landwirtschaft und Verbraucherschutz

Coordinator: Priority Actions Programme (PAP) of the

Mediterranean Action Plan (MAP)

www.ecostep-online.de

www.project-destinations.org

LIFE04 ENV/DE/000052

LIFE06 TCY/INT/000250

P.H.A.R.O.S.

ECOMASS

Playground harbour and research of sustainability

Eco-Efficient Mass Event EMS manual

Coordinator: Regione Liguria

Coordinator: TKK Dipoli Environmental Education,

Helskinki University of Technology

www.lifepharos.it

Factsheet-LIFE-EMAS.indd 2

http://greeningbooks.eu

SAGE10

Coordinator: Benaki Phytopathological Institute

European Union, 2015

Coordinator: Acondicionamiento Tarrasense

LIFE04 ENV/IT/000437

LIFE04 ENV/FI/000309

Visit the LIFE website:

ec.europa.eu/life

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