Environmental management systems and climate risks : analysis of standards for environmental management systems with regard to the management of climaterelated risks and TCFD : opportunities for the further development of ISO 14001 and EMAS.

Over the past few years it has become increasingly clear that the physical consequences of climate change and the transition to a carbon-neutral economy are posing risks to companies and must be managed accordingly. At the same time, around half a million sites belonging to companies and other organisations feature ISO 14001-certified environmental management systems (ISO 2020). A further 12,000 sites also have EMAS certification (European Commission, 2021a). With this in mind, this study was up to determine to what extent these and other environmental management standards contribute to the systematic management of climate-related risks. The study also looked into the question of how environmental management systems can be used to support or even safeguard the systematic management of climate-related risks. A number of options were reviewed, including amending the ISO 14001 standard or adding a climate-specific supplement to the ISO 14002 series. One of the purposes of this study is to augment the debate on the revision of ISO 14001. The second part of the study looks into small and medium-sized enterprises and public authorities that have implemented environmental management systems. The study looked into whether these systems cover climate-related risks and, as a consequence, are able to influence such issues. A total of 40 EMAS environmental statements were analysed for this purpose.