For many years, the Court has been committed to a strong environmental policy targeting the highest standards of sustainable development and respect for natural resources. The Institution’s commitment to environmentally friendly practices has been evident since 2016 through its EMAS (Eco-Management and Audit Scheme) registration. That certification, which is regulated by the European Union, is granted to organisations that satisfy strict conditions relating to their environmental policies, their efforts in connection with the protection of the environment and their sustainable working methods.
In 2023, the Court pressed ahead with its efforts to end the use of plastic water bottles on its premises. The new catering contract has banned the sale of plastic water bottles. In addition, the Court continued to distribute reusable bottles to its staff to promote the use of the water fountains installed in 2022.
Energy consumption is now continuing on its pre-pandemic downward trajectory. This has been achieved by dropping the special ventilation measures required as a result of the COVID crisis and installing more effective air filters. In conjunction with the extraordinary energy-saving measures adopted in connection with the war in Ukraine, the Court recorded a significant reduction in its energy consumption for electricity and heating.
For the 2022-2023 period, the Court set quantitative targets for paper consumption. In 2022, the use of office paper (excluding outsourced publications) fell by 54.1% as compared with its pre-pandemic level in 2019. This trend continued in 2023 thanks to changes in behaviour and the continued digitisation of processes and documents. In addition, in September 2023, the Court decided to limit the number of personal printers to a strict minimum, in order to save energy, consumables and paper and, in so doing, to reduce its carbon footprint.
- Improvement in recycling waste and reduction of single-use plastics
- Participation in the Vel’OH self-service bicycle system and support for bicycle travel
- Improvement of the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems
- Reduction in waste ‘Offices and Catering’ - 50% kg/FTE
- Reduction in water consumption - 10.1% m3/FTE
- Reduction in paper consumption - 62.1% kg/FTE
- Reduction in electricity consumption - 23.2% kWh/FTE
- Reduction in energy consumption for heating - 23.6% kWh/FTE
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3 466 m2 of solar panels producing
422 003 kWh: equivalent to the annual electricity needs of 76 families - Reduction in carbon emissions - 31.7% kg CO2/FTE
Full Time Equivalent (FTE) is a unit of measurement of occupational activity independent of the disparities in the number of hours worked each week by staff members resulting from their different working arrangements.
The environmental indicators for water, waste, paper, heating and electricity match those for 2022. Changes are quantified by reference to 2015, the reference year for the EMAS scheme.