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. That commitment 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 achieved very satisfactory results in relation to all its environmental indicators, and the year can now be regarded as the new baseline for environmental performance following the health crisis in 2020 to 2022.
The environmental indicators for water, waste, paper, heating and electricity match those for 2023. Changes are quantified by reference to 2015, the reference year for the EMAS scheme.
More specifically, in terms of energy consumption, as the energy-saving measures adopted in connection with the war in Ukraine were extended, the Court again recorded a significant reduction in its energy consumption for electricity and heating. In addition, the Court also met its ambitious targets for paper consumption. In 2023, the use of office paper (excluding outsourced publications) fell by 55.2% as compared with its pre-pandemic level in 2019, marking a persistent trend thanks to changes in behaviour and the continued digitisation of processes and documents.
Despite the resumption of all the Court’s activities, including visits by external parties, CO2 emission levels have been stabilised, thanks not only to a variety of projects but also to the awareness and active commitment of staff in relation to the EMAS policy.
Full Time Equivalent (FTE) is the 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.
- Improvement in waste sorting and reduction of single‑use plastics
- Participation in the Vel’oH self‑service bicycle system and support for travel by bicycle and train for cross‑border workers. Installation of charging points for electric vehicles
- Improvement of the heating, ventilation, air-conditioning and lighting systems
- Reduction in ‘Offices and Catering’ waste - 43.2% kg/FTE
- Reduction in water consumption - 20% m3/FTE
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- Reduction in electricity consumption - 28.7% kWh/FTE
- Reduction in energy consumption for heating - 33.5% kWh/FTE
- 3 466 m2 of solar panels producing 380 758 kWh: equivalent to the annual electricity needs of 69 families
- Reduction in carbon emissions - 30.2% kg CO2/FTE