The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) is calling Scottish companies to sign up for the remas project, a three-year study to examine environmental management systems (EMS) in the EU.

Remas is led by the Environment Agency in England & Wales and co-funded by the EC Life fund, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, the Environmental Protection Agency (in Ireland), and the Institute of Environmental Management & Assessment

Endorsing remas, Campbell Gemmell, CEO of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, said: : "Environmental Management Systems can really help a company deliver social and environmental benefits, and they can also help with the ‘bottom line’ – good environmental practice can lead to significant cost savings. The remas project will help develop this approach so I would encourage companies in Scotland to sign up."

Meanwhile, over 50 UK companies have successfully registered for the project since its launch three months ago. From January 2004, remas is to be extended to mainland Europe as it aims for up to 500 sites to register for the project. It is hoped that companies will complete the project questionnaire over the next six months.