The indicator shows development of environmental management systems related to the awarded environmental certificates under ISO 14001, the EMAS scheme and eco-label flowers for Slovenia and EU. In addition, the indicator also shows numbers for awarded environmental certificates for energy efficient companies, energy efficient projects, clean production, environmentally friendly companies, and environmental product of the year, international environmental partnerships, eco-profit, environmentally responsible performance and environmentally friendly procedures in Slovenia.

For better understanding of the presented mechanism, their definition is as follows:

ISO 14001 is an internationally agreed standard that sets out the requirements for an environmental management system. It helps organizations improve their environmental performance through pollution prevention and more efficient use of resources.

The EU Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) is an environmental management system introduced in 1995. Organisations that hold the EMAS certificate are obliged to continuously assess and improve their environmental performance and inform the public of the environmental impact of their activities. EMAS is an upgrade of the ISO 14001 standard. It ensures greater openness, transparency and periodical publication of verified environmental information. Compared to ISO 14001, the EMAS has higher demands with regard to improved performance, participation of employees, legal compliance and communication with the public.

The Eco-label flower is an instrument of environmental protection. The EU introduced it in 1992 in order to encourage companies to develop products and services that maximally reduce environmental impact throughout the product/service life cycle and provide consumers with better information on environmental impact of their products/services. The overall impact of products is observed from the extraction of raw materials to the disposal of used products, while consumers are directed through the provision of accurate, clear and scientifically supported information on products and services.

The introduction of environmental management systems represents an important economic instrument for communication and harmonisation in the field of environmental protection. For companies, it represents an internationally recognised approach to management that covers all most important aspects of environmental management (from the use of raw materials and energy, to management of technological processes and requirements relating to the use of products) and leads to elimination and reduction of adverse impacts on the environment. The advantage of introducing environmental management system is reduction of costs as well as an increased competitiveness in the market.