EMAS statement: benign accountability or wishful thinking? Insights from the Greek EMAS registry.

Do organizations certified under the Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) effectively discharge their environmental accountability through their statements? Is the EMAS statement a step forward for the transparency of environmental management and the empowerment of organizational stakeholders' decision-making? Drawing from the Greek EMAS registry we apply an evaluation method for the completeness and materiality of environmental statements. While the latest version of the EMAS Regulation has introduced a set of forward-looking - yet challenging - improvements, the application of the standard should be closely examined. With this in mind, the key objective of this research note is to provide - from a descriptive standpoint - insights on the content of EMAS-based environmental accountability and a basis for future research as well as fruitful policy debate.