Environmental performance is one of the ways in which the Managing Body of the MPA expresses its desire to go beyond mere compliance with legal requirements.

Membership of EMAS (the European Community Eco-Management and Audit Scheme) bears witness to this desire.

The system aims to promote, on a voluntary basis, a rationalization, from the environmental point of view, of the management skills of organizations, based not only on compliance with the limits imposed by law, but also on the continuous improvement of their environmental performance, the creation of a relationship of trust with institutional partners, and with the public, and the active participation of employees.

To achieve this result, the Marine Protected Area has undergone a process of verification and certification of its environmental management system and validation of the environmental statement by an independent and accredited body, both at Sincert and at the national body EMAS, at the Ministry of Environment and Sea.

The body chosen for the verifications was RINA (Registro Italiano Navale), which represents a reference body for all those working in the world of the sea. In order to adhere to EMAS, the Consortium carried out an initial environmental analysis, established its own environmental policy, together with the objectives and general principles of action, and drew up the environmental program on a three-year basis.

It has thus prepared and implemented an environmental management system, giving effect to that part of the overall management system which allows for the development, implementation, realization and maintenance of the environmental policy.

It has carried out an environmental audit, which consists of carrying out a systematic, periodic, documented and objective evaluation of its performance and management system; finally, it has prepared an environmental statement for the public.

Once the statement was validated, the Consortium applied for registration, to be included in a special European EMAS list (EMAS registration code I-000324).

The verification and validation process is not a definitive one, but every year the MPA is subject to checks by the certification body, which verifies the management methods and the persistence of the characteristics that led to certification.