Greek National Climate Law

According to the Greek National Climate Law "Transition to climate neutrality and adaptation to climate change, urgent provisions to address the energy crisis and environmental protection, Law 4936/2022 (Government Gazette 105A/2022), the application of the standard becomes mandatory for the following activities / businesses:

Local Authorities (Municipalities) of the first degree (Article 16),

Based on the requirements of the Greek Climate Law and its’ Article 16, it is stipulated that each Greek Municipality must prepare a Municipal Emissions Reduction Plan (DHSME) of its carbon footprint, which must include:

• a detailed inventory, with a base year of 2019, of energy consumption and emissions for buildings, public facilities, especially sport facilities, facilities of culture, lighting of municipal streets and public spaces, as well as municipal water supply, sewage, irrigation facilities and municipal vehicles, taking also into account the Building Energy Performance Plan (SEAK), and
• to set a net emissions reduction target of at least ten percent (10%) for the year 2025 and thirty percent (30%) for the year 2030, compared to the base year 2019.

In order to achieve a Municipality Emissions Reduction Plan, it is required to be prepared an Emissions Report of the carbon footprint (CO2e footprint) for the emission categories 1 and 2 of the Municipality for the base year 2019 and its’ Verification by a verifier, officially recognized/Accredited (Law 4936/2022, article 16, par. 6).

The Verification process includes:

a) the initial Verification of the Report concerning the calculated carbon footprint of the Municipality for the base year 2019 and

b) as provided for by the Climate Law, the periodic Verifications, which take place each year after the initial verification, are based on the respective Reports, per year.

Activities (category A' (Article 1 of Law 4014/2011 (Government Gazette 209A/2011)), which are classified in the groups provided in paragraph 1 of Article 19 of the Climate Law and do not fall within the scope of the European Emission Trading System (ETS/ETS).

Organizations with projects and activities classified in the categories provided for in the Climate Law are obliged, by the 1st January 2026, to submit a verified carbon footprint report to the responsible for their licensing, Environmental Authority.

The categories of projects and activities covered by this Regulation, which do not fall within the scope of the European Emission Trading System (EU ETS), are referred to in the Decision of the Greek Ministry of Environment and Energy (DIPA/oik.37674/27.7.2016) and its’ modifications:

• Group 4: Environmental Infrastructure Systems,
• Group 6: Systems of tourist facilities and urban development, building, sports and recreation projects,
• Group 7: Livestock facilities,
• Group 8: Aquaculture,

and those which are described in the Joint Decision  92108/1045/F.15/ 4.9.2020 of the Ministers of Development and Investment and of Environment and Energy and its’ modifications:

• Group 9th: Industrial activities and related facilities .

The report should be submitted with a base year of 2019 and annually thereafter by thew 31st of October of each year and verified by Accredited Bodies.

Medium and large Enterprises (Article 20), as from 2023, medium and large size Enterprises are obliged to submit an annual report on their carbon footprint for the previous year. These categories of businesses include:

• Companies listed on the Greek Stock Exchange,
• Financial institutions,
• Insurance companies,
• Investment Companies,
• Fixed and mobile telephony companies,
• Water and Sewerage Companies,
• Courier companies,
• Electricity and gas supply companies,
• Retail chains employing more than 500 workers,
• Supply chain service providers (3PLs); and
• Public transport service providers.

The carbon footprint is calculated based on the standards required by law (e.g. ISO 14064-1:2018) and verified by Accredited Bodies such as TUV Hellas (TUV Nord).

The submission of the first report must be completed by 31 October of each year.

TÜV HELLAS (TÜV NORD) has extensive experience and experienced executives in GHG emission verifications, while it is accredited in Greece by ESYD according to the ISO 17029 standard and holds a certificate number 884-5 for ISO 14064-1, ISO 14064-2 and EU ETS.

The language and the purpose of the standard has significantly changed in comparison to the previous versions. New definitions are included for the interested parties, the risks, the indicators and the life cycle. The new version includes a new requirements for understanding the organization’s operation framework so that there is a better risk management by emphasizing at the leadership to promote environmental management. Furthermore, improvement of environmental performance is noted as important, instead of improvement of the management system.

The requirements that will probably have the highest impact on the organization include:

• Determination of internal and external issues that could affect the achievement of the desired results of the environmental management system.
• Determination of interested parties and their demands
• Incorporation of the environmental management system goals in the operation processes
• Compatibility of environmental policy and goals with the organization’s strategies
• Incorporation of environmental performance in strategic planning
• Tracking and monitoring of organizational threats and chances
• A suitable policy for dealing with the organizational threats and chances
• Defining the life cycle perspectives
• The professional proficiency of human resources affecting environmental performance
• Controlling of processes regarding environmental performance
• Usage of performance indicators’ criteria
• Review by the leadership regarding the above mentioned requirements