Background The EU Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) is one of the key tools highlighted for enabling application of the 6th Environmental Action Programme. Increasing its application internationally and developing an internationally accepted and understood approach for effective implementation of EMAS in the public sector therefore seems essential. Local authorities have potentially huge impacts on the environment of the area they administer. A key environmental impact arises from the cumulative direct effects of their activities such as their use of energy, water, transport or generation of waste. Even more significant impacts come from the way local authorities plan and deliver their services, including waste management, construction and planning applications, local transport planning and procurement activities. However, small authorities have limited human resources for coping with the necessary management language and implementation processes of EMAS. Many organisations have tried to adopt EMAS without success, having struggled with the concepts without reaching the stages at which genuine impacts on the environmental performance of an organisation are felt. Kirklees Metropolitan Borough Council is one of the UK leaders in environmental work and was registered under EMAS from 2003 to 2010. In 2002, Kirklees received the European Commission award for best practice EU EMAS system. Kirklees has been involved in many successful European projects including those under SAVE2, Altener, CURE and LIFE. Objectives The aim of the NEST project was to deliver a sustainable process for EMAS verification to small and under-resourced local authorities. This was to be especially targeted at low participation countries (Greece and new EU Member States) and sectors (municipal authorities). Kirklees aimed to provide a benchmarking role, evolving its own EMAS for greater simplicity, effectiveness and efficiency and providing advice and assistance on introducing EMAS, sourcing best practice and training. The project sought to review current problems with EMAS procedures and compliance and then to establish good practice solutions for local authority partners. The end objective was to enable all ten participating local authorities to obtain EMAS verification by the close of the project and also to provide ongoing sustainability to the process of local authorities achieving EMAS. Results The NEST project successfully delivered a sustainable process for the implementation of the EU's Eco-management and audit scheme (EMAS) within small and under resourced local authorities in countries where participation in such environmental management systems is low. The project set up a networking system that provided an advice and support network for the participating authorities. The network was made of 15 partners over 15 countries. Co-operation grew throughout the project with increasing information sharing between the participant local authorities seeking verification. The early stages of the project focussed on training, introducing the principles of EMAS and then leading all partners through its seven main processes. Clusters of three to four authorities had the assistance of a country coordinator. All partners benefited from the training and guidance provided at each stage of the process. Each authority was able to carry out an environmental review and select the services they wished to apply the process to. The main final outcome of the project was that five of the ten participating authorities were successfully verified for EMAS. The project produced a range of support material to assist local authorities through the EMAS process. It remains to be seen whether this material is simple enough on its own to enable other local authorities to achieve EMAS or whether support networks will always be necessary. It has, however, provided some useful and interesting learning for local authorities on technical and administrative issues. These include the importance of an early legal compliance audit and an internal assessment of relevant existing procedures. Several authorities have documented savings in energy and water usage with the associated cost savings within the lifetime of the project, plus reduced costs of waste collection. Concerning social results an increase in environmental awareness for both staff and the general public in the participating authorities was generated.Furthermore, events such as the Mobility day were organised and improvements by the various authorities in terms of waste collection, environmental education in nurseries and schools, and promotional activities were made. The NEST project has provided valuable experience of enabling under-resourced authorities to set up EMAS, as well as a case study in the use of networking in this process. It is hoped that the successfully verified local authorities will provide seeds that will encourage other organisations to also set up EMAS in countries where it is not yet very widespread. Further information on the project can be found in the project's layman report (see "Read more" section).