Reporting of environmental data from industrial installations and establishment of the Industrial Emissions Portal

KEY POINTS

Regulation (EU) 2024/1244 replaces Regulation (EC) No 166/2006, which established the European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (see summary). However, the older regulation will still be used for reporting data for the year 2026, with these data being published in 2027. Industrial operators will therefore submit their first reports under the new IEPR in 2028.

The portal offers free public access to environmental data and enables their dissemination. Users can search the data using various criteria, including pollutant type, location, affected environment, source facility, etc. This access builds awareness, enables the free exchange of views and allows the public to participate more effectively in decision-making, all contributing to a better environment. The whole dataset can be easily downloaded.

The portal content includes:

• data on pollutant releases into the air and water and onto land and on off-site transfers of pollutants present in waste water and waste; the portal also tracks 94 pollutants listed in Annex II to the regulation, including greenhouse gases, heavy metals, pesticides, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and chlorinated organic substances;
• data on energy, water and relevant raw material use, along with contextual information, such as operating hours and production levels;
• information on activities listed in Annex I to the regulation, which are fully aligned with the scope of the revised industrial emissions directive (IED 2.0) and include the following sectors:
  • energy production,
  • metal production and processing,
  • mineral and chemical industries,
  • battery production,
  • waste and wastewater management,
  • paper and wood processing,
  • intensive livestock production and aquaculture,
  • food and beverage sector production, and
  • other activities such as textile production and leather tanning;
• a dedicated dataset on emission trends (dust, nitrogen oxides and sulphur dioxide) and the energy input of large combustion plants, presented at the national level;
• a dedicated dataset showing pollutant transfers;
• where available, information on releases from diffuse sources.

Main changes introduced by the IEPR

• There is greater alignment with the revised IED 2.0. Reporting is now at the installation level, related to technological performance and to IED 2.0 permits. This helps support IED 2.0 implementation.
• The IEPR allows the lists of activities in Annex I and of pollutants in Annex II to be updated in response to scientific progress and changes in EU environmental laws by means of delegated acts adopted by the European Commission.
• More data are available on energy, water and raw material consumption, along with contextual information on operators’ activities, giving the public a fuller picture of environmental impacts.
• It sets out clear methods for determining releases and off-site transfers, thus improving data quality.
• Reporting processes for the aquaculture and livestock sectors have been simplified to ease compliance.

How the IEPR works – annual reporting cycle

• Industrial installation operators submit reports to their competent national authorities every year. These reports cover pollutant releases into the air and water and onto land and off-site transfers of pollutants present in waste water and waste, resource consumption and contextual data.
• The national authorities collate and verify these data and transfer them electronically to the Commission within 11 months from the end of the reporting year.
• The Commission, assisted by the European Environment Agency, incorporates the information reported by the EU Member States, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Serbia and Switzerland into the IEPR and publishes it within 1 month.

How the IEPR works – format, content and frequency of reporting

• Implementing Decision (EU) 2019/1741 requires that:
  • Member States develop a designated electronic format for reporting purposes;
  • the necessary administrative details be delivered to the Commission no later than 30 September of the year following the reporting year;
  • detailed thematic information be submitted to the Commission by 30 November of the year following the reporting year.
• This decision, which introduced changes specific to the European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (further to its amendment by Regulation (EU) 2019/1010), will be reviewed to incorporate changes introduced by the new IEPR.

Public participation

The regulation serves as a tool for fulfilling the Aarhus Convention, giving the public greater involvement in environmental decision-making.

Implementing and delegated acts

The Commission will adopt relevant delegated and implementing acts by the end of 2025 to enable the timely application of the new regulation.