Peer evaluation of EMAS Accreditation and Licensing Bodies

The European Commission (DG ENV) invites tenders to finance and manage the mandatory peer evaluation of EMAS accreditation and licensing bodies. The estimated contract value is €200,000 for an initial 12-month period renewable once (up to 24 months) and award criteria are split 50% quality and 50% price. Tenders must be submitted electronically via the EU Funding & Tenders Portal eSubmission by 14 September 2026 at 16:00:59 Europe/Brussels time.

What it funds

Purpose

Contract to finance and manage the mandatory peer evaluation of national accreditation and licensing bodies for EMAS environmental verifiers, as required by the EMAS Regulation.

Estimated value:€200,000 (estimated total procedure value) ¹

Who can apply

Open tender organised by the European Commission (DG Environment). Eligible applicants are economic operators/service providers able to deliver EU-level peer evaluation and contract management services; joint bids allowed. Tender submission via the Funding & Tenders Portal eSubmission system is mandatory.

Key practicals

1. 1Call identifier: EC-ENV/2026/OP/0014
2. 2Contracting authority: European Commission, DG ENV - Environment
3. 3Procedure type: open/negotiated middle-value tender (see procurement documents)
4. 4Contract duration: planned period 24 months; initial 12 months, renewable once
5. 5Submission method: eSubmission through the Funding & Tenders Portal
6. 6Award criteria: quality and price (50/50 split as per tender documents)

Download full tender documents, submit questions and submit tenders via the F&T Portal tender page: EMAS FALB Peer Evaluation 2026-2027 ¹

Footnotes

1. 1Contract Notice OJ S 128/2026 - 465193-2026. Tender documents (Invitation to tender, Tender Specifications, Draft Contract) published on 07/07/2026 on the Funding & Tenders Portal.

Basic opportunity details

Title:Peer evaluation of EMAS Accreditation and Licensing Bodies. Procuring authority: European Commission, DG ENV - Environment. Call identifier: EC-ENV/2026/OP/0014. Procedure type: Open call / negotiated middle-value call for tender (DG Environment indicates intention to award as negotiated middle-value call for tender in associated communications). Main CPV code: 90700000 (research and development services and related consultancy services). Estimated total procedure value: €200,000. Estimated overall contract amount/currency: €200000. Contract nature: services. Planned contract duration: initial 12 months, renewable once (draft contract indicates initial 12 months with one renewal; planned period 24 months in procurement data).

Deadlines and key dates:Deadline for submission: 14 September 2026 16:00:59 Europe/Brussels (eSubmission). Additional date references: invitation to tender and tender documents published 07 July 2026. Open tender event (occurrence) 15 September 2026 at 10:30 (Europe/Brussels). End of additional information request period: 04 September 2026. Some related expression-of-interest windows for negotiated procedures referenced earlier (various dates).

Opportunity description

The EMAS Regulation requires a peer evaluation of the accreditation and licensing of EMAS environmental verifiers. All accreditation and licensing bodies are mandated to participate in this peer evaluation. The contract requested finances and manages the peer evaluation process, including organisation, technical and administrative management, and reporting. The tender package includes an Invitation to tender, Tender Specifications and a Draft Contract published on the Funding & Tenders Portal. Submission of tenders must be via the electronic eSubmission system. See procurement documents for full specification and scope Tender documents and portal ¹.

Q&A style extraction and categorisation

Eligible Applicant Types

Eligible applicants:The tender is a services contract published by DG ENV. Typical eligible applicant types and economic operators able to tender include: private companies (SMEs and large enterprises) offering consultancy and technical services, research and technical consultancies, certification and accreditation bodies or consortia including such bodies, non-profit organisations and NGOs with relevant technical capacity, and universities or research institutes where legally allowed to submit tenders as economic operators. The procurement documents reference tenderer qualification requests and specific tenderer requirement templates; applicants should consult Tender Specifications and Invitation to Tender for exact legal and financial eligibility, exclusion and selection criteria. The procurement listing indicates SME suitability: false (i.e., not restricted to SMEs and not flagged as SME-specific).

Funding Type

Primary financial mechanism:procurement / public contract (service contract). This is not a grant, loan, equity or prize; it is a paid service contract awarded by the European Commission to a successful tenderer.

Consortium Requirement

Consortium or single tenderer:The procurement allows submission by economic operators and groups of economic operators (joint tenders). The tendering rules reference the need for each member of a group to register and obtain a PIC if applicable. The procurement does not mandate a consortium; single entities may tender, but joint tenders are permitted where relevant selection criteria and capacities require consortia.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility)

Geographic eligibility:The contract is an EU-level procurement managed by the European Commission, Directorate-General for Environment. Eligibility is therefore primarily economic operators legally established and able to contract with the European Commission. The activity concerns EMAS (EU eco-management and audit scheme) accreditation and licensing bodies across Member States. The procurement documents do not restrict bids to specific Member States; standard EU procurement rules and Commission contracting rules apply. The likely eligible pool includes organisations from EU Member States and potentially from EEA/EFTA countries where allowed under the procurement rules; check Tender Specifications for exact nationality/establishment requirements.

Target Sector

Thematic/industry sectors targeted:environment, accreditation and certification services, environmental management systems, public policy implementation support, governance and conformity assessment. Sector keywords: EMAS, environmental verifiers, accreditation, licensing, peer evaluation, environmental management systems.

Mentioned Countries

No specific countries are named in the call text beyond references to the European Union context. Procuring authority is the European Commission (DG ENV). The activity concerns EU Member States' accreditation and licensing bodies for EMAS; therefore the region is EU (and implicitly EEA where applicable).

Project Stage

Expected maturity and project stage:implementation/operational delivery. The contract finances and manages a peer evaluation exercise (organisation, execution, reporting). This is not an R&D call; it is operational service delivery (demonstration, evaluation and reporting).

Funding Amount

Estimated contract budget:€200,000 (estimated overall contract amount). The procurement notice lists an estimated total procedure value of €200,000. Bidders should treat this as indicative; refer to Draft Contract and Tender Specifications for payment modalities and ceilings.

Application Type

Application method:open call / eSubmission via the European Commission eSubmission system accessible through the Funding & Tenders Portal. The procurement information explicitly states tenders must be submitted exclusively via the eSubmission system; non-electronic submissions will be disregarded. The call is advertised as open but DG ENV also references negotiated middle-value tender processes and ex-ante publicity for some related items; prospective bidders should follow Invitation to Tender for the exact procedure type for this lot.

Nature of Support

Beneficiaries will receive monetary compensation via a service contract awarded by the Commission (money). The contract provides funding to the successful economic operator(s) to deliver the peer evaluation services defined in the Tender Specifications.

Application Stages

Number of application stages:Typically single-stage tender submission followed by evaluation. The procurement metadata indicates: submission via eSubmission by deadline, possible opening event, evaluation against awarding criteria (quality and price each weighted at 50). There may be a negotiated phase if the contract is awarded as a negotiated middle-value call; ex-ante publicity and expression-of-interest windows are referenced for negotiated procedures. Therefore practical stages may be: 1) expression of interest (if negotiated procedure applies), 2) formal invitation and eSubmission of tenders, 3) evaluation (administrative/selection/award), 4) contract conclusion. The standard successful path is therefore between 1 and 4 stages depending on the exact procurement route used by DG ENV.

Success Rates

Success rates:Not published in the tender metadata. For single-award service contracts of this nature, success rate depends on number of bids received; historically competitive EU service tenders may receive a small number of qualified bids (e.g., 3-8). No definitive success rate can be derived from published data; bidders should assume competition and prepare a fully compliant, high-quality technical and financial offer.

Co-funding Requirement

Co-funding:Not required as part of this procurement. This is a service contract where the Commission pays the contractor under the contract terms. There is no grant-style co-financing obligation specified. Bidders must cover their own proposal preparation costs. Any subcontracting or third-party cost-sharing must be declared as per Tender Specifications.

Tender evaluation and award criteria

Awarding criteria:The procurement metadata indicates two subordinate awarding criteria: quality (50) and price (50). The Tender Specifications and Invitation to tender contain detailed scoring, sub-criteria, threshold requirements, and weighting. The procurement documentation instructs bidders to consult the tender documents for the precise criteria and scoring method.

Submission logistics and administrative requirements

Submission logistics:Tenders must be submitted exclusively via the Commission eSubmission system (Funding & Tenders Portal). Economic operators must be registered in the Participant Register and use their PICs for eSubmission. The call references an eSubmission Quick guide and provides an access link to the call on the Funding & Tenders Portal. Deadlines and schedule are given in Europe/Brussels timezone. Non-electronic submissions (email, post) will be disregarded.

Templates and application form structure

Templates and structure:The tender package includes the Invitation to tender, Tender Specifications (0014 EMAS FALB peer evaluations 2026_V1.pdf) and a Draft Contract (OC 0014 EMAS FALB CONTRACT_V1.pdf). Procurement metadata references standard procurement templates: selection criteria and evidence templates, eSubmission forms and administrative forms available inside the eSubmission tool. Bidders will find templates and required forms in the procurement documents and in the eSubmission call. Key expected sections in the tender submission (based on standard Commission service contracts): 1) Administrative documents and declarations (legal, exclusion, eligibility, PICs), 2) Selection documents (financial capacity, technical and professional capacity, CVs of key experts, past experience and references), 3) Technical offer (methodology, work plan, staffing, quality assurance), 4) Price offer (detailed budget and pricing form), 5) Supporting annexes (CVs, certificates, partner agreements, subcontracting details).

1. 1Register in the Participant Register and obtain or reuse PICs for all legal entities participating in the tender (including consortium members).
2. 2Download and read the Invitation to Tender, Tender Specifications and Draft Contract published on 07 July 2026.
3. 3Prepare administrative documentation required by the Tender Specifications (legal declarations, exclusion and selection criteria evidence).
4. 4Assemble technical offer covering peer evaluation methodology, staffing, quality control, schedule and deliverables, aligning with Tender Specifications and EMAS Regulation requirements.
5. 5Prepare price offer in the required pricing template and ensure compliance with budget and invoicing conditions set in the Draft Contract.
6. 6Submit the complete tender electronically via the eSubmission system before the deadline: 14 September 2026 16:00:59 Europe/Brussels.

Key risks and bidder considerations

Key considerations:Ensure full compliance with Tender Specifications and Draft Contract (including data protection, confidentiality, conflict of interest rules). Demonstrate experience in accreditation, licensing, EMAS verifiers, peer evaluations or similar conformity assessment schemes. Provide qualified experts with relevant CVs. Confirm ability to organise pan-EU peer evaluations and manage logistics, reporting and stakeholder communication. Carefully price the offer consistent with quality and deliverables; quality is weighted equally with price. Allow sufficient time for eSubmission registration and use of PICs for all entities in joint bids.

Concise summary

This is an EU procurement managed by the European Commission (DG ENV) to commission and manage the mandatory peer evaluation of accreditation and licensing bodies for EMAS environmental verifiers. The contract is a service contract estimated at €200,000, typically awarded following eSubmission via the Funding & Tenders Portal. Eligible economic operators include companies, consultancies, research organisations, accreditation bodies and consortia with relevant experience. Tenderers must submit a compliant technical and financial offer using the eSubmission system by 14 September 2026. Awarding criteria are quality (50) and price (50). The procurement package (Invitation to Tender, Tender Specifications, Draft Contract) was published on 07 July 2026 and contains full procedural, contractual and technical requirements; bidders must consult those documents and follow the eSubmission templates and rules ¹.

Footnotes

1. 1Tender documents including Invitation to tender, Tender Specifications and Draft Contract are published on the Funding & Tenders Portal for this call: ec.europa.eu

Opportunity Summary

This is a negotiated middle-value call for tender issued by the European Commission, DG ENV (Environment), to finance and manage the mandatory peer evaluation of EMAS environmental verifiers' accreditation and licensing bodies as required by the EMAS Regulation ¹.

Estimated Contract Value:The estimated overall contract amount is €200,000, covering an initial 12-month period renewable once for a total duration of 24 months ².

Who Should Apply

Applicants must be economic operators (organizations or consortia) with proven expertise in environmental management systems, accreditation processes, peer evaluation methodologies, and regulatory compliance, specifically within the EMAS framework.

1. 1Demonstrated experience in conducting peer evaluations for accreditation bodies
2. 2Technical knowledge of EMAS Regulation (EU) 2017/1368 and related standards
3. 3Capacity to manage the full peer evaluation process including reporting and coordination
4. 4Registration in the EU Participant Register with a valid PIC (Participant Identification Code)

Key Requirements and Conditions

Submission Deadline:Tenders must be submitted by 14 September 2026 at 16:00:59 (Europe/Brussels time) via the eSubmission system ³.

All procurement documents, including the Invitation to Tender, Draft Contract, and Tender Specifications, are available on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal and must be consulted for full technical and legal requirements.

Footnotes

1. 1Official tender details: EMAS FALB Peer Evaluation 2026-2027
2. 2Contract duration and value confirmed in procurement documents: Tender Specifications
3. 3Submission deadline and eSubmission requirements: Invitation to Tender Letter