On 26 November 2009, the presentation ceremony was held for the 2009 EMAS Catalonia Prizes in the Esfèric Theatre of Barcelona, now in its second year. 
The event, with support from the Catalan government, was presided over by the Honourable Mr Francesc Baltasar, Minister of the Environment and Housing of the Government of Catalonia (DMAH). Like last year, the ceremony recognised the work that EMAS organisations carry out to help the environment and environmental quality. In addition to the presence of the minister, the ceremony was also attended by the Director of the Directorate General of Environmental Quality in the same ministry, Ms Maria Comellas, the Director of the Catalan Office on Climate Change, Mr Salvador Samitier and the Club EMAS President, Mr Martí Puig i Ysern, among others. The ceremony was led by actress Agnès Busquets, known for her work on the show Polònia broadcast by Televisió de Catalunya (TV3).
A core message of the event was to remember that we all need to work together in order to implement an EMAS well. Thus, the invitation was extended extensively to everybody working in this area: the administration, companies, employees, unions, the media, etc., with the aim that this important work makes it easy for everybody to become involved.
With the objective of making the evening attractive and resplendent, the EMAS world was connected to the world of cooking, trying to bring the issue of environmental management in businesses to citizens with an understandable and entertaining language. The unifying topic of the ceremony was ‘The Cuisine of the EMAS’.
Prizes were presented as a recording of a television cookery show where, as the different prizes were awarded, recipes were explained for preventing company wastes. With over 200 attendees, the event was included within the agenda for the European Week on Waste Prevention, organised by the Waste Agency of Catalonia (ARC). It was organised using recycling criteria, top usage and correct environmental management of used resources, presenting data about everything the organisation required to attendees.
With the aim of acknowledging the efforts companies have made to contribute to improving our environment, and a new feature this year, the Directorate General of Environmental Quality of the DMAH took advantage of the event to hand out EMAS certificates to the organisations that registered during 2009. This helped to spotlight these organisations. There were a total of 28 companies that decided to manage their environmental impacts according to an EMAS. They participated in the celebrations, taking to the stage for ‘The EMAS Cuisine' to receive the certificate from the Minister of the Directorate General and the Club EMAS President. All of them were also an active part of the evening, becoming the new EMAS ‘chefs’.
The jury
This year’s jury was made up of significant people from the world of the environment, business, academia and society as a whole. They were:
•Maria Comellas, Director General of Environmental Quality at the DMAH and jury president.
•Josep Planas, Deputy Director General of Environmental Information & Education of the DMAH.
•Núria Ayats, Head of Quality and the Environment at the organisation Stora Enso Barcelona (Club EMAS partner and vice-president of the Board of Trustees).
•Enric Pol, Director of the Department of Social Psychology at the University of Barcelona.
•Alba Cabañas, Director of the Department of the Environment at FOMENT.
•Jordi Forcadell, Expert in the Department of the Environment at the CCOO union of Catalonia.
•Maria Rosa Salvadó, journalist.
The event, with support from the Catalan government, was presided over by the Honourable Mr Francesc Baltasar, Minister of the Environment and Housing of the Government of Catalonia (DMAH). Like last year, the ceremony recognised the work that EMAS organisations carry out to help the environment and environmental quality. In addition to the presence of the minister, the ceremony was also attended by the Director of the Directorate General of Environmental Quality in the same ministry, Ms Maria Comellas, the Director of the Catalan Office on Climate Change, Mr Salvador Samitier and the Club EMAS President, Mr Martí Puig i Ysern, among others. The ceremony was led by actress Agnès Busquets, known for her work on the show Polònia broadcast by Televisió de Catalunya (TV3).
A core message of the event was to remember that we all need to work together in order to implement an EMAS well. Thus, the invitation was extended extensively to everybody working in this area: the administration, companies, employees, unions, the media, etc., with the aim that this important work makes it easy for everybody to become involved.
With the objective of making the evening attractive and resplendent, the EMAS world was connected to the world of cooking, trying to bring the issue of environmental management in businesses to citizens with an understandable and entertaining language. The unifying topic of the ceremony was ‘The Cuisine of the EMAS’.
Prizes were presented as a recording of a television cookery show where, as the different prizes were awarded, recipes were explained for preventing company wastes. With over 200 attendees, the event was included within the agenda for the European Week on Waste Prevention, organised by the Waste Agency of Catalonia (ARC). It was organised using recycling criteria, top usage and correct environmental management of used resources, presenting data about everything the organisation required to attendees.
With the aim of acknowledging the efforts companies have made to contribute to improving our environment, and a new feature this year, the Directorate General of Environmental Quality of the DMAH took advantage of the event to hand out EMAS certificates to the organisations that registered during 2009. This helped to spotlight these organisations. There were a total of 28 companies that decided to manage their environmental impacts according to an EMAS. They participated in the celebrations, taking to the stage for ‘The EMAS Cuisine' to receive the certificate from the Minister of the Directorate General and the Club EMAS President. All of them were also an active part of the evening, becoming the new EMAS ‘chefs’.
The jury
This year’s jury was made up of significant people from the world of the environment, business, academia and society as a whole. They were:
•Maria Comellas, Director General of Environmental Quality at the DMAH and jury president.
•Josep Planas, Deputy Director General of Environmental Information & Education of the DMAH.
•Núria Ayats, Head of Quality and the Environment at the organisation Stora Enso Barcelona (Club EMAS partner and vice-president of the Board of Trustees).
•Enric Pol, Director of the Department of Social Psychology at the University of Barcelona.
•Alba Cabañas, Director of the Department of the Environment at FOMENT.
•Jordi Forcadell, Expert in the Department of the Environment at the CCOO union of Catalonia.
•Maria Rosa Salvadó, journalist.