EMS POTENTIAL TO INCREASE ROMANIAN COMPANIES' COMPETITIVENESS ON EUROPEAN MARKET

Romania assumes the European economic growth and competitiveness goals. The Competitiveness Report of the World Economic Forum ranked Romania only 68(th) out of 125 counties. This position could be explained by the market conditions faced by Romanian companies. Therefore, Romania must improve the firm's approach to business. Our paper aims to demonstrate that the Environmental Management S,stern is one viable option to be used by firms in order to improve their competitive position to manage with the challenge of European market. The Environmental Management System offers a procedure framework that incorporates environmental issues into a day-to-day operation; on the other hand, it gives the possibility for companies to measure their performance (cost-effectiveness, efficiency and efficacy). Moreover, the implementation of ISO 14001-Environmental Management System - is the way to increase companies' productivity, in compliance with the principle of the sustainable development, takes into account the impact on the environment, and the products are being developed based on "cleaning technology".