These are the main conclusions of the ‘White Paper on Information Technology Applications in the Industrial Waste Sector’, which was conducted in 2005 by Fundació Fòrum Ambiental and the information technology company Atos Origin, who, with the support of the Autonomous Communities of Cantabria, Catalonia, the Basque Country and La Rioja, created what we could say was the embryo of the ETER project.

In addition to providing an overview of the technology situation in Spain and explaining why environmental information was so lacking, the White Paper also provided a Roadmap which, together with the impetus of the public authorities, has the potential to create the right environment for the reporting of environmental information by private entities.

The first step in the Roadmap was the launch of a joint project where the participating public authorities agreed on the flow of information and presented it in a common language with rules that were accepted by all. This new standard will enable the interoperability of the technology platforms of the different parties, ensuring that the information reaches the public authorities at the right time and that it is of sufficient quality to meet the environmental challenges facing our society.

XML technology served as a basis for the development of a language called Environmental Electronic Exchange Language (E3L), which provides rules that enable technology platforms to communicate with one another, and, moreover, gives us the first electronic dictionary of environmental terms (metadato).

This ensures interoperability so that all of the parties involved in the processing and reporting of environmental information have a guideline to follow and know how to adapt their technology platforms to ensure data quality. Consequently, the need for human intervention in the process is drastically reduced and this results in cost savings for both private entities and the public authorities.

The ETER project was one of the first initiatives in line with the recently established Directive 2007/2/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 March 2007 establishing an Infrastructure for Spatial Information in the European Community (INSPIRE).

Please visit the following sections if you would like to learn more about the specific objectives of the ETER project, the participating public authorities that actively participated in the construction of E3L, the private companies that supported it through sponsorship and participation in all of the development stages, and the entities that coordinated and organised the expert committees and meetings:

• Philosophy & Objectives
• Member Entities
• Organising Entities
• Sponsors

It was with this philosophy that the ETER project was born and continues to live by. Very few believed that public authorities with very different objectives would be willing to sit down and discuss an initiative like this, much less embrace it.

However, they did not take account of one very important fact, the fact that all of the public authorities were facing the same challenge, that is to say, the preservation of the environment that supports life on Earth. To preserve the environment, information –as in every other sphere of life- is essential. Decisions cannot be made without information, and at that time everyone knew that information did not exist. The good will of all of the parties involved removed all of the obstacles that emerged at every step of the way.

Once the project was up and running, we wondered how we would organise and structure it. However, this proved to be relatively simple; we knew that we had to build something and that this something was to belong to all of us, so we approached it as if we were a “residents’ association” with a problem (working groups dealing with different environmental challenges) which was to be discussed and a consensus reached or, failing that, it would be put to the vote and the majority vote accepted.

Playing the role of the property administrator, the Fundació Fòrum Ambiental moderated and provided advice on the steps to be taken along the way, boosting morale when the spirits were flagging and quenching excessive euphoria. The result, as you can see, could not have been more satisfactory, bearing in mind the ambitious goals we had set ourselves.

Principles

ETER is aligned with the principles upon which the Shared Environmental Information System (SEIS) is based.

• Information should be managed as close as possible to its source.
• Information should be collected once, and shared with others for many purposes.
• Information should be readily available to public authorities and enable them to easily fulfil their legal reporting obligations.
• Information should be readily accessible to end-users, primarily public authorities at all levels from local to European, to enable them to assess in a timely fashion the state of the environment and the effectiveness of their policies, and to design new policy.
• Information should also be accessible to enable end-users, both public authorities and citizens, to make comparisons at the appropriate geographical scale (e.g. countries, cities, catchment areas) and to participate meaningfully in the development and implementation of environmental policy.
•  Information should be fully available to the general public, after due consideration of the appropriate level of aggregation and subject to appropriate confidentiality constraints, and at national level in the relevant national language(s).
• Information sharing and processing should be supported through common, free open-source software tools.

Objectives

• Harmonise the data and processes of public authority environmental information systems, and to provide authorities that do not have electronic information systems with a common basis on which to develop them.
•  Improve the reliability and quality of statistics relating to all aspects of the environment in Spain.
• Comply with European regulations on statistical data relating to environmental issues.
• Enable the public authorities to provide the best possible service to their clients (the citizens) and, through the ETER project, improve the management of environmental data in their areas of competence, bringing about improvements in the management of knowledge, change and resources in particular.
• Study the possibility of disseminating the ETER philosophy and products (E3L) to the rest of Europe, thus extending its scope of application as it is an issue that has not yet been resolved by the European Commission.
•  However, none of these objectives make sense if we lose sight of the sole and ultimate objective of ETER, which is the introduction of technologies for the restoration of the environment.

Furthermore, the concept of integrating all environmental information is becoming an increasingly common way of enhancing cooperation between the public and private sectors. This is becoming increasingly evident with the preparation of proposals for directives and regulations that encompass all aspects of the environment, and not just specific areas such as, in this case, hazardous waste. Therefore, the creation of a common language to support the exchange of environmental information between all stakeholders in society will become a necessary tool in the area of information technology.

Accordingly, the ETER project should be seen as the foundation for the construction of a standard -XML-based- language that will support the exchange of environmental information in Spain in the future.

The Autonomous Communities participating in the ETER project are shown on the map below. Click on the logos for more information on the body, department, regional ministry or associated agency:

	Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Medio Rural y Marino
	Consejería de Medio Ambiente de Andalucía
	Departamento Medio Ambiente Gobierno de Aragón
	Consejería de Medio Ambiente del Principado de Asturias
	Consejería de Medio Ambiente de Baleares
	Consejería de Medio Ambiente y Ordenación Territorial del Gobierno de Canarias
	Consejería de Medio Ambiente de Cantabria (MARE)
	Consejería de Medio Ambiente. Junta de Castilla y León
	Consejería de Industria, Energía y Medio Ambientede Castilla La Mancha
	Agencia de Residuos de Cataluña
	Conselleria de Medio Ambiente, Agua, Urbanismo y Vivienda de la Comunidad Valenciana.
	Consejería de Industria, Energía y Medio Ambiente de Extremadura.
	Consellería de Medio Ambiente, Territorio e Infraestructuras de la Xunta de Galicia
	Consejería de Medio Ambiente, Vivienda y Ordenación del Territorio de la Comunidad de Madrid
	Consejería de Agricultura y Agua de la Comunidad Autónoma de la Región de Murcia
	Departamento de Desarrollo Rural y Medio Ambiente. Gobierno de Navarra.
	Departamento de Medio Ambiente, Planificación Territorial, Agricultura y Pesca del Gobierno Vasco
	Consejería de Turismo Medio Ambiente y Política Territorial. Gobierno de La Rioja

Sponsors

In addition to providing financial assistance, sponsors play a very important role in the ETER project by actively participating in working groups, sharing their opinions, advice and, in short, real experience. They can therefore be considered co-owners of all of the products created within the framework of the project.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank our sponsors not only for their financial support, but also for their continuous participation and work. 

	CESPA has been wholly owned by the Ferrovial Group (through the Directorate-General for Services) since 2003. It is engaged in the provision of environmental services and the management and processing of waste in Spain, Portugal, Morocco and Andorra. Since it was founded in 1970, the environmental services provided by the CEPSA companies have been consolidated, extended and improved continuously until now encompassing almost all activities in the waste management area. Since its establishment, CESPA has continuously consolidated and strengthened its market position, thanks to the investment of its shareholders, its proven experience in the area, and the work and enthusiasm of a large team of professionals with extensive experience in the industry.
Address	Av. Catedral 6-8, 08002 Barcelona
E-mail	contactoeter@cespa.es
Web	http://www.cespa.es

	Mare is a public company belonging to the Government of Cantabria and attached to the Regional Ministry of the Environment. It is engaged in the management of environmental tasks on behalf of the Regional Government. Its main activities are the maintenance of the territory, the treatment of sewage, the management and treatment of solid urban waste and the recovery of energy from waste. The need to conduct its operations in accordance with effective and efficient criteria has led it to develop a system that enables it to optimise its operations using the best technologies on the market.
Address	C/ Ctra. Torres – Reocín, Bº La Barquera, nº 13. 39311 CARTES (Cantabria)
E-mail	mare@mare.es
Web	http://www.mare.es

Collaborating entities

 

		Reed Business Information
		Grupo IE

How to participate

If your company is interested in sponsoring or collaborating in this initiative, or would simply like to receive for more information on how to participate, please do not hesitate to e-mail us at oficina@eterproject.org or contact your local Autonomous Community.

• Management
• Technical Standardisation Committee
• Liaison Officers
• Project Office
• Working Groups

Members

Pep Tarifa

Sebastián Labella

Members

Members

The project office is comprised of technicians and people who provide technological and administrative support thereto. Their responsibilities include the forwarding of information to the liaison officers, the compilation, preparation and structuring of requirements, putting forward proposals for the development of standards, the compilation and structuring of information, the construction of deliverables, the leadership and management of working groups, management of the information repository, the collection of inquiries and questions from all project participants, the arrangement of visits, project logistics, external communication, marketing and administration.

Members

If you would like to learn more about the materials and products that have been created by ETER, please visit the following sections:

• White Paper on Information Technology Applications in the Industrial Waste Sector
• Environmental Electronic Exchange Language E3L
• E3L Procedures Manual
• Environmental Electronic Exchange Services E3S
• Environmental Electronic Exchange Point E3P
• Environmental Electronic Exchange Forms E3F

It was necessary to assess and identify the sources of the information and how these sources (waste producers and managers) interact with demand for such services (the public authorities), thus enabling us to address the alleged shortage of environmental information.

The White Paper proposes a new way of addressing a global problem, which is none other than the promotion of cooperation between the public and private sectors in the form of joint projects that enable the data to reach the body responsible for supervising it. The latter is, therefore, in a position to develop the policies required to restore and protect our environment, which is the ultimate objective of the proposed projects, the first one being the ETER Project.

Read the White Paper (in Spanish).

Environmental Electronic Exchange Language (E3L) is a standard developed by the Autonomous Communities to facilitate the transmission and exchange of environmental information between the different public and private entities involved in the project.

Based on a preliminary study that analysed the information flows required by environmental regulations in the European Union in general and Spain in particular, E3L aims to become the benchmark for the reporting of all types of environmental data, and to provide technology that is accessible to all of the parties involved and interested in the process.

Without a doubt, achieving consensus and uniformity in environmental indicators and ratios is one of the great challenges of our society. If we wish to develop the appropriate policies, reliable data is required at all stages of the material flow chain. E3L provides the required consensus and uniformity, as it establishes rules for the interconnection of platforms and provides a manual of good practices that fully comply with the environmental regulations in force.

For more information on E3L, visit www.e3l.es (in Spanish).

• Manual of Procedures for Hazardous Waste and Used Oil E3L.
• ETER Procedures Manual AA PP
• Printing template Admission
• Printing template Paper Acceptance

Although Web Services are developed according to rules known to everyone, their flexibility does not ensure that the gateways in question have been developed in such a way that they can be opened with the same ‘key’. This means that the same service (the submission of a document to a public authority, for example) has to be invoked in different ways if the means of ‘opening’ the gateway has not been agreed by those providing the service.

 Environmental Electronic Exchange Services (E3S) is a catalogue of Web Services offered by the ETER Community, and it requires that all of the Web Services provided by the different public authorities participating in ETER are designed according to these standards. To use technological terminology, Web Services Description Languages (WSDLs) explain how to develop Web Services and how these can be invoked by the clients of the service. The benefits are immediate; private entities no longer have to worry about the format of the data they submit to the different public authorities because E3S allows them to invoke the Web Services (open the gateway) in the same way, regardless of the public authority providing the service.

Download the Reference Manuals and the files needed for the implantation of E3S, including the schedules may find E3L (environmental data dictionary) in the localized version, the outlines E3S (data dictionary specific services offered) and finally the Specification's WSDL (Web Services Description Language). Additionally you can download a document that identifies changes between versions and releases E3S, and that will help you identify the relevant differences for integration into their platform of the new release.

Downloads

Modules E3S 2.3.1

E3S 2.2.1

Specifications E3S 2.3.1(Spanish)

Inventory of return codes and errors E3S 2.3.1.1(Spanish)

How can we ensure that distributed platforms, each developed using different technologies, are compatible and enable the sending and receipt of data in E3L format without the risk of losing information or having to invest in costly adaptation developments?

ETER’s development proposal involves the creation of an Exchange Platform called E3P (Environmental Electronic Exchange Point) within a neutral information exchange point that enables the transmission of information in E3L (Environmental Electronic Exchange Language) documents by electronic media. This is the solution that ETER is proposing for the future.

The objective of this Integration Platform is to open a new access channel for the different participants, enabling them to exchange information. The Data exchange would be supported by a Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) that enables the architectures and technologies of each participant to remain independent.

The system aims to integrate the data currently in the information systems of the different participants, respecting the principle of information ownership so that the data is only stored at the source and destination and the platform ensures that it only reaches the intended recipient/s.

We are currently conducting a feasibility study for the development of the E3P Exchange Platform. The platform is expected to be operational some time in 2009. We will keep you informed of the process.

While some public authorities already have E3L platforms, others are in the process of adapting thereto. ETER has made Electronic Forms available to the latter so that their private entities can send information in E3L format, which can be incorporated into the standard exchange procedure.

These forms are an alternative method in the case of public authorities that are still at the adaptation phase and do not have a web page for the online input of data or web services for the collection of E3L files. E3L forms –based on intelligent PDF forms- can be collected by the data sender, completed and subsequently sent by e-mail. The forms support both E3L and PDF files, which enables them to be read or integrated into technology platforms. They are “intelligent” because they have a validation layer that prevents the input of data that is inconsistent with E3L rules.

Download your E3L forms and begin electronic transactions with your Autonomous Community today:

NT.E3L-2.3.2.pdf (in Spanish): enables the introduction of a Hazardous Waste Shipment Notification.
User manual NT E3F 2.3.2 (in Spanish): Refer to operate as a form NT.

DCS.E3L-2.3.2.pdf (in Spanish): enables the introduction of a Hazardous Waste Control and Tracking Document.
User manual DCS E3F 2.3.2 (in Spanish): Refer to operate as a form DCS.

Recoja los Conversores E3L:

Conversor E3L 2.0: Permite la visualización de las Notificaciones de Traslado de Residuos Peligrosos y Documentos de Control y Seguimiento que residen en un fichero E3L.

que las empresas puedan incorporar en sus Sistemas de Información la capa de datos ambientales que permita la interoperabilidad de dichos sistemas con los de la Administración Pública. Esto va a dar lugar al nacimiento de productos en el mercado que den respuesta a esta demanda.

ETER proporciona en este epígrafe una lista de productos certificados E3L, que garantiza a las empresas interesadas en la adquisición de los mismos, que la funcionalidad y los requerimientos cumplen los estándares E3L.

Si está interesado en certificar su producto, no dude en consultarnos.  certificadoE3L@eterproject.org

The following list shows the companies that have realised that investment in Corporate Social Responsibility in the area of the environment has a high return on investment, not only for their businesses, but also for society in general.

If you would like to include your company on this list, please do not hesitate to contact us oficina@eterproject.org.

The Technology Map will be updated as the participating Autonomous Communities adopt the desired reception technology.

First take a look at the reception technology legends, which explain how the entity transmitting the data should send the E3L file to the Autonomous Community:

Reception Technology Legends:

		Web Services: One of the main advantages of E3L is that it provides society with technology that enables the exchange of data between source and destination platforms. This is a win-win situation, as manual intervention is not required, the information is generated in the management platform of the entity sending the information (E3L file) and Web Services ensure that the data reaches the destination platform automatically without the need for human intervention. Web Services are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The advantages of this technology are evident, and it is the future scenario desired by all of the parties. However, one of the weaknesses is that some SMEs may not have the technology required to invoke the Web Services.
		E3L Upload: This technology enables the entity sending the data to upload or send the E3L information via the public authority’s portal. Its functionality is limited and it does not act as a Web Service because it does not enable platform integration and requires manual intervention; the sender must specify what file will be uploaded and wait for approval.
		E-mail: is a network service that enables users to send and receive messages or e-mails quickly through electronic communication systems.
		Web Portal: refers to technology platforms that enable the documentation to be input online. This is known as B2G (Business to Government). This service is provided by public authorities that allow the data to be integrated into their management systems. With these systems, the private entity does not have to send hardcopies to the public authority, but the data does have to be input manually because it cannot be sent directly from a private to a public platform.

Refer to the following schedule will be available when the technology of capturing the various public administrations.

Enter: 

• Free public access to environmental information under the Aarhus Convention
  • Ley 27/2006, de 18 de julio, Convenio de Aarhus (Spanish)

• Environmental Responsibility
  • LEY 26/2007, de 23 de octubre, Responsabilidad Medioambiental (Spanish)

• Services
  • Directive "Services": Directive 2006/123 on services in the internal market interior

• Interoperability
  • Directive Inspire 2007

• EGovernment
  • Ley 11/2007, de 22 de junio, Acceso electrónico de los ciudadanos a los Servicios Públicos (Spanish)

• Regulation (EC) No 166/2006 of the European Parliament and Council
  • Regulation E-PRTR CE 2006

• Royal Decree 508-2007 PRTR Regulation
  • Real decreto 508-2007 Reglamento PRTR (Spanish)

• Royal Decree  509-2007 Regulation IPPC
  • Real decreto 509-2007 Reglamento IPPC (Spanish)

• Royal Decree 812-2007
  • Real decreto 812-2007 (Spanish)

• Basic legislation Waste
  • Directive 2008-98-CE Waste
  • Ley 10-98 de Residuos (Spanish)

• Hazardous Waste Legislation
  • Royal Decree 833/1988 Regulation RP (Spanish)

• Commission Regulation (EC) No 1445/2005
  • 1445-2005 Waste Statistics

• Commission Regulation  (CE) No 782/2005
• 782-2005 setting out the format for the transmission of results on waste statistics

• Commission Regulation (CE) No 783/2005
  • 783-2005 amending Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 2150/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council on waste statistics

• Commission Regulation  (CE) No 1445/2005
  • 1445-2005 defining the proper quality evaluation criteria and the contents of the quality reports for waste statistics for the purposes of Regulation