Sustainable development is, according to the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED): "development that seeks to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs". The sustainable development of any society must necessarily be based on three pillars, namely ensuring a sustainable environment, social equity and economic prosperity. These areas of concern, together with the corresponding responsibilities, are interlinked and require attitudes that embrace them, whether it is a citizen, a public institution or a company. According to constitutional provisions, the state through specialised public authorities must ensure citizens the right to a healthy environment. Sustainable development programmes focus precisely on the protection of the environment and resources. Romania is committed to implementing the Sustainable Development Goals at national level and has revised its National Sustainable Development Strategy to integrate Sustainable Development Goals. Environmental protection is an essential element of sustainable economic development and a condition for long-term political and social stability. The objectives underpinning the construction of the European Union's environmental policy have been laid down in the European Community Treaty, Art. 174. Thus, it states that the objectives of European environmental policy are the following: 1. To preserve, protect and improve the quality of the environment. 2. Protection of human health. 3. Prudent and rational use of human resources. 4. Promoting measures at national level to address regional environmental and other problems. The European Union's environmental policy, established by the EC Treaty, aims to ensure the sustainability of environmental protection activity by developing preventive measures and respecting the "polluter pays" principle, and is a horizontal policy. Horizontal legislation includes regulations ensuring transparency and circulation of information, public access to information, facilitating the decision-making process, but also boosting the strategic environmental assessment process. The Environmental Management System (EMS) is a mechanism that addresses major environmental issues by allocating resources, assigning responsibilities, and continuously evaluating practices, procedures and processes, which are organised in a systematic way. The European Union's environmental policy, established by the EC Treaty, aims to ensure the sustainability of environmental protection activity by developing preventive measures and respecting the "polluter pays" principle, and is a horizontal policy. Horizontal legislation includes regulations ensuring transparency and circulation of information, public access to information, facilitating the decision-making process, but also boosting the strategic environmental assessment process. The Environmental Management System (EMS) is a mechanism that addresses major environmental issues by allocating resources, assigning responsibilities, and continuously evaluating practices, procedures and processes, which are organised in a systematic way. The Environmental Management System is a mechanism that allows the development of the Environmental Management Programme that guides the actions necessary to achieve the targets set by the Environmental Policy. Current environmental protection measures have been oriented towards environmental management, which uses a broad combination of coercive and incentive measures to achieve sustainable improvements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]