Background Municipalities are central to local environmental initiatives and management. In recent years, however, their task has grown more complex, with new legislation and activities related to the local Agenda 21. There is consequently a requirement for better methods of coordination and prioritisation. Some municipalities have used the EU Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS), but have found it too complex and demanding, and more suitable for larger organisations. The Danish Dogme model is an alternative. Developed in 2000, it is well-suited to the needs of municipal institutions, being based on three dogmas, or principles: 1. Human impacts on the environment must be measured 2. A plan for improvement of the environment must be established: Agenda 21 3. The environment work must be anchored locally. However, the Dogme model is currently not comprehensive, lacking tools in some areas, such as chemicals, green accounts and audits. Objectives The LIFE project aimed to develop the Dogme environmental management model so that it could be adapted for use by other Danish and European municipalities. To this end, two external partners – the municipalities of Siauliai in Lithuania and of Neumünster in Germany – would be attached to the project. The range of tools and techniques available through Dogme was to be extended to create a more comprehensive model. This would be brought together in a Dogme handbook, which would be a boost for implementation of environmental management in European municipalities and constitute an important step in propagating EMAS at the municipal level. Results The DOGME LIFE project has reached its objectives. Key results included the elaboration of (1) a model for green accounts; (2) a plan to reduce municipal chemical use; (3) a list of tools and strategies for anchoring the environmental work amongst stakeholders; (4) a new audit model for “Dogme-2000”; and (5) a Dogme-2000 manual. 1. A common model was developed for green accounts, and eight areas were defined as describing a sustainable municipality. Benchmarks (comprising two-to-four indicators) were established for each of the eight areas. These benchmarks cover a total of six environmental quality or resource areas: Energy, Nature, Air, Noise, Materials, Soil and Groundwater; and the two interdisciplinary fields of Planning and Anchoring. 2. All municipalities in the Dogme-cooperation have committed to working towards becoming sustainable municipalities according to the terms of the Dogme model. In the chemicals field, a report was produced designating a total of 13 substances and substance groups harmful to human health and the environment: Based on the occurrence of these substances, 11 product areas were designated in which the municipalities would attempt to reduce usage of the substances or substitute them with alternatives less harmful to human health and the environment. These products areas are: Amalgam (tooth fillings), electronics, paints and varnish, toys, soft PVC, clothes and textiles, car maintenance agents, detergents, pesticides, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals. 3. Tools and strategies for anchoring the environmentalwork among citizens, enterprises and the institutions of the municipalities are important areas for effort in the work towards a sustainable environment. The work with anchoring has resulted in a catalogue of ideas that the municipalities can use as an inspiration and a tool. A number of parameters from the catalogue of ideas were selected to be used as a checklist in the planning of anchoring activities and as a method for evaluation of whether anchoring has actually succeeded. The tools were systematised based on a registration of anchoring activities conducted in the municipalities and subsequently gathered in a list. Four of these tools were tested on different target groups in different municipalities - courses/training; network/organisation; scheme; information/campaign. 4. One of the key aspects of the Dogme 2000-cooperation is that an external audit is conducted annually to assess whether progress has been made in the environment work under the different principles in each municipality. Under the auspices of LIFE, a new common audit model was set up, establishing procedures and guidelines for the audit. The model also contains background documents for each dogma target, describing what it takes to achieve full compliance within a given dogma. 5. Key achievement was the development of the manual “Dogme 2000 – A manual on municipal environmental cooperation” for Danish and foreign municipalities. It contains a description of the models and tools for a sustainable environmental cooperation developed under the EU LIFE project together with a general description of the Dogme-cooperation. Finally, a systematic comparison of EMAS and Dogme was carried out. This concluded that Dogme 2000 may be an expedient first step towards an EMAS at the municipal level.