Background The New Tuscia project was organised as a result of an inadequate integration of environmental matters in the local planning policies of the Tuscia Romana District. Local authorities had a minimal awareness of knowledge of district environmental characteristics and of the significant impact of economic development on the environment. The EC’s Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) Regulation (761/2001) requires the regular evaluation and continuous improvement of certified organisations and sites, including in this case, the Tuscia Romana District. EMAS represented a potential solution to the problem in Tuscia, but in the period leading up to the start of the project, its implementation in the region was limited. Moreover, there was neither a well-regulated approach to promoting EMAS at district level nor did reference models exist. What made EMAS implementation difficult within the local organisations was the lack of information and educational efforts on the subject. Objectives The New Tuscia project aimed to facilitate EMAS registration for local organisations and to integrate environmental considerations into local economic and social planning. It was hoped that by doing this, the project would contribute to a reduction in the environmental impact of economic activities in the district of Tuscia, Romana. This was to be achieved by the promotion of the EMAS system among small and medium-sized businesses, business associations, local authorities, and chambers of commerce in the district. Specifically, the project was to attempt an Initial Environmental Review (IER) and put together a Territorial Environmental Programme (TEP); develop a methodology for collaboration among local authorities; pursue the integration of environmental planning with other planning activities and the integration of EMAS with other management tools; and, lastly, to achieve the EMAS registration of nine towns in the Tuscia District. Results The EMAS certification, the main objective of the project, was only achieved for one of the nine municipalities. The other objectives that were expected to have been a product of the main task (i.e. the integration of environmental considerations into local economic and social planning, thus contributing to a reduction in the environmental impact of economic activities in the district) have to be regarded as only partly achieved. At the same time, the IEA and the TEP (Territorial Environmental Program) were indeed concluded. To achieve the main objective, a promoters committee (PC) was established, consisting initially of the project partners – 15 local governments, a regional park authority, a public research agency and a services company. A forum that brought together regional stakeholders was also created. The PC, assisted by the forum, carried out the initial Environmental Review (IER) and designed the Territorial Environmental Program, which were both subject to independent validation. To train the experts needed to encourage the use of EMAS, a national school was created under the aegis of the National EMAS Committee. At least nine partner municipalities intended to obtain EMAS registration over the course of the project by setting up an EMS capable of achieving relevant TEP objectives and targets and by preparing an environmental statement (ES) describing their contribution to the TEP targets. The municipal authorities of Anguillara, Bracciano, Oriolo and Blera managed to obtain the ISO 14001 environmental certification. Thus, by the end of project, only these four authorities were waiting for the EMAS certificate; the other five, Bassano Romano, Canale Monterano, Capranica, Barbarano Romano and Vetralla were still working on the ‘unconformities’ that had been pointed out by the environmental auditor. Ultimately, a year after the project ended, the only municipality that had actually obtained the EMAS certification was Oriolo Romano. Nonetheless, the project carried out a huge amount of work and, overall, the task implementation was in line with the original application. The project should thus be considered as a first, experimental and demonstrative application of EMAS over a large district. The project's results make it possible to demonstrate a model that can indeed then be replicated elsewhere in the EU in similarly sized areas.