The main objective of this research is to analyze through a structured questionnaire, the influence of the
motivations that lead companies to implement Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) and the
barriers found in the benefits perceived by companies, as well as, the degree of difficulty perceived for
the implementation of the different requirements to be fulfilled, which are established in the regulation.
An extensive review of the academic literature published on motivations, barriers, difficulties and
benefits in environmental standards has been carried out in order to establish the working hypotheses
which refer to the relationship between motivations, barriers with the benefits and degree of difficulty in
implementing the requirements. The empirical investigation was carried out in a sample of 114 of the
255 companies of the Autonomous Community of Galicia (Spain) that have EMAS certification. The
methodology used was the use of the application of a regression analysis to test the hypotheses; pre-
viously the measurement scales were validated and an exploratory factorial analysis was applied in order
to determine the structure of the different variables considered in the study. The results show that the
motivations affect the benefits positively and on the contrary, affect the barriers negatively (reduce
them) and it was observed that the greater the barriers, the lower the benefits obtained from the
implementation of EMAS (negative influence). The proposed regression models show the joint influence
of the motivations and barriers on the benefits considered
