EPRs have their genesis in the work of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). In 1991, the Environment Ministers of OECD launched a programme for environmental performance reviews to help OECD Member countries improve their individual and collective performances in environmental management.

At the second Ministerial Conference "Environment for Europe", held in Luzern, Switzerland, in April 1993, the Ministers decided that the Performance Review Programme would be gradually extended to the whole region of Europe and mandated UNECE to carry out this extended programme. In 1996, at its third session, the Committee on Environmental Policy decided to make the Environmental Performance Reviews a part of the regular programme of the ECE. Report of the 3rd session ( ENG, FRA, RUS) and Conference Room Paper (CR.P.19)

Since 1996, Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe and Central Asia  countries have been reviewed by UNECE, in addition to a few countries in transition that were reviewed in cooperation with OECD (Poland (1995), Bulgaria (1996), Belarus (1997) and the Russian Federation (1999).

The EPR Programme has begun its second round of reviews. Second Reviews have already been carried out - in chronological order - Bulgaria (2000), Estonia (2001), Belarus (2005),  Republic of Moldova (2005), Ukraine (2006), Serbia (2007), Montenegro (2007), Kazakhstan (2008), Kyrgyzstan (2008), Uzbekistan (2009), Georgia (2010),  Azerbaijan (2010), Bosnia and Herzegovina (2010), Tajikistan (2011), the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (2011). Turkmenistan is currently reviewed for the first time, as well as Albania and Romania for the second time. Their Peer-reviews will take place in April 2012.

At the seventh Ministerial Conference "Environment for Europe", held in Astana, Kazakhstan, in September 2011, the Ministers decided that building upon the success of the UNECE Environmental Performance Review (EPR) Programme, UNECE has to conduct its third cycle of EPRs, which may include environmental governance and financing in a green economy context, countries’ cooperation with the international community and environmental mainstreaming in priority sectors.