Environmental Technologies and Eco-innovation in the Czech ...

justifies the preparation of the Programme. As a part of the Long-Term Trends of
Research and Development, individual ministries support both activities in the area
of material and process research and activities focusing on the research of new
applications for renewable energy sources. The greatest weakness in the Czech
Republic is the low ability to put the results of the research and development into
practice, which is caused by a low degree of cooperation between universities and
other research institutions with the private sector on one hand, and by a low number
of technology-oriented companies (in particular small and medium-sized ones since
large firms typically run their own research and development departments) on the
other hand.
Concerning the possible tools for supporting environmental technologies,
the Programme mentions environmentally friendly public procurement, reducing
support harmful to the environment, ecological tax reform, fees for protecting the
environment, guaranteed energy services, energy benchmarking, environmental
funds, price regulation, support from public budgets, integrated prevention and
reduction of pollution, systems for environmental management, cleaner production,
labelling, eco-design, evaluating the life cycle, voluntary agreements, education and
raising awareness, international cooperation.
Most of these tools have been or are being applied in the Czech Republic. To
implement the Programme, 15 specific measures have been proposed. 3 of them are
of an ongoing nature, while 11 were supposed to be carried out by the end of 2006 and
one by June 2007.
● as a part of the National Research Programme III, to shift the focus of research to
environmental technologies in an adequate fashion,
● as a part of measure No. 3 of the National Innovation Policy, to shift the focus of
research to environmental technologies in an adequate fashion,
● to analyze the current legislation in the area of public budgets and to propose
measures leading to a higher representation of green public procurement,
● to analyze the potential for using green public procurement, including the preparation
of systems for monitoring the related data,
● to submit rules for green public procurement for the entire public sector,
● to issue a methodology governing the definition of environmentally friendly products
and services, in particular in connection with Government Resolution No. 720 on the
proposal of support for developing the sale and usage of environmentally friendly
products of 19 July 2000),
● to adopt rules for assessing the environmental impact of public support with the goal
of reducing support where the impact is negative,
● to conduct random regional surveys of the environmental impact of public support,
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